No Wife, No Life Chapter 31

The auctioneer's jaw dropped, his face frozen for a second.

After a quick pause, he finally blurted out, "Thirty million dollars!"

The whole room went dead silent, like even the air stopped moving.

Sure, at an auction like this, anything could happen. For these high-society types, seeing items go for tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, wasn't unheard of.

But still, they knew the value of this item.

It was just an ordinary ruby hairpin, decent quality but nothing extraordinary.

Three million dollars was its max value; anything more was just crazy.

Everyone here was a business elite and understood this well. Who would spend ten times the price on a hairpin?

Except for someone like Caden, a playboy who did things purely on a whim.

So, while everyone was shocked, no one raised their paddle to bid against him.

Seeing the item that was nearly hers being taken away, and by Harper no less, Emily's face turned pale with anger.

She pouted and said, "Alex, Mr. Elikin is so arrogant, he doesn't respect you at all."

Alex was also feeling frustrated.

Caden, that lunatic!

As the head of the Elikin Group, was he being too reckless? He should know the value of the item; paying such a high price was not worth it and was just inflating the price.

Unable to hold back, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Caden.

[This isn't the place for your antics! You're just causing mutual harm. What's the benefit for you?]

After sending the message, he looked over and raised his phone to signal Caden.

Sure enough, Caden glanced at his phone and then typed a response.

Alex's phone chimed with a new message.

He looked down, his expression growing darker.

The message read: [If we're going to play, let's make it thrilling. After all, I'm a playboy, and spending a fortune for a beauty's smile is worth it.]

Alex glared at Caden, who just winked back nonchalantly.

"Thirty million dollars, going twice!" The auctioneer called out.

No one responded.

"Alex!" Emily's face was full of grievance.

By now, the ruby hairpin's significance had diminished; she was more concerned about who would get it.

She certainly didn't want Harper to win.

Alex frowned deeply, saying nothing.

He weighed his options and ultimately felt it wasn't worth it.

At that moment, the auctioneer's gavel came down, "Thirty million dollars, sold!"

The room erupted in applause.

The auctioneer was also thrilled, his eyebrows practically dancing with excitement.

"Congratulations to our winning bidder! Would the gentleman please come up and say a few words?" The auctioneer said enthusiastically.

Caden didn't hesitate, striding up with a satisfied expression.

The auctioneer carefully placed the hairpin in a wooden box and handed it to Caden.

"If I may ask, what makes this hairpin so special to you? Does it hold some particular significance?"

Usually, when an unremarkable item fetched such a high price, it was because the buyer had a special attachment to it.

Caden shrugged, a playful smile on his lips.

"Honestly, this hairpin doesn't mean much to me."

He spoke casually, like thirty million dollars was just pocket change.

Then, his eyes turned towards Harper, filled with a tender gaze.

"But, I have someone I like, and I want to give this hairpin to her."

His words caused a stir.

The auctioneer, surprised, asked, "Oh, I see. This person must be very special to you. With a thoughtful man like you, she must be blissfully happy."

The room burst into applause again.

Many women looked towards Harper with envy.

"Is it her? She's so lucky!"

People in the circle recognized Caden and started whispering.

"Who is Mr. Elikin giving this to? I haven't heard of him liking anyone recently."

"Who knows, but is Mr. Elikin serious this time?"

The auctioneer, noticing the speculation, smiled and suggested, "Is this special person here? Would you like to give it to her in person?"

Caden laughed, "Why not?"

All eyes were on Caden, waiting to see who the lucky woman was.

Emily was fuming.

"Alex, is Harper really going to accept his gift? What does that make you?"

Alex felt a mix of emotions.

He had heard Caden's words clearly. For some reason, he felt inexplicably irritated.

He picked up his phone again and sent a message to Harper.

[Are you really going to accept a gift from another man?]

He emphasized "another man" to remind her that it wasn't from him.

Harper saw the message.

Her expression was cold as she quickly replied.

[Other women can accept your gifts, why can't I accept gifts from another man?]

Alex stared at the message, speechless.

Her rebuttal was flawless.

He had to admit that Harper was very clever.

She knew Alex was bidding on the hairpin to give it to Emily.

Caden had said he would help her win, so he bid high for the hairpin.

Why shouldn't she accept it?

[You really think he's serious about you?]

[Mr. Lavien, this is my business. I'll handle it myself. What does it have to do with you?]

She knew Caden was just putting on a show for them. There was no real affection involved.

But so what? Teaming up with him temporarily wasn't a bad idea.

At that moment, Caden was already walking down.

He went straight to Harper, his eyes soft and affectionate.

"Ms. Orsini, please accept my first gift to you."

First gift? Did he mean there would be many more?

The spotlight focused on Harper, making her look stunningly beautiful.

People in the audience started whispering again.

"Oh my, that's Ms. Orsini from the Lavien Group, right? I know her. She's Mr. Lavien's right-hand woman. What is Mr. Elikin doing? Is he openly trying to steal her from Mr. Lavien?"

"I don't get it either. Does Ms. Orsini plan to leave the Lavien Group?"

"No way. I bet Ms. Orsini would never betray Mr. Lavien. They've always been close."

Under everyone's gaze, Harper smiled, then took the wooden box from Caden's hand and softly said, "Thank you!"