?Chapter 1349:


    Every head in the room swiveled toward her as a wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.


    A momentter, the auctioneer brought the hammer down, and the emerald ne was dered sold to Ste.


    She turned to William with a bright smile. “We got it. The ne is yours.”


    Her innocent expression stirred something deep in him, and he quickly shifted his gaze away. “It’s yours,” he said.


    Ste blinked, caught off guard, unsure what he meant by that.


    Before Ste could respond, an attendant approached with a velvet box cradling the ne. “Ma’am, will you be paying by check or card?”


    At that, Ste immediately turned toward William. When he made no effort to even nce her way, she faced the attendant again. “This ne was for him. He’ll handle the payment.”


    The attendant looked over at William, clearly recognizing him, but William’s distant expression offered no cooperation whatsoever. With no choice, the attendant said, “Ma’am, our policy is that the winning bidder pays. You may request the amount from Mr. Briggs privately.”


    Ste stared at him in disbelief. “William, say something! The ne is for you, not me!”


    Even if she emptied every card she owned, she couldn’t scrape together eight million.


    William finally turned his eyes on her, cold and sharp. His voice cut through the air. “I never said that.”


    The words hit her like a final judgment.


    The nearby guests, already fascinated by the astonishing eight-million-dor bid, now fixed their attention on Ste, eager to watch the drama unfold.


    Herplexion drained of color as realization sank in. This—this humiliation—was exactly the punishment William had nned.


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    He had made her raise the bid sky-high, then left her to shoulder the disgrace alone.


    “Ma’am, check or card? If you don’t make payment within ten minutes, the item will be re-auctioned, and you’ll be permanently banned from our events.” The attendant’s warning made her breath hitch.


    Then came the whispers.


    “Why bid if she can’t pay? She sounded so sure when she shouted eight million. I thought she was some big-shot billionaire.”


    “She’s totally the type who depends on men. She must’ve assumed Mr. Briggs would cover her, but he doesn’t care about her at all. Now look at her—serves her right.”


    “What augh. Why would Mr. Briggs even bring someone like her? She didn’t even have a proper seat. Completely out of her depth here.”


    The mocking voices piled on, one after another.


    At first, Ste expected to crumble under the shame. And yes, embarrassment wed at her—but as their ridicule grew louder, something inside her loosened.


    Of course. She had never belonged in their world. William was the one who dragged her in, just to put her on disy and watch her crumble, convinced she would be too mortified to push back.


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