As soon as the host finished speaking, all the lights were turned off in an instant, except for a spotlight
illuminating the glass box in the center of the stage. The necklace rested on a crimson flannel fabric at
the bottom of the box, the bright reflection it exuded drawing everyone’s attention. “The necklace
named Beloved was designed by the famous French jewelry designer Louis Joe, which depicts eternal
love.
The blue diamond on it was the world’s purest blue diamond. It was one-of-a-kind, exactly like the
necklace’s name suggested. One and only Beloved. And the designer left a special surprise for the
future owner of this necklace behind the pendant, inscribing it with the word ‘Beloved itself,” the host
said in a soft and slow tone. Beloved, the love of my life.
She had heard about the origin of this necklace while she was still in the Red Hackers, but she had
thought of it as a joke back then. It was said that there was a girl who grew up with Louis, and the two
of them were very close to each other. But later on, there was an economic recession in France that
had brought bankruptcy and poverty upon the girl’s family. Her parents died within a short period of
time, leaving her all alone and burdened by a huge amount of debt.
The girl tried to find Louis for help, but she was turned away by his parents. Louis never saw her again
and his parents decided to move to a different place to avoid letting them meet. They used to be so
close and had a very special bond. But in the end, they separated and never heard from each other
again. Later on, Louis built a name for himself in the jewelry design industry, but he never forgot about
the girl.
Despite his family’s objections, he returned to the place they would always visit together. He waited for
her every day but unfortunately, she never showed up. After searching for her whereabouts for years,
he finally got her address. When he went to the place, he was so overjoyed. But that happiness was
short-lived. People told him that the girl had died on the street in the winter of the year his family moved
because of excessive fatigue.
The room that belonged to her was left untouched by the landlord because he felt sorry for her The
items and the walls in her room were full of their memories together in the past. When he realized how
much he meant to her, Louis slumped and cried in the room. Heartbroken, he went back and continued
his jewelry design career.
Since then, he designed countless of jewelry, but the majority of it was focused on family and
friendship. It was not until he was forty that he announced to the public that he had designed a very
special necklace.
This necklace was Beloved. He had spent ten whole years creating this necklace for the girl he loved.
On the day of the press conference, he announced that he would not get married for the rest of his life.
And of course, someone asked him why. He gently smiled and looked at the necklace and said,
“Because I have someone beloved in my heart.” All his life, Louis regretted that he never got to see her
when she came to him back then.
When everyone heard the news, they were all moved by his profound love for the girl, but they were
also saddened by their tragedy. However, Rachel found it ridiculous and pathetic. Louis was not the
one they should feel sorry for. It should be the girl. She had died missing and thinking of him. Rachel
believed that Louis never really loved the girl. He just used her as an inspiration to design jewelry and
profited off his story.
Rachel couldn’t help but feel that men were natural-born actors. “Let us begin the auction. The starting
price is twenty million!” “Twenty million and five hundred thousand!” “Twenty-one million!” “Twenty-three
million!” As soon as the host finished speaking, all of the debutantes present began bidding. Their eyes
were full of excitement, eager to get the necklace. Soon, the price hiked to thirty million dollars.
When Victor noticed that Rachel was focused on the necklace, he gave Ivan a look. “Fifty million.” Ivan
immediately nodded and placed a bid. When the other bidders heard this, they all came to a halt and
took a deep breath. The price had almost doubled from thirty million to fifty! And Ivan was here on
Victor’s behalf. The ladies were all disappointed when they saw that Victor had his eyes on the
necklace. Who would dare to go head-to-head with him?
They didn’t have the courage to fight with him even if they had the money. No one dared to offend
Victor, the man who was now in charge of Sullivan Group. If they still wanted to survive in Apliaria, they
shouldn’t go against him. The hall was now deafeningly quiet. The stunned host came to her senses
and glanced at the crowd.
She smiled to ease the awkwardness. “Mr. Sullivan bids fifty million. Is there anyone else? If not, fifty
million…” “Fifty-five million.” The host was abruptly interrupted by a voice. Hearing this, everyone
turned their head towards the voice’s direction. Before Rachel could recover from the shock that Victor
wanted the necklace, she heard someone raise the bid.
She turned her head and saw Roger in a suit sitting on the left side of the aisle, raising the card in his
hand. The host cleared her throat and quickly said, “Mr. Jimenez bids fifty-five million!” A cold light
flashed in Victor’s eyes. Noticing his piercing gaze, Roger looked into his eyes and smiled gently.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda