Forced Marriage: My Wife, My Redemption by Lilyheart

Chapter 430 430: Bid

A collective hush fell across the hall at the announcement. One of the agents stepped forward to unveil the item.

The glass dwas lifted, and the necklace was brought forward, displayed on a black velvet bust. Its glow

under the lights drew gasps from the crowd.

Murmurings echoed softly across the hall as each of the guests had something to say about it.

"The Duchess's necklace," the auctioneer said proudly, "is a thirteen-carat blue diamond, rare in both color and

clarity, surrounded by thirty-six flawless diamonds set in platinum. Crafted in the 1800s, it once belonged to the

Duchess of Zainland.

Since then, it has passed through three generations of nobility and was last seen at the Duchess's coronation

gala. Tonight, for the first tin over a century, it is presented to the world again. Bidding shall begin at one

million dollars."

In Julian's cubicle, the digital bid pad glowed green, a sign to show it was ready to announce the buyer's bid, and

numerics were displayed on the touch pad to be used for the bidding.

His gaze lingered for a while on the necklace glittering under the spotlight.

With the auctioneer already stating the bid to start off at one million, he took a deep breath and decisively

pressed two million.

Gasps erupted in the hall, a low murmur coursing through the hall at how high the bidding had started off.

In Davis's cubicle, his brow furrowed as his gaze settled on the stage where the necklace was placed as though

he was reassessing the worth.

A fierce determination brimming in his eyes as they locked on the digital bidding pad before him. His lips curled

up with a smirk as he raised the bid to three million.

But just as he pressed three million, Julian raised the bid for four million.

"Who's in that room?" Davis asked coldly. It wasn't the price that concerned him but the intent and the urgency

behind the other bidder.

"I'll go find out," Ethan offered, stepping toward the door.

"Forget it." Davis stopped him with a sharp tone. Without hesitation, he pressed again. "Seven million."

The hall erupted into loud gasps.

While Julian and Davis were busy bidding unscrupulously, the situation inside Jessica's cubicle was anything but

calm.

She had arrived at this auction with the plan of searching out a particular piece of her mother's jewelry, sold

away by George Brown immediately after she died.

For years, Jessica had chased every rumor, every auction, every lead but she didn't expect all her plans would

always go south.

From the tof unveiling the last item on the list "the Duchess's necklace" Jessica felt her heart stir with an

unfamiliar feeling.

Her gaze lingered on the necklace under the spotlight, the blue diamond glittering with such brilliance that it

seemed almost alive, pulsing with a rhythm that tugged at her heartstrings.

She felt her breath catch, her head ache, but she didn't give it a thought and simply rubbed the throbbing

temple dismissively.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to look away, but the longer she stared, the less she saw the auction house, the

curtains, the polished stage or the auctioneer's smile.

Instead, her vision blurred, as though she was being drawn into a forced trance.

But then all she saw was blue.

The sshade of blue.

An intricate design of a necklace but different from the item on stage.

"Familiar..." she whispered, dazed.

She felt the familiarity so uncanny as though she had cinto contact with it.

Yet the question pulsating in her mind was where and when?

Her temples throbbed. Her head buzzed, hammering against her skull, low at first, then slowly it rose like a

storm.

She shut her eyes, hoping to block it out, but instead, flashes came.

Several images flickered in flashes that vanished as quickly as they came, and she was unable to register any

clear image of whatever dream she was in.

At first, it was a table with scattered sketches on papers under a bright light. A blurry image of a man beside her,

a voice echoing, "Blue."

"Blue."

She couldn't pick out any other word said. Yet it seemed the mouth was moving continuously, and the face, no

matter how she tried, she couldn't make it out.

Why she strained her ear hoping to hear what the voice was saying.

A soft whimper escaped her lips as she gasped, clutching her forehead as it throbbed harder, the pain

sharpened, the buzzing louder now than what she had experienced since waking.

Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead in torrents.

Richard's heart skipped a beat as he watched her frantically clutching her head, a low groan escaping her lips.

He looked around the cubicle, yet there was nothing he noticed that might have triggered her memory.

Several questions coursed through his mind, yet he drew one conclusion...memory stress.

He bent beside her quickly, alarmed by her trembling. "Jessica? Jessica, can you hear me?" His voice was calm

but urgent.

Yet she wasn't responding, but seemed to be trapped in her own world, muttering incoherently.

He pulled out his phone to call Davis, but on a second thought, his hand paused.

Richard carefully studied the situation and decided she couldn't be taken out of the cubicle in this condition, and

decided to wait.

He was certain nothing could be done to help her out of this situation. Though the environment was wrong, this

would have definitely happened sooner or later.

With a steady breath, he called the driver to fetch pain relievers.

Meanwhile, Jessica could no longer register the presence of the auction going on around her aside from a low,

deep chuckle. She could feel the softness and gentleness in the familiar voice, "Are you a crybaby?"

The question was followed by several flashes she couldn't even grasp.

It was as though the nerves in her head were struggling to secure a position amongst themselves.

Her knees weakened. She gripped the armrest of her seat, struggling to hold herself together.

She took deep, calming breaths hoping to ease her pain.

Just then, a gentle, soft, tender and worried voice echoed through her dark, "Babe, are you okay?"

With the question, she felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured on her. Her eyes snapped open.

She glanced around but was met with Richard's worried face.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

Richard shook his head. "Are you feeling pain anywhere?"

She shook her head lightly, though it still felt heavy. "What happened?" she repeated.

Richard's gaze was still fixed on her worriedly. "Did you remember anything?" he probed.

Jessica thought for a while, trying to access her memory, but shook her head again. Richard's shoulders sagged.

His lips parted to say more, but the voice of the auctioneer tore through the silence of the hall, snapping their

talk to a stop.

"Nine million!"

In Davis's cubicle, his fist clenched briefly. He was now certain the person bidding against him must have had

either of two purposes.

Either he was also anxious to get this necklace, or he wanted to increase the price.

Davis chuckled lightly. If the purpose was the latter, surely he had succeeded.

He waited to see if another bidder would counter the bid.

Silence.

"Nine million. Going?" the auctioneer's voice boomed through the hall.

Silence.

"Nine million. Going?"

The more he looked at this necklace, the more pleased he was with it. Davis increased the bid decisively, his fist

clenched.

"Ten million!" the auctioneer announced, amazed and surprised, and the audience pulsed with energy and

excitement.

It was clear the bid for this necklace had skyrocketed more than expected, but Davis didn't care.

What mattered was just a response. A response he hoped to hear if he returned hwith it.

A response, a soft smile that had motivated him to bid harder.

In Julian's cubicle, his brow furrowed

at the auctioneer's voice. Maywefh

beside Rim paledt Hé fds both

stared and worried as his mind

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"Who was the one in that cubicle when you checked?"

Maxwell swallowed hard.

When the competition turned fierce,

Julian had asked him to check, but

on his return Ng gibi a feSponse,

he had W&dy bid nine million, and

just when he thought there was no

need, they heard ten million. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

His heart rippled with trepidation, but

now wasn't the Tegel in a

fem exatehiS lip parted, and two

ords tumbled out. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

"Davis Allen."

A hush swept the room.

Julian froze. His lips, already parted to counter the bid, closed, and he choked on his saliva.

His head slowly turned to meet Maxwell's gaze. "What... did... you just say?" His voice was laced with surprise

and unbelief.

"Davis Allen," he repeated, his head lowered, not meeting Julian's gaze.

Julian glanced at the cubicle, which was just a few metres away from him, a low smirk on his lips.

"Is Davis buying this for my sister?"

"I should have known he was the one. Otherwise, who in Country Y would have competed so unrelentingly?"

He sighed tiredly and leaned back in his chair as he waited for the auctioneer to declare the buyer.

"Ten million, going."

The gavel struck. "Ten million, sold. Congrats to the occupants of Room seven."

Applause broke out across the hall.ding crisis... memory flash