You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 56

The moment the auctioneer finished speaking, a deep, resonant voice sliced through the room. "Twenty million."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Everyone knew the starting bid of eight million meant the final hammer price would be astronomical, but throwing down a twelve-million-dollar hike straight out of the gate was absolutely staggering.

After Ashton's bid, Julian casually raised his paddle. "Twenty-five million."

A few heavy hitters finally snapped out of their shock and threw their hats into the ring.

"Twenty-six million."

"Twenty-eight million."

"Forty million," Ashton fired back, raising his paddle again. His tone was tightly controlled, but Sylvia could hear the jagged edge of raw desperation underneath.

That massive leap shattered the rhythm of the other bidders. Only Julian remained, raising his paddle to test the waters. "Forty-five million."

"Fifty million."

Julian understood then that Ashton was dead-set on claiming this necklace. Smiling politely at the auctioneer, he gracefully bowed out of the bidding war.

It was glaringly obvious now. Ashton bidding on the ruby bracelet earlier was merely him flexing his dominance against Julian. But with this necklace, a crack had finally formed in his icy composure, leaking genuine panic.

Julian lowered his eyes and offered a silent, mocking smirk. What was he so desperate for?

The auctioneer scanned the room for a final call, but the hall was dead silent.

An eight-million-dollar necklace had been brutally forced up to fifty million. While it might not be the highest single transaction of the night, it was undeniably the most sensational.

Whispers spread like wildfire. Many assumed Ashton had some personal connection to the original owner of the piece; otherwise, such a reckless display of wealth made no sense.

Others speculated Ashton bought it as a grand engagement gift for Reina.

It was explicitly a woman's piece, just like the bracelet. A billionaire like Ashton wouldn't torch millions on jewelry he had no use for unless it was for a woman.

The auction pressed on, eventually transitioning into an extravagant post-event banquet.

-

She let out a soft laugh, and without waiting for Sylvia to respond, she kept pushing. "You saw that necklace tonight, right? My sister used to wear it. She later donated it to fund charities for children in impoverished regions. Ash only came tonight because he heard it was up for auction."

Reina subtly observed Sylvia's reaction. "That necklace wasn't originally called Cherished. It was called Night Whispers. Ash confessed his love to my sister under the cover of night, and that piece was the ultimate symbol of their romance."

"My sister died in a car crash, but even after all these years, Ash has never forgotten her. Come to think of it, you actually look quite a bit like her. I was honestly shocked the first time I saw you."

Sylvia listened quietly to the whole speech before delivering a single, lethal strike. "Does his lingering devotion to your sister bother you that much?"

Reina stiffened, immediately defensive. "Why would it?" She clearly hadn't expected Sylvia to flip the script, and her perfectly crafted smile fractured.

Sylvia let out a dry, heavily sarcastic laugh. "It looks to me like you're the one who can't let it go, not me."

Reina froze. Her manicured fingers dug into her palms, and she bit her lip so hard the color drained from it.

Ignoring her completely, Sylvia stood up to leave.

But Reina's voice snapped out from behind her. "By the way, Ash and I are officially getting engaged at the end of July. I'll make sure to send you an invitation. You should come if you're free."