L 136_The Unfaithful Mr. Scott ( Melanie Smith )

Belle nodded gently, saying, “I was told by the man who delivered her to the auction house that

 she was sold for ten billion.” 

 “Ten billion!” Emily eximed.

 She pondered in disbelief, thinking about the enormity of ten billion. Even her family, who ran apany, couldn’t amass such wealth in a lifetime.

 “Are you sure you heard that right?” she asked.

 Belle admitted, “Initially, I doubted it too. But the incident created a massive stir that night. People are still talking about it. It must be genuine.” 

 “Violet, worth ten billion?” Emily’s jealousy had reached new heights.

 Her sister was beautiful, but ten billion dors? Even if her beauty topped all other women on the

 she couldn’t be worth 10 billion dors.

 Belle spected, “Who knows? Maybe some wealthy old men, flush with cash and nowhere to

 spend it, fell for her charm.”

 To be honest, Belle was envious of this finding. She viewed Violet as nothing extraordinary.

 Why would anyone pay ten billion for her? Belle had withheld this information from Emily until she

 could verify it, finding the concept of purchasing someone for such a sum to be dubious to her.

 Emily grasped the meaning in Belle’s words, and wondered, “So, an elderly man bought her?”

 Belle neither confirmed nor denied it, as the buyer’s identity was concealed behind a mask when he went on stage. His identity, age, and other details remained unknown.

 She reasoned, “It’s a simple guess. How many young men can afford to spend ten billion dors

 on a woman? If they could, they wouldn’t need to. There are plenty of women willing to be with

 them for free. It’s likely an old man nearing his end, with more money than he can use.”

 Belle’s analysis was reasonable. Emily’s envy had finally gone, but she was still bitter about the

 oue.

 “Violet’s luck to fetch ten billion is astonishing! I doubt she’s worth even ten thousand! But now that she has been sold, it means Oliver is now avable for me,” Emily thought, findingfort in 

 the idea.

 Even though Oliver was merely a painter, the influence and power of his family’s business were

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 dors for any business transaction.

 In this context, a sum of ten billion seemed minorpared to Oliver’s worth. 

 This realization provided some relief for Emily.

 A voice cut them off their conversation. “What are you talking about? Who’s being sold and bought?”

 Patrick entered the room, his expression grim and serious, catching the mother and daughter off guard and causing them to turn pale.

 He wore a stern expression. “Who are you talking about being sold?”

 It was clear from his questioning that he had heard enough to ask for more information.

 Emily was well aware of her father’s strict demeanor. She was visibly shaken and nervous.

 In contrast, Belle maintained herposure and quickly assumed a shameless expression on her face. 

 She disclosed, “Who else but your precious daughter? I never imagined she’d stoop to such shameless and dishonorable behavior. Not only did she defying back home, but she even resorted to selling herself.” 

 Patrick’s face darkened further at these usations.

 Emily tugged on Belle’s clothes, and urged, “Mom, stop it.”

 “Why shouldn’t I say it? How many times have you tried to reason with her? Did she ever heed your advice?”

 Patrick sought confirmation. “Is this true?”

 “It’s true.”

 The affirmation came from Oliver, who had followed Patrick from behind.

 Oliver inhaled deeply to relieve the pain in his chest. When he spotted Violete out of someone else’s room that day, he wanted to strangle her.

 He also checked thereafter, and confirmed that Violet was purchased by someone.

 However, he didn’t pay attention to the specifics and chose not to delve deeper, preferring to distance himself from any further heartache associated with Violet.

 “Emily tried to persuade her toe home,” Oliver stated, “but she didn’t want to.”

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 This truth irritated him even more. What was she getting herself into for refusing toe home?

 In a moment of frustration, Patrick mmed the shoe cab forcefully, nearly causing the

 artwork above to fall.

 Before he strode into the room, he said gruffly, “Forget about her!” 

 Oliver observed the impact of Patrick’s blow. Patrick, like him, was heartbroken and hurt by Violet’sck of self–respect.

 In fac

 Oliver’s appearance caught Emily off guard. Herplexion became noticeably pale and didn’t recover despite a long time.

 The extent of what Oliver had overheard was uncertain, especially if he became aware of their

 involvement in the matter.

 “Oliver…” she uttered his name softly.

 His demeanor softened as he turned to face Emily. Oliver brushed her hair tenderly, and reassured her, “Don’t stress over Vivi’s problems. Focus on taking care of yourself.”

 At that moment, Emily was the sole focus of his gaze and attention.

 Rxed, Emily let go of her apprehension, and nodded obediently. “Alright.”

 “Oliver, would you like to stay for dinner?” Belle quickly approached him, extending the invitation.

 He shook his head. “No, thank you. I have othermitments. I was just dropping Uncle Patrick

 off.”

 With those words, Oliver exited the room.

 Lucius remained absent, as though he had disappeared from Violet’s life, not even bothering to

 call.

 This made Violet acutely aware that he was taking Emily’sments seriously, likely repulsed by

 her actions.

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L 136