Chapter 227 Spending Money Like Water
The second that emerald diamond necklace hit the stage, the whole place went nuts!
Anyone with half a brain could tell that from the diamond's clarity to the killer craftsmanship, this necklace was top-tier, worth millions!
Bringing out a piece like this for a charity auction? The Alexander Group was really flexing!
Right then, a spotlight hit Gilbert, tall and handsome as ever.
Everyone's eyes followed, and when they saw Gilbert's chiseled features, they couldn't help but gasp!
But Gilbert's eyes, full of hidden feelings, were locked on Evelyn, like she was the only one in the room.
"Man, this guy is seriously good-looking! Not a single flaw on that face. Who is he?"
"He must be the Alexander family's son, right? Otherwise, how could he bring out such a pricey piece of bling?"
"The Alexander family's son? How come I've never seen him before!"
"Backing Ms. Taylor like this, you think they got something going on?"
"So what if they do? Ms. Taylor's a total knockout, and they look great together."
The gossip was buzzing around Edward's ears.
"Emerald diamond necklace, starting bid at four hundred grand dollars, the auction begins!"
As soon as the auctioneer finished, paddles started flying up.
The place was on fire, and the bidding was fierce!
Actually, before the event kicked off, Evelyn's stomach was feeling kinda off.
But seeing the first item hit a million bucks so fast, her discomfort vanished!
Money really does fix everything.
Meanwhile, Tiffany and Debra were fuming, their faces twisted with jealousy.
They came to watch Evelyn crash and burn, not expecting the auction to start off with a bang. Their plans to trash her reputation were falling apart!
"Tiffany! Gilbert's here repping the Alexander Group to back Evelyn, and he donated that crazy expensive necklace. He's really going all out for her!" Debra said bitterly, glaring at Evelyn chatting with Eiss.
Tiffany sneered, "What? Jealous much?"
"Of course I'm jealous!" Debra twisted the hem of her dress, looking super frustrated. "Ever since I was a kid, besides Patrick, no guy has ever treated me like this. Evelyn's brothers spoil her, and now even Eric and Gilbert are her protectors. Lately, even Edward's not as cold to her as he used to be. I don't get what's so special about her. Why do all these guys orbit around her? With her always outshining me, I wake up every morning feeling like the sky's gray!"
"I've dreamed of living like Evelyn, surrounded by guys outside, and having brothers at home who'd do anything for her, pampering her! But what about me? What do I have? Just a dumb sister who brings bad luck!" Debra thought.
"Stop with the self-pity. You're my daughter," Tiffany snapped, pinching Debra's thigh in anger.
Debra yelped in pain, drawing frowns and glances from the people around them.
"Eric is already my future son-in-law. Your marriage to him is set in stone, and no one can mess with my plans!" Tiffany glared at Evelyn and sneered, "As for Gilbert, don't worry about him. It'd be perfect if Evelyn got involved with Gilbert. It'd cut off Edward's feelings for her and not mess with our plans, killing two birds with one stone!"
"But, Tiffany, he's the legit son of the Alexander family. His mom's Mrs. Alexander. If Evelyn really gets with him, won't that be her gaining a formidable ally?" Debra asked, confused.
"Gaining a formidable ally? More like asking for trouble," Tiffany said, crossing her arms. "Gilbert's the son Elbert looks down on the most. His mom's not favored either. They've been neglected abroad for years. He might have the Alexander name, but he's broke."
"He doesn't have any shares or property from the Alexander family, and he's got no status in the group. He's the perfect match for Evelyn."
Tiffany curled her lips in mockery, her mind filled with nasty thoughts, "I really want Evelyn to be stuck with Gilbert forever."
Right then, the emerald necklace had hit $1.2 million.
Everyone stopped bidding.
Evelyn's face lit up with joy, super happy with this awesome start.
"$1.4 million." A smooth, magnetic voice suddenly came from the back.
Evelyn's breath caught, and her smile vanished.
Everyone was puzzled.
In the last row, Edward raised his paddle high, his expression cold and confident, radiating determination.
"It's Edward from the Wellington Group!"
"When did he get here? He's so mysterious!"
"Low-key but loaded!"
Edward's paddle stayed up, his intense gaze locked on Evelyn, unwavering.
But Evelyn didn't even turn around!
$1.4 million wasn't enough to get Evelyn to look back; seemed like more cash would have to be thrown at this.
"$1.4 million for this necklace is kinda overpriced. Even if you got money, you shouldn't blow it like this," Eiss said, shaking his head in disapproval.
"The more people like this, the more hope there is for poor kids," Evelyn's red lips curled slightly, though she was inwardly cursing Edward.
"Congrats to Edward from the Wellington Group! Thanks for your support of the charity!" The auctioneer's gavel came down, and the room erupted in applause.
When the camera turned to Edward, he barely lifted his lips in a faint, half-hearted smile.
Not far from him, Gilbert pushed his glasses up with his fingers, his eyes cold.
The auction kept rolling smoothly.
All the donated jewelry sold at high prices, and even Tiffany symbolically bought one of them.
But what really ticked Evelyn off was that whenever a piece of jewelry didn't get bids, Edward would deliberately raise the price and buy it.
In just an hour, he had already bought three pieces of jewelry, dropping over $6 million!
Evelyn's face was icy, and she really wanted to throw Edward out!
At that moment, another relatively worthless piece of jewelry was bought by Edward, and the crowd started to buzz.
"Is this thing worth $800,000? Does Edward suck at appraising jewelry?"
"Edward's handsome and rich, so what if he's a bit foolish? Nobody's perfect!"
"Foolish? Haven't you noticed? Edward only buys the worthless stuff. Even if he's blind, he can't miss all the valuable pieces, right? This is obviously on purpose!" someone keenly observed and said.
Everyone was surprised and asked, "Indeed! So what do you mean?"
"Edward's buying these cheap pieces to boost Ms. Taylor's rep and pump up the value of her auction."
Jessica watched helplessly as her long-desired Edward bent over backward to please Evelyn, her eyes turning red with fury, her anger blazing. The fact that Edward, whom she longed for in vain, was right there and utterly ignored her added to the extreme contrast, making her feel humiliated like never before.
Everyone nodded wildly, 'Makes sense!'
Edward vaguely heard the chatter, and his thin lips curved slightly, thinking there were still some sharp people around.
Unfortunately, Evelyn never once looked back at him.
Edward's upturned lips slightly drooped.
"Boring," Gilbert sneered, totally disdainful of Edward's actions.
'Throwing money around is useless. Does he think Evelyn is one of those shallow women who are only after money?' Gilbert thought.
"Next, I would like to introduce the following auction item!" The auctioneer announced loudly and clearly as he dramatically unveiled the red cloth covering the glass display case.
What came into view was a teardrop-shaped white diamond necklace with hundreds of small blue diamonds embedded around it, exquisitely beautiful and stunning!
"This piece of jewelry is donated by Ms. Ada Smithand designed by the internationally renowned jewelry designer Alexa! Thank you, Ms. Smith, for your generous donation!"
As the necklace appeared on stage, Debra's face instantly changed, and she shot up from her seat!
At the same time, Jessica's expression also gradually stiffened, her fingers interlaced and turning red from the pressure!
