Chapter 7 Bid On Star Of The Ocean

The man was wearing a handmade black suit paired with a white shirt.

The style of his clothes seemed serious as always. His black hair was neatly combed, accentuating his natural cold expression. He also stood tall and firm, like an unshakable tower. As soon as he appeared, everyone's eyes turned to him. The aura he radiated was hard to ignore.

Brenda caught a glimpse of many people standing up and walking over to greet a man. After observing what was happening around her, she realized that the man at the center of the attention was none other than Miguel.

All of a sudden, Brenda froze. She didn't expect that Miguel would also come to this charity banquet!

How ridiculous! During the three years they had been married, they had rarely seen each other.

But now that they were divorced, they had already met several times in just a few days!

"Mr. Hamilton, you're here!" The manager of the host charity banquet bowed and respectfully welcomed Miguel. "Your assistant, Mr. Steven Gibson, called me to inform that you were coming. I'm so flattered that you decided to grace us with your presence! Please come with me. I've already arranged a VIP room just for you."

Then, the manager wiped the sweat forming on his forehead, hoping that Natalie and the others would lower their voices when they spoke.

They were talking so loud as if they wanted the word "cuckold" to echo throughout the hall.

Someone motioned for Natalie to look at the door and murmured, "Natalie, shh! Stop saying that. Miguel's here!"

"Miguel? He's here?" Natalie had liked Miguel for a long time. So, when she heard that he was present, her eyes lit up, and she ran straight to the door.

However, before she could move any further, she heard a cold female voice behind her. "Miss Powell, I'm afraid that you can't decide whether I'm qualified to see the Star of the Ocean. Soon, the reality will tell you that not only am I qualified, but that I'm also its rightful owner."

Natalie stopped in her tracks and looked back in disbelief.

She saw Brenda stroking the poster with the back of her hand, staring at it with twinkling eyes as though it was the most precious thing in the world. Those confident words must've come from her.

From the looks of it, Miguel's sudden arrival didn't seem to evoke any reaction from her.

Upon hearing what Brenda had said, Natalie snorted and shrugged it off. She didn't take Brenda's words seriously. After all, anyone could brag.

"Don't overestimate yourself!" Natalie said coldly before leaving.

Once she was gone, Brenda took a deep breath and returned her attention to the poster. Her back was facing Lukas.

"Our whole family has spoiled Natalie. Don't mind what she said," Lukas said. Since he couldn't see Brenda's expression, he thought she was unhappy and irritated by what Natalie had said.

"It's okay. I'm used to it." Brenda was trying her best to remain calm and composed because Miguel was here.

They were already divorced and at odds with each other.

But right now, she had to focus. She only had one goal in coming here: to get the Star of the Ocean.

Soon, the charity auction began. The first things to be auctioned were only small items. It didn't take long for them to be sold.

However, the main reason why most people were here was for the last item. They were auctioning the Star of the Ocean, a piece of jewelry that had won the hearts of countless noble women.

Following Lukas, Brenda found a quiet corner and sat there. While Lukas was busy chatting with the people around, she grabbed her phone and began typing a message.

After a while, her phone buzzed. She received a reply from someone whose caller ID on her phone was "X".

"You left the design world for three years. Are you ready to come back?"

"Brenda? Brenda?" Lukas was waving his hand in front of her.

"What?" Brenda snapped back to her senses and quickly put away her phone. Lukas handed her an auction board and asked, "What's wrong? You looked like your mind was somewhere far away. Are you worried that you won't be able to get the Star of the Ocean?"

Lukas moved closer to her and continued, "Elan, the designer, disappeared almost three years ago. The Star of the Ocean is his last piece of work. It took a lot of convincing to get his assistant to agree to sell it here at the auction. Don't worry. I'll help you get it, no matter what it takes."

Brenda responded casually and looked around. However, she couldn't see any sign of Paul, a shareholder of the Sanchez Group.

She didn't know what Lukas had in mind. When she looked up, she accidentally met a cold stare from the main hall on the second floor.

For a second, her heart began to race, but she quickly calmed it down.

Brenda simply decided to turn around and pretend to ignore him.

Meanwhile, in the private room, Natalie asked a stupid question, "Miguel, my grandfather's eightieth birthday is coming soon. Will you come then?"

Miguel sat on the table, holding his glass with his slender fingers, his eyes fixed on something far away. There was a stern expression on his face.

"Miss Powell, I'm afraid you've forgotten that the Powell family and the Glory Group are sworn enemies in the business world. Mr. Powell doesn't even want to see me," Miguel replied as he withdrew his gaze and observed the grape in Natalie's hand.

Natalie wanted to feed Miguel, but she was so indecisive that her hand only froze awkwardly midair.

Miguel glanced at her indifferently and added, "I don't know you very well either. You can go now."

Then, he looked away from her and didn't utter another word.

Unconsciously, Natalie squeezed the grape in her hand, causing the juice to squirt out. Her beautiful face had turned pale.

For her, Miguel was like a god whom she looked up to with so much admiration.

Back when she would go to the Glory Group to send him meals that she had cooked herself, she was often stopped. She could only sneak in and watch outside the conference room as he held a meeting.

During the meeting, this man was completely focused. His eyes were deep and alluring. She could recall that exact scene-down to the slightest movements and changes of expression-a thousand times in her mind.

"Why won't you give me a chance even though you're already divorced to Brenda?" she uttered beneath her breath as she left the private room.

Many similar thoughts swirled in Natalie's mind. She didn't know the complex story behind Brenda and Miguel's marriage.

"Next, the last treasure of our action is the Star of the Ocean! It is designed by the young and new designer, Elan!"

As the host announced the item on display, the entire audience was on the edge of their seats, waiting with bated breath for the next process. After a while, the host said that the base price for this item was one million dollars.

This item became a collectible because its designer had disappeared for no reason. As a result, it soon became out of print. Then, after a while, its price skyrocketed to ten million dollars.

When Brenda heard Elan's name, she let out a relieved sigh.

She raised her auction board and declared calmly, "Twenty million."

Lukas couldn't help but shoot her a look of disbelief. Even the audience around them were shocked. Everyone thought it was a bit arrogant of her to double the bid price right off the bat.

"Is there a higher bid?!" the host shouted. "Twenty million! Going once. Going twice-"

"Fifty million," a cold voice rang from above. It seemed to come from the private room upstairs.

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the auction turned tense as a collective gasp rang in the hall.