Chapter 57 Just a Good Man
The main gemstone was ten carats, surrounded by diamonds over one carat each.
It was a truly collectible piece.
Pearl glanced back and caught Haley's gaze; she had a smug smile with a hint of defiance in her eyes.
Indeed, she had every reason to flaunt.
She had entered the Brown household, and Mrs. Brown had never bought her anything.
In the end, Mrs. Brown won the bid without a second thought for thirty million.
As the gemstone was presented to Haley, everyone's eyes were on her, giving her plenty of recognition. She was elated, "It's so beautiful, Auntie, you have such great taste."
Mrs. Brown looked at her fondly, "You like it, and that's all that matters."
Holding the necklace, Haley was the envy of everyone as they couldn't help remarking, "Haley really is favored by the old lady of the Brown family, treated like a daughter."
"More like a daughter-in-law," someone else said.
"But didn't President Oscar say he was married? How could she be his daughter-in-law?"
"Well, President Oscar never revealed who his wife is. Madam Brown openly declared in front of so many people that Haley is the future daughter-in-law. It's really complicated. Haley plans to break into showbiz and will definitely need President Oscar's help. Their relationship seems to be different. As long as President Oscar's wife doesn't show up, we can't be sure if the future Mrs. Oscar is Haley or not, right?"
"You have a point. As of now, Haley does seem to have a good chance!"
Pearl heard all this gossip.
The auction was nearing its conclusion when the last collectible was presented.
Pearl was not paying attention until she heard Oscar bidding, "Fifteen million!"
"Twenty million!" came a counterbid.
Oscar immediately said, "Fifty million!"
The bidding was now escalating by leaps and bounds.
The other bidder was not to be outdone and shouted, "Fifty-five million!"
Oscar instantly countered with, "Sixty million!"
Pearl had never seen him so determined. She glanced over and saw it was an imperial green bracelet.
The bracelet shimmered with a translucent green hue, very rare and highly coveted.
Since this was a charity auction, the starting bid was lower than the market price, but the final price depended on the competition.
"Seventy million!"
"One hundred million!" Oscar shouted.
This caused a stir among those present.
The bidder who had been competing with Oscar dropped out.
The elated auctioneer announced, "Congratulations to President Oscar for securing this lot for one hundred million!"
Applause filled the room.
The imperial green jade bracelet was now in Oscar's hands.
Pearl was surprised. When the imperial green jade bracelet reached Oscar, she could see the satisfaction and contentment in his eyes—perhaps he truly liked it.
However, she had never seen him collect jade before.
After the event, Mrs. Brown grasped Haley's hand and said pointedly, "Haley, you saw that. Oscar won the bid for the bracelet. You only mentioned in passing that you thought the bracelet was rare and that you liked it very much, and he went and bought it. It's clear he values your opinion."
Haley was a little delighted. Indeed, it had been her initial mention, "I didn't expect him to pay such a high price for it."
Pearl overheard and smiled wryly to herself—so it was Haley's preference.
She had thought Oscar had suddenly taken a liking to jade.
After everything had wrapped up, the guests began to leave, and Janetta also said her goodbyes and departed.
Pearl was on her way to leave when Harold called out, "Secretary Pearl, President Oscar wants you in his office. He said there's something he needs to discuss."
"Oh," Pearl replied swiftly and hurried into the room.
At that moment, Mrs. Brown and Haley were present. Haley's gaze was fixed on Oscar, hope shimmering in her eyes, yet her attention was drawn to a box on the table.
Inside the box was the jade bracelet she adored in an imperial green hue.
Pearl entered and, seeing them both, respectfully greeted, "President Oscar, you wanted to see me?"
Oscar looked back at her and said, "Come here."
Pearl approached him.
Oscar picked up the box, opened it under their watchful eyes, and slid the imperial green bracelet onto Pearl's wrist.
At this, Haley's face went pale.
Mrs. Brown, in shock, said, "Oscar, wasn't that meant for Haley?"
But Oscar replied, "Isn't you spoiling her enough?"
Mrs. Brown pursed her lips, clearly displeased.
The bracelet felt suddenly heavy on Pearl's hand, a piece worth millions, and she was overwhelmed. She’d never worn anything so valuable and felt it inappropriate, "There's no need, it's too expensive. I might damage it with my usual clattering about."
She hurriedly tried to remove it.
Oscar, however, caught her hand, saying with profound meaning, "I bought this to give to you. Keep it well, and don't lose it."
Pearl saw in his eyes that this item held great importance for him.
And now, this significant piece was in her possession.
Stunned for a while, Pearl wondered if this was his way of giving their relationship a status.
Holding the bracelet, she said, "I understand. I’ll take good care of it."
Only after her promise did Oscar show satisfaction, a smile curving at the corners of his lips, he then added, "Good, consider it an engagement present for when we got married!"
At his words, Pearl blushed, "That's really not necessary. You’ve already given so much."
Their marriage might lack love, but there was no denying that Oscar was never stingy with her.
He always provided the best.
She knew well that Oscar himself was a generous person.
The scene left Haley in tears, unable to accept what had happened, and she ran out.
"Haley, Haley!" Mrs. Brown called after her, frantic, then turned to scold Oscar, "Oscar, how could you do this to Haley!"
She chased after her daughter.
Later that evening, they all went home together.
Pearl was in high spirits.
A car pulled up at the front door; it was Auntie Gu's vehicle.
She got out, went back into the house, and saw Magdalen sitting on the couch. She exclaimed with joy, “Auntie Gu!”
Putting aside her tea, Magdalen smiled and said, “Pearl, you're back. Seems like you had a good time today.”
“It was nice, but I missed having Auntie Gu around.” Pearl took her hand.
“You know how much I hate those double-faced people.” Magdalen laughed, but her gaze turned serious as she looked at Oscar behind her, “Oscar, we need to talk.”
Oscar said, “Let's go to the study.”
He glanced at Pearl, “You go to your room first. I need to discuss something with Auntie.”
“Okay.”
Once back in her bedroom, Pearl took off the bracelet and sent a photo of it to Janetta.
Janetta replied: [Did Oscar give that to you?!]
Pearl answered: [Yes!]
Janetta: [Damn! If someone gifted me a million-dollar jade bracelet, I wouldn’t care who they spent the night with!]
Janetta: [Oscar is pretty generous to you, and he’s a good guy.]
Pearl felt the same.
She propped her chin in her hands, unable to suppress a smile.
Tucking away the bracelet, she thought about how Oscar hadn’t eaten much but had been drinking quite a bit.
She decided to cook him some porridge.
Passing by the study, she noticed the door was ajar. Walking closer, she heard Magdalen's angry voice, “Oscar, tell me the truth. When you married Pearl, was it for your grandfather’s shares?”
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