My Substitute Wife is a Bigwig (Loud and Lily)

After the commotion, the auction kicked off smoothly.

The Weiss family might not be one of the Four Great Families of Bridgeport, but the disgruntled Hidden Families had no choice but to follow the rules laid down by Layton.

After all, a member of Alchos was in charge of the security. No one from the Hidden Families or the Four Great Families would want to get into trouble with Alchos.

The first item on auction was a pair of limited edition earrings designed by Gabriel King-so rare that it was the only one of its kind in the world.

The Aurum family had offered the earrings up for auction at a starting price of ten grand.

"Fifty grand!" Right after the earrings were up for auction, Yolanda eagerly raised her paddle and increased the bid by fivefold.

Lily turned her attention to Yolanda's box with an unreadable look in her eyes. The jewelry designed by Gabriel King had always been coveted by rich ladies, evident in the fifty-grand bid for the earrings.

In each round, Yolanda would increase the bidding price by 50 grand, showing her determination to win the earrings.

However, Yolanda was surprised and irked when other bidders competed against her for a mere pair of earrings. In the heat of the moment, she yelled, "Six hundred grand!"

Leaning against the stairs, she yelled into the hall, "I'm from the Albott family, and I have set my eyes on the earrings. Who else would like to bid against me?"

Yolanda was practically fuming. She had not wanted to pressure her competition with her social status, but she couldn't believe that the other bidders had pushed the price up to 500 grand for a pair of earrings that could have been won with a hundred grand-a mindblowing increase.

The earrings might be limited edition, but they retailed at 300 grand. Yolanda would never have put in a bid of 600 grand for the item had it not been for its exclusivity and the fact that she had longed for it. After Yolanda threatened the other bidders, no one dared bid against her out of respect for the Albotts.

Yolanda lifted her chin smugly and yelled at the auctioneer, "Since no one is putting in a bid, please seal the deal."

The auctioneer, who had planned to encourage the bidding war, had no choice but to hit the gavel. "Six hundred grand going once... Going twice..."

The auctioneer was about to hit the gavel when a frigid voice echoed from Box No. 1. "Seven hundred grand."

All eyes were on Box No. 1, and chatter ensued.

"Wow, isn't she something? How dare she go against the Albotts?"

"Anyway, she must be some important figure if she's in Box No. 1. I guess the Albotts have finally met their match."

"The lady in Box No. 1 has been quiet all this while, which I assumed to be a lack of interest in the earrings. Why did she suddenly put in a bid of 700 grand?" "Are you a fool? She's clearly finding trouble with Yolanda Albott!"

Yolanda's exquisite features contorted when she overheard the gossip in the hall. She turned around and happened to witness Lily leaving Box No. 1. Yolanda could not hold back her anger. She bellowed, "Lily Brooks, are you seriously going to make things difficult for me?"

Arching a brow provocatively, Lily slid a hand into her pocket. "Can't I bid for the items I like?"

Meanwhile, Shaun cast a look at Loid. "Since when has Lily developed an interest in jewelry?"

Lily had never been ladylike, preferring to dress up like a man. Therefore, Shaun was surprised by her interest in a pair of earrings. It felt rather odd. Loid checked out Lily, who stood outside the box like a ruffian. It amused him.

Smiling, he approached Lily and put an arm around her waist. He said to her warmly, "Put in a bid for anything you want. Is 20 million dollars enough?"

His remark dropped a bomb on the participants in the hall. Women, in particular, were swooning at him. "Gosh! Who is that? He dropped 20 million dollars just to buy a pair of earrings for his girlfriend!"

"He seems to be Loid Laurier of the Laurier family. The woman beside him should be his fiancée. Yesterday, I heard that Mr. Laurier is back in town, but I didn't expect him to attend the auction and display such generosity. I'm so envious!"

"Yeah. I'm dying of envy!"