Chapter 565 Competition at the Auction
Nora held the auction catalog in her hands, flipping through the items listed inside.
There were many items up for auction, all donated by artists and celebrities from various fields.
There were paintings by renowned artists, collectible crafts, and valuable jewelry, among other things.
"What do you like?" Aaron leaned in and asked her softly.
Nora flipped through the catalog, not interested in the auction items.
Being a novice in this field, she didn't need to gain more knowledge about these things.
However, since the auction was for charity, she decided to buy something she liked to contribute to the cause.
"What do you want to buy?" she asked.
She felt that since she and Aaron were about to get engaged, they were already a family.
Whatever Aaron wanted to buy, she would like it too.
But Aaron said, "I'll buy whatever you like."
Nora felt a bit shy and said, "You spoil me too much."
Nora smiled as she flipped through the catalog and came across a landscape painting.
She found the painting quite appealing and said, "Let's buy this one."
"It should look nice hanging at home."
"Okay." Aaron agreed.
Then he asked, "Aren't you going to buy some jewelry?"
Nora flipped through the catalog again and saw a ring named Forever Love.
This ring was designed by the world's top jewelry designer, Ariel.
It had a starting price of two million dollars.
Not only was the ring intricately designed, but its symbolism was also beautiful.
Forever Love symbolized their eternal love.
Nora looked at the ring in the catalog, paused for two seconds, and then turned the page.
Beside her, Aaron blinked, wanting to say something, but ultimately stayed silent.
Nora flipped through the catalog once more and saw a necklace named Ocean Star.
The deep blue gemstones were exceptionally pure and beautiful.
"What about buying this necklace, too?" Nora said.
She wanted to gift this necklace to Sandy.
If Sandy were at home, she would also contribute to the charity cause.
"Okay," Aaron said.
Evella and Kevin sat together in the back row.
"Evella, what do you like? I'll buy it for you," Kevin said with a smile.
"No need, I have money; I'll buy what I like," Evella said as she flipped through the auction catalog.
"Since we're on a blind date and came to a charity auction together, I should give you a gift; otherwise, it would be embarrassed," Kevin said.
Evella remained silent.
Kevin noticed the jewelry set she was looking at in the catalog and asked, "Girls usually like jewelry. What do you think of this set?"
Evella replied, "I don't like jewelry; I like this pen."
She saw a pen.
It was a pen of the famous writer Kermit.
She had read his works and liked his writing style.
"I heard you're a pretty well-known online writer; you really have an artistic flair," Kevin complimented Evella.
Evella didn't reply, thinking that if Kevin really bought her that pen, she would have to buy something of similar value to gift him.
She thought, 'This is called reciprocity.'
Howard, sitting behind them, looked serious as he listened to their conversation.
'Is Kevin going to buy her that pen?' Howard thought.
Soon, the auction began.
After the host introduced the charity auction, the atmosphere gradually heated up.
One by one, the auction items were bid on, with guests competing against each other.
The third item up for auction was Kermit's pen.
The starting price of the pen was only 20,000 dollars.
Several interested guests started bidding, gradually increasing the price.
Since the pen wasn't particularly attention-grabbing, the bids from the guests only increased by 2,000 dollars.
Kevin smiled and raised his paddle, directly raising the bid to 40,000 dollars.
The host's voice grew louder. "Number nine, this gentleman bids 40,000 dollars. Any other bids?"
"42,000 dollars," Howard, who hadn't bid before, started bidding.
Evella was surprised and couldn't help but glance back at him.
'Does he also like this pen?' she thought.
"44,000 dollars." Kevin didn't want to lose to Howard and raised his paddle again.
"46,000 dollars," Howard continued to raise the bid.
"50,000 dollars."
"60,000 dollars."
Howard increased the price to 60,000 dollars.
Kevin was getting annoyed.
He knew Howard was deliberately competing with him for the pen.
"100,000 dollars."
"200,000 dollars."
Howard didn't hesitate and directly raised the bid to 200,000 dollars.
The atmosphere in the auction hall became lively due to this price.
For such a common pen, even if a famous writer donated it, it didn't justify such a high value.
Most people estimated the pen's value to be no more than 30,000 dollars.
But now, the bidding price had soared to 200,000 dollars, which far exceeded its value.
Kevin was even more angry now.
He didn't want to lose to Howard, so he gritted his teeth and bid, "400,000 dollars!"
The guests started discussing fervently again.
The bids were no longer in increments of 2,000 dollars but in increments of 200,000 dollars.
Everyone looked at Howard, wondering if he would continue to bid.
"600,000 dollars." Howard remained calm and raised his paddle.
The hall buzzed again with people's discussions.
They didn't expect Howard to add another two hundred thousand dollars.
A pen as ordinary as this one had been bid up to six hundred thousand dollars.
Everyone wondered if Kevin would continue to bid.
Kevin hesitated visibly because he felt the pen was not worth that price.
But he also didn't want to lose to Howard.
Kevin gritted his teeth, about to raise his paddle again when Evella quickly stopped him.
"Don't bid anymore; I don't want it; let him have it," Evella said.
"Howard has money; he just wants this pen."
"I don't necessarily need to get this pen; Just let him have it."
Kevin glanced at her and sighed. "Okay, I'll listen to you."
He had thought the pen would definitely be his, but he hadn't expected Howard to chase after it so persistently.
Although the Swift family was wealthy, they were definitely less rich than the Hamilton family.
Most importantly, Kevin wasn't willing to spend too much on a woman he had only met once.
'If I can't marry her in the future, my money will be wasted,' Kevin thought.
So, when Evella stopped him from bidding, he was actually relieved.
"Six hundred thousand dollars once, six hundred thousand dollars twice, six hundred thousand dollars three times! Congratulations, number eighteen." The host struck the gavel, and the pen belonged to Howard.
Howard glanced at Evella's back, his face expressionless.
The auction continued.
Archer bought Harper a set of jewelry, and Gary also purchased the craft he liked.
"Next for auction is a landscape painting by the famous artist Harrell. The starting price is two hundred thousand dollars."
The host was about to start the auction for the landscape painting Nora liked.
Guests who were interested in landscape paintings began raising their paddles and bidding.
"Two hundred twenty thousand dollars."
"Two hundred sixty thousand dollars."
"Three hundred thousand dollars."
Nora glanced at Aaron, who sat quietly, appearing to have no intention to bid yet.
He squeezed Nora's hand and whispered, "Don't worry."
Nora said with a smile, "I'm not worried."
She knew Aaron would start bidding when he thought the price was right.
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