"Your fiancée is a beautiful little flower, Mr. Williams. Better keep an eye on her next time."

Ella blushed slightly.

This demon… He's really not afraid of stirring up trouble.

Lucien stared at Eden's back and said with a sneer, "What a loser."

Ella pursed her lips, knowing that it was a good thing that Lucien was arrogant and probably wouldn't even think that Ella would cross paths with a man like Eden. However, the corner of Ella's mouth turned down. That so-called "loser" was someone Lucien wouldn't stand a chance against!

"Let's go," Ella said, taking Lucien's arm and walking into the banquet hall. This time, when she returned to the hall, Ella became much more proactive. She politely greeted and talked to the people coming and going, drank lightly, and displayed all of her upper-class mannerisms with grace.

Lucien was taken aback by Ella's transformation and couldn't resist asking, "Ella, I've noticed a significant change in you. Before, you seemed hesitant to interact with strangers, but now you handle it with ease."

Before, it wasn't that she wasn't able to – it was that she didn't want to.

She smiled faintly, offering a compliment to Lucien, "You're always so charming and at ease in these gatherings, it inspires me to put my best foot forward."

Lucien's face brightened with happiness as he responded to her comment, "Silly girl... You know, one of the reasons I strive to be successful is to make your life better." Ella chuckled softly but remained quiet, prompting him to add, "And I'd be utterly heartbroken if you became a social butterfly."

"I'll live within my means," Ella replied firmly, quickly growing tired of being wishy-washy with him.

At that moment, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed, signaling the official start of the charity auction, which was the main event of the night. A man walked to the center of the stage, and a spotlight illuminated him.

"Hello everyone! It's a great honor to have all of you VIPs join us at Seattle's annual charity dinner. On behalf of Seattle's charities, I want to express my gratitude for your presence..." The charismatic opening speech captured the attention of the entire hall, drawing all eyes to the stage.

The opening remarks concluded, and the host swiftly moved on to explain and initiate bids for each of the night's charities. As the auction began, the atmosphere in the hall grew lively with excitement and anticipation.

Lucien turned to Ella with a smile, "See anything you like? I'd like to get something special for you as a wedding gift."

Ella's eye twitched slightly.

In her past life, when Lucien had asked her if she had any favorites at the charity auction, she had replied that she didn't have any preferences. As a result, Lucien had given one of the charity items to Zoey. Zoey had then "unintentionally" revealed the gift on social media, causing quite a stir in Seattle. Ella had to clarify the situation on her Twitter account back then, excusing her fiancé's actions.

In retrospect, she really did humiliate herself with that one…

Ella pushed aside the memories and replied, "I've heard that tonight's finale auction item is the sapphire from Queen Diana's crown in the 18th century. I've seen pictures of it, and I think it's beautiful."

"Alright…" Lucien replies, a bit hesitant.

He couldn't help but be taken aback. Ella had never shown much interest in luxurious items, especially when it came to him buying them for her. He had even promised to purchase a string of bracelets for Zoey earlier. He didn't have the budget to buy both of them…

Ella purposely ignored Lucien's apprehension and focused all her attention on the stage.

Finally, the item she had been waiting for arrived. They had saved the best for last.

The host exaggerated as he introduced it, then banged his gavel, crying, "The Crown Sapphire, starting at $5 million dollars, with a $100,000 minimum bid! Begin!"

Several people began to place their bids.

"6 million!"

"6.5 million!"

"6.8 million!"

In the darkness, a familiar male voice suddenly rang out: "10 million!"

And it wasn't Lucien.

Lucien had been about to raise his hand when he was suddenly stunned by the price for a second. Everyone at the scene was frozen by the suddenly high price. They couldn't help but stare at Eden.

At that moment, Cendy stood beside Ella and couldn't help but remark, "Eden?! That bastard… always throwing his money around like nothing."

"He's just leaning on his family's money just to start something," Lucien said sarcastically. His tone was ice-cold as he scowled and raised his hand, shouting, "11 million!"

Naturally, proud men like them couldn't help themselves.

"15 million!" Eden called.

Lucien's face contorted into an expression of hatred.

"Sixteen!" Lucien raised the price.

"Twenty!" Eden grinned.

It was evident that Lucien was appearing particularly petty. His budget for the night was only $10 million – maybe $15 million at most.

Now…

Lucien's face showed an uncharacteristic ugliness. Everyone's eyes were on him, watching expectantly.

Outsiders didn't know that the Williams's funds were critically low at the moment. Today, they came to participate in the charity auction with the intention of proving that Williams Group was doing fine, aiming to dispel internal rumors and secure grants from the bank and investments from other businessmen. They had hoped to raise over $10 million, but raising $20 million or even more seemed beyond their capabilities.

Lucien stoically tried to maintain his composure, but his body was shaking uncontrollably. Growing up so extravagant, he had never experienced such humiliation before.

"$20 million going once!" The host called loudly as he saw that no one was raising the bid.

Eden didn't even look at Lucien; his face was cloudy and distant. This made Lucien feel as though Eden didn't consider him worthy of attention or respect.

"Going twice!"

"Going three ti–"

"25!" Ella suddenly blurted out.

The clear female voice caused an uproar among everyone in the banquet hall. Lucien was taken aback when Ella suddenly raised the bid. He couldn't help but whisper, "Eden is hiking up the price on purpose, don't fall for it." However, Ella ignored his warning.

When Eden inevitably raised – "$30 million!" – Ella was ready to follow suit.

But Lucien stopped her. He pulled Ella's hand down, and everyone watched, intrigued. Ella looked at him in the same manner.

The reason Lucien hurried to stop her was that he simply couldn't afford to pay that price. He met everyone's gaze but didn't offer any explanation to Ella, assuming she'd forgive him right away like usual. He didn't think to consider her feelings.

He sighed and said, "If Mr. Dillon likes it so much, he can have it. I'll be the bigger man and let him have his prize."

"Oh," Eden chuckled, goading Lucien. "I heard the sapphire was your wedding gift to Ms. Ford. You don't want to get it for her anymore?"

Lucien glared at him, jaw clenched.

Despite knowing the potential consequences, Eden intentionally raised the price higher and higher, clearly showing that he was doing it out of spite.

Eden smiled lightly, his voice retaining its magnetic charm. "I just thought that since Mr. Williams loves his bride-to-be so dearly, I should raise the price a bit. This way, Mr. Williams could express his love to the fullest. Perhaps I was mistaken..."

"Love should not be measured by money," Lucien asserted self-righteously.

Eden smiled again and inquired, "Mr. Williams, are you certain you don't want it?"

"I'm sure," Lucien nodded with mock courtesy.

At that moment, Eden appeared to direct his gaze toward Ella. Ella felt that every time Eden looked at her, his eyes seemed full of indifference, gently glancing but emanating an undeniable sense of raw power.