?Chapter 351:


    She grabbed Ste’s hand in frustration. “That jerk is trying to push me out!”


    Ste gently patted her back. “Don’t worry. This one’s yours.”


    Sharon blinked. Huh? How was she so sure? Before she could voice her thought, Ste calmly raised her paddle. “Eight million.” Gasps rippled through the auction hall.


    The jade pendant was the size of a thumb. No matter how well carved, it shouldn’t have hit eight million.


    The room buzzed with whispers. Even Sharon was stunned.


    “Ste! That’s way over budget!” Her budget was only five million.


    Ste just gave her a calm smile. “Call it an early birthday gift. I know it’s months away.”


    Eight million was nothing—she’d already saved enough for a house, with plenty left over to cover this expense. She needed to put Marc in his ce too.


    Sharon sat there, mouth open. Her birthday was still five months away. Marc, meanwhile, was frozen in ce, paddle clenched tight.


    His expression darkened as he heard the host’s voice on stage. “Number fifty-seven bids eight million. Any other bids?”


    Marc looked like he wanted to keep going, but reality hit. No way was he going to drop eight million on jade.


    His hand finally dropped.


    “Eight million once. Twice. Three times—sold!” The gavel hit.


    A few minutester, the jade was delivered directly to Ste’s seat.


    She swiped her card with effortless grace and handed the piece to Sharon without hesitation.


    “It’s yours now,” she said, loud enough for Marc to hear. “What’s meant for you will always find its way to you. And what isn’t… well, it can’t be forced. I guess Mr. Walsh liked the jade too. Too bad Walsh Group’s been tankingtely. Eight million’s a tough ask these days, huh?”


    Marc’s face darkened, his jaw tight as he stared at her. His hand curled into a fist.


    He wasn’t trying to win the jade for himself. He just wanted to do something nice for her. Was that really so unforgivable?


    If it were William giving it to her… would she still be this cold?


    After that, Sharon was too giddy about her jade to care about the rest of the auction.


    Ste, however, nced up at the next item.


    The host began introducing it.


    And then, when the cloth was pulled back and the item revealed, Ste blinked hard. “Wait… why was that here?”


    “Ladies and gentlemen, up next is the rarest piece in today’s auction—absolutely one of a kind in the entire world,” the auctioneer dered.


    Ste froze,pletely stunned by the announcement. That item—it looked exactly like the one she had. But a top-tier auction like this wouldn’t dare sell a fake, so where had this piecee from? Her mind spiraled with questions, and she didn’t know which one to tackle first.


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