Save Myself from Desperation

Jessica pretended to be considerate and shook her head. “There’s no need, Frankie. Jeremy already spent six million dollars on the piano just now. | don’t want you all to spend any more on me.”

Frankie frowned, “Six million dollars? What happened?”

Jeremy promptly recounted the trick of Ashley driving up the price, still seething with anger as he recalled it.

After hearing the story, Frankie’s gaze turned icy as he looked toward the private room on the second floor.

He thought, ‘How dare Ashley to bully Jessica like that? She is really too audacious. Even though Jessica once falsely accused her and wronged her, Jessica is still young, just a child. Does Ashley really need to hold. onto that grudge and bully Jessica like this? Can’t Ashley be a bit more forgiving?”

Seeing Jessica’s restrained and aggrieved demeanor, Frankie

sympathetically ruffled her hair, saying, “Don’t be sad, Jessica. The piano was a gift from Jeremy. I’ll secure for this necklace and give it to you as a gift.”

Tears shimmered in Jessica’s eyes as she slyly added fuel to the fire by saying, “Frankie, | heard Ashley also likes necklaces designed by Violet. Why don’t you bid for it and give it to Ashley instead? That way, we can coax her back to the Ramos Villa and stop her from running away from home. | really want Ashley to come back.”

At these words, Frankie, Jeremy, and Evan were deeply moved.

One of them thought, ‘Even in such a situation, Jessica still thinks of Ashley. How kind and sensible Jessica is. In contrast, how does she behave as an older sister? In what way can Ashley compare to Jessica?”

Admiring his daughter’s sensible demeanor, Evan mused, ‘So what if Jessica isn’t my biological daughter? Where else can | find such an understanding and caring girl?”

As the head of the family, Evan spoke up. “Alright, Jessica, even if we give the necklace to Ashley, she won't appreciate it. Besides, is she even worthy of it? She'll only degrade its value!

“Frankie is managing the Ramos family’s business now. It’s nothing for

him to bid for a necklace and give it to you. My dear daughter, just accept it, okay?”*****

Once Evan spoke, Jessica no longer resisted and pretended to accept reluctantly. “Well...if you say so, Dad, Ill accept it.”

While Jessica appeared compliant, she was secretly pleased with herself.

She not only managed to get Frankie to bid the necklace for her, but also further tarnished Ashley’s image in the eyes of the Ramos family. Jessica was killing two birds with one stone.

As the auctioneer announced the starting bid for the ‘Bluelove’ necklace, many guests in the audience began to bid.

“Four million six hundred thousand dollars!”

“Five million dollars!”

“Six million dollars!”

“Seven million two hundred thousand dollars!”

The bidders included both men and women. The ladies wanted it for themselves, while the men thought of giving it to their loved ones or family members.

After all, the sapphire necklace was truly stunning.

Many women in the crowd were captivated by its beauty.

The auctioneer tirelessly fueled the excitement, “Alright, eight million dollars! The current bid is eight million dollars by Mr. Hall, number 40! Any more bids?”

“Eight million four hundred thousand dollars!”

“Nine million dollars!”

“10 million dollars!”

“10.2 million dollars!”

Once the bids surpassed 10 million dollars, the increments became much smaller. Initially, the bids were increasing by several hundred thousand dollars, but now they were mostly going up by 200 thousand dollars at a

time.

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The number of bidders was plentiful at the beginning, their voices overlapping, but only a few remained by now.

After all, not every guest had the financial capability to continue.

The auctioneer looked toward the row at the back left. “Now we have Mr.. Smith at number 13 bidding 10.4 million dollars! Any more bids, please raise your paddles!”

Frankie raised his paddle. “11 million dollars!”

He increased the bid by 600 thousand dollars in one go.

Observing this, Ashley raised her eyebrows and pondered, ‘It seems Frankie is intent on winning this for Jessica. Judging by his demeanor, he is determined to get it.”

man

As Ashley expected, right after Frankie’s bid, another wealthy on the other side of the hall followed suit. “11.2 million dollars!” Frankie glanced over indifferently and raised the bid. “11.6 million. dollars!”

The wealthy man became more competitive. “12 million dollars!”

Frankie raised his paddle again. “12.6 million dollars!”

Without the auctioneer’s prompting, the two engaged in a bidding war. As the price reached 12 million dollars, the number of bidders dwindled even more, leaving only Frankie and the wealthy man in competition.. The rest of the audience’s attention was riveted on these two, curious to see who would give in first.

The wealthy man gritted his teeth and shouted, “13 million dollars!”

Not expecting him to be so persistent, Frankie showed a slight change in his composed demeanor. “1 3.2 million dollars!”

The increments of the bids were not as large as before, indicating that Frankie was nearing his budget limit.

The wealthy man, still competitive, countered. “1 3.6 million dollars!”

Frankie, no longer as calm as before but glancing at Jessica beside him, still raised his paddle. “1 3.8 million dollars!”

The wealthy man hesitated for a long while before finally lowering his

paddle. 1 3.6 million dollars was already his limit. He couldt bid any higher.

Seeing the wealthy man give up, Frankie inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought, ‘If the bidding had continued, I’m not sure how much longer | could have held on.’

Realizing the outcome, the other guests began murmuring in hushed voices, “It seems Frankie really does have deep pockets!” “Hmm? But I’ve never heard about Frankie having a wife. Who is he buying the necklace for?”

“It must be for his sister.”

“His sister?”

“That’s the Ramos family heiress, Jessica! The lady sitting next to Jeremy and Evan!”

“Speaking of which, | remember that Ashley, the one who drove up the price earlier, is also a Ramos family heiress, the long-lost daughter they finally found, right?”

“You might not know, although Ashley is the biological daughter, she’s not as favored as Jessica. How can she compare with Jessica?”

“That’s not right. I’ve seen Ashley before. Whether it’s in looks or demeanor, Ashley is much better than Jessica!”

“It's true that people will only spend money on those they love! The Ramos family doesn’t spend a penny on Ashley, clearly showing disdain for their true heiress.”

“So, it's Jessica who's really lucky, doted on by her parents and brothers. Who knows, maybe she'll even inherit all of the Ramos family’s wealth someday.”

These conversations were in hushed tones, but Jessica occasionally caught two snippets. Hearing people envy her fortune, her vanity was greatly satisfied.

She mused, This is the life | deserve, basked in everyone’s admiration. Ashley should be beneath me, not even worthy to be my s ervant! This necklace is as good as mine. | can’t wait to flaunt it in front of Ashley!”

The auctioneer on the stage raised his gavel and excitedly asked, “This ‘Bluelove’ sapphire necklace, bid by Mr. Frankie Ramos at 1 3.8 million dollars! Any more bids?

“Since there are no more bids, 1 3.8 million dollars going once! 1 3.8 million dollars going twicel 1 3.8 million dollars...”

Just at that moment, a deep, ma gnetic voice rang out from the di rection of the second-floor private room.

“20 million dollars!”