Everyone in the hall began making their bids.

“5.3 million dollars.”

“5.4 million dollars.”

“5.5 million dollars.”

Soon, the price of the emerald bracelet had risen to 6 million dollars.

Tessa was tired of raising the price constantly, so she decided to wait until everyone stopped bidding before she joined the bid.

However, Lester suddenly began to bid for the bracelet. “7 million dollars.”

He could tell that Tessa liked the bracelet, and since Stephen had snatched away those sapphire earrings, he would give Tessa that emerald bracelet instead.

The second Lester’s voice fell, Stephen’s cold voice rang out. “8 million dollars.”

Even the auctioneer was taken aback by the fact that someone had raised the bid by a million dollars.

He could hardly suppress the smile on his face as he said, “The bidding price is now at 8 million dollars. Does anyone want to raise the bid?”

Lester’s gaze darkened. “9 million dollars.”

Stephen did not hesitate to follow suit. “10 million dollars.”

Everyone turned to look at him, yet his expression did not falter as he maintained

his usual calm and composed demeanor.

Lester was also calm as he vocalized his bid. “11 million dollars.”

“15 million dollars,” Stephen called out with a cold smirk.

Tessa was beginning to feel annoyed by their actions. Was something wrong with their brains? Why did they feel the need to outbid each other whenever she liked an item?

Although they did not lack money, there was no need for them to waste their money like that.

Lester was adamant about outbidding Stephen. “16 million dollars.”

Stephen raised his paddle calmly. “20 million dollars.”

Lester thought, “Fine, since he’s dumb enough to spend so much money, I’ll just let him win that bracelet instead. The color is too dark, and it doesn’t suit Tessa anyway.”

In the end, Stephen won the emerald bracelet for a total of 20 million dollars.

However, Tessa was on the verge of exploding in rage. She had no interest in the following items, and she only began to bid when she saw a necklace she liked.

She then took her phone out and gave Stephen a call.

Seeing that Tessa was calling him, joy immediately filled his heart. It had been so long since Tessa had taken the initiative to call him.

A smirk tugged at his lips, and it was obvious that he was delighted.

However, Tessa immediately began to scold him when he answered the phone. His smile quickly froze as he realized he had messed up. His plan had backfired on him.

He had bid on those items in hopes of making Tessa happy, but instead, he ended up making her mad.

At that moment, Stephen felt slightly aggrieved. He lowered his voice and began to gently coax her. “I’m sorry, darling. I won’t keep raising the bid blindly again.”

“Shut up! Who’s your darling?” Tessa snapped.

“You are my darling.”

The second Stephen said those words, Tessa immediately fell into silence. Then, she hung up the phone.

Hence, when she made her bid for the necklace, Stephen listened and did not participate in the bid.

Noticing Stephen’s unusual behavior, Lester turned to look at Tessa, who was sitting near him. He could see her expression clearly, and she looked quite angry.

Was she mad at them for raising the bid recklessly during the auction just now? Thinking it over, Stephen’s bids had indeed been over the top.

With that thought in mind, Lester put his paddle down sensibly and stopped participating in the auction.

In the end, Tessa got what she wanted and won the bid for the necklace.

Once the auction ended, she immediately got up and headed out of the hall. Stephen quickly chased after her. “Tess, wait a minute.”

Her steps did not falter as she walked out of the hall and made her way toward the shaded parking lot.

By the time Lester had caught up with them, Tessa was already arguing with Stephen.

“Stephen, since when did you become so selfish? Why do you keep insisting on competing with Lester on everything? He’s already cleared things up with me and told me that he isn’t interested in me.”

When Lester heard her words, he immediately stopped in his tracks, listening in from a distance.