Chapter 2My Best Choice

Throughout the auction, Lily seemed to adore every single item.

She’d mutter about how she couldn’t afford it, then bravely declare she’d work hard to buy it herself one day.

Bob, watching her pained expression, was overcome with sympathy.

With a wave of his hand, he outbid everyone for every item she glanced at, driving the prices sky-high.

She squealed with delight, wrapping her arms around his neck and covering him with kisses.

I, on the other hand, only bid once.

On the very last item: a men’s wristwatch.

It was a deep sapphire blue, with a design that was understated yet elegant.

It perfectly matched the man I had in mind. A perfect gift to celebrate our marriage. He would love it.

After securing my gift, I was about to leave when Bob called out to me.

He was standing with the event organizer, who was holding a long list of transactions.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

Bob took the list and held it out to me, his tone one of magnanimous charity. “Don’t say I never give you a chance. Pay for all of this, and I’ll grace you with my presence for dinner tonight.”

I glanced at the list. Fifteen items.

Because of Lily's constant exclamations and Bob's relentless bidding, what should have cost less than a hundred million had been driven up to a staggering 2.5 billion.

Seeing my hesitation, Lily righteously pointed a finger at me. “Miss Thorne, a relationship should be equal. As Bob’s girlfriend, you let him pay for everything you eat and wear without spending a dime of your own. Now he asks you to spend a little money on some gifts for him, and you refuse? You say you love him, but you’re just a hypocrite.”

Bob, who had seemed slightly hesitant, was apparently swayed by this logic.

His expression became one of entitlement. He lowered his voice.

“Lily is my wife now. I’m giving you a chance to get on her good side. If you make her unhappy, I might not even let you be my mistress. Now, pay for it.”

Looking at the smug, self-assured face of the man before me, I almost laughed.

The food and clothes he supposedly paid for were the leftover cake Lily didn't want, the extra porridge she was too full to drink. And I was living in the villa my father bought for me, a villa I was kicked out of after I caught them together, only to be accused of having a dirty mind.

For five years, I had been utterly captivated by that face.

But when he abandoned me at the marriage registry, that burning infatuation turned to ice.

Looking at him now, all I felt was disgust.

I felt like a blind, foolish idiot. It had taken me far too long to see the truth.

To think I wasted five years on this scum.

Seeing my silence, Bob impatiently snatched the watch box from my hand.

Before I could stop him, he had torn open the packaging and strapped it onto his wrist.

“See? I’m even wearing the piece of junk you bought. Satisfied now? Go pay. If you keep playing games, I’ll really ignore you. Then you could come crawling back with fifty billion, and I wouldn't say a single word to you.”

Bob’s friends chimed in. “Aurora, Bob’s already giving you an out. Don’t push it. A little coyness is cute in a woman, but this is just getting nauseating.”

“Exactly. It’s only 2.5 billion. That’s pocket change for you. Don’t be so stingy. You should learn from Lily. The gift she gave Bob was something she saved up for with her part-time job money. It came from the heart.”

I looked at the cheap, out-of-place cartoon character keychain hanging from Bob’s phone.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, very heartfelt. Looks like it came out of a gumball machine.”

Lily looked as if she’d been mortally wounded. Her eyes reddened instantly, and she bit her lip, the very picture of a brave, wronged maiden.

“I may not be as rich as you, but everything I have, I earned with my own two hands. I’m cleaner than you. What right do you have to humiliate me?”

Bob wrapped his arms around her protectively, his face cold as he snapped at me, “Apologize to Lily!”

I smiled, then shoved the entire list of receipts into her hands.

“You’re right. You’re clean, and I’m dirty. So why don’t you use your clean money to buy these gifts for your dear Bob?”

Lily’s face went deathly pale. She swayed in Bob’s arms as if she were about to faint.

Bob, incandescent with rage, slapped me hard across the face.

“Aurora, I’ve given you enough chances, haven’t I? How dare you bully Lily like this! At your birthday banquet, you can get on your knees and beg, and I still won’t agree to this marriage!”

He shot me one last glare, then swept Lily up into his arms and strode away.