Alia's words upset Lola even more, and the woman started crying while burying her face in her hands. "Harry doesn't love me at all. he only has eyes for Carla. He does not have any real feelings for me… "
"Alright, hush, hush, stop crying… " Alia embraced her daughter with her heart aching. "Silly girl, I will definitely stand up for you when the opportunity arises. Let's go to the lounge to check if you're hurt."
Meanwhile, the auction was about to begin. Loud music was being blasted in the venue.
"I feel like heading home, " Carla told Zayn. However, the latter did not hear her.
So, she leaned in closer to his ear and repeated herself, "Mr. Giblo, I feel like heading back first."
"It's still early, " Zayn put his arms around the woman's slender waist and pulled her into his arms. He brushed his cold and thin lips against her cheeks and whispered into her ears, "Was it fun to hook up with a gigolo? Huh?"
"Pfft!" Carla was speechless and flustered by his question. She panicked even more when she met his wicked gaze and tried to explain, "Actually, what happened back then was… "
"That wasn't the first time someone told me about such a matter, " Zayn said in a seductive whisper as he bit her earlobes playfully. "It seems like you're famous for hooking up with gigolos."
A numbing tingle ran across Carla's body; she felt as if she was being electrocuted.
She shuddered. Her heart was thumping so fast that she thought it was going to explode out of her chest. She hurriedly distanced herself from him as she shifted a little to the side.
Zayn couldn't help but smile faintly upon seeing how flustered the woman was.
A woman's sensitivity represented either her passion or purity. No matter which one it was, he was equally happy!
Harry was observing their interactions from a distance. He could feel his heart tightening, and his tightly clenched fists were trembling…
At that moment, he had an impulse to charge over and snatch Carla away.
"Harry, where's Lola and your mom?" Simon asked, interrupting the man's thoughts.
"They're resting at the lounge, " Harry replied with a frown.
"What happened just now? You don't look too good, " the man probed further.
"Can you ask them yourself and stop bothering me?"
Simon was taken aback by that reply. Over the years, Harry had always gentlemanly, polite, and well- mannered. He had never shown his temper, and even if there were problems, he would communicate his thoughts rationally. What's wrong with him today? Simon wondered.
"I'm so sorry… " Harry apologized as he realized that he had lost his composure. "Dad, I'm sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me."
"No worries, it's fine." Simon smiled. "I know how tormenting it can be handling those two women. Even I'm not able to stand them sometimes. Don't be angry, yeah? I'll go look for them to make sure they don't stir up any trouble again."
"Alright."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I shall now officially announce the beginning of bidding for tonight's charity auction."
With the emcee's announcement, a platform was elevated from the center of the stage.
A ruby necklace, which was placed on the crystal table, dazzled under the bright spotlight.
"Mom, I want that." Lola saw the necklace the moment she returned to the banquet hall and immediately took a liking to it.
"Don't be in a hurry, " Alia said softly. "Seven jewelry items that will be auctioned tonight. Every single one of them is a prized treasure of F Nation's royalty and extremely expensive. Besides, given the rarity of these items, their closing bids would definitely be at exorbitant prices… "
"So what if they are exorbitantly priced? It's not as if my darling is not able to afford it."
Lola limped towards the Staytons' table with her sprained ankle and deliberately extended her foot in front of Harry. She began to choke on her words as she complained, "You don't even care about me even though I'm injured. Even Simon would know how to show concern for his mom."
At that remark, Harry frowned. Even though he really wanted to ignore Lola, his heart softened after she brought up their son. So, he said, "Which do you want? I'll buy it for you."
"I want that ruby necklace." Lola pointed at the stage.
"The starting bid would be ten million, and each bid increment needs to be at least a million, " the emcee announced.
"Do you like that?" Zayn leaned towards Carla's ear and asked.
"It's not bad."
That ruby necklace reminded the woman of her father.
She had been penniless after her dad passed away, and as a last resort, she had sold the sapphire necklace her dad had given. It looked somewhat similar to the ruby necklace.
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