Ivan immediately let go and smiled. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance? I could’ve come to pick you up.”

Queenie finally broke into a grin, walked over, and wrapped her arms around his waist, nestling against his chest. Her voice was soft and teasing. “I didn’t want you to wear yourself out. You kept me up half the night, remember?”

Elodie lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable.

The possessive undertone in Queenie’s words didn’t stir any emotion in her- none at all. She was just an onlooker in this story.

Queenie, however, turned her attention to Elodie and smiled. “Can you stay a bit longer tonight? We’re having a feast, and we need you here.”

Elodie met her gaze, her voice even. “What’s on the menu?”

Queenie winked mischievously. “You’ll see soon enough.”

She left it at that, then playfully tugged Ivan toward the other side of the room. “My dad just arrived. Come say hi.”

Ivan slipped an arm around her waist and didn’t refuse. As he walked away, though, he shot Elodie a glance-its meaning impossible to decipher.

Elodie didn’t dwell on it.

When Esmeralda returned, she shook her head. “No luck. This Fergus is a real mystery.”

Elodie scanned the room but didn’t seem bothered. “Let’s go grab our seats in the auction hall.”

Their table was in the second row. As for the front row…

Elodie glanced up.

Just as she expected, Jarrod and Sylvie were settling into the prime seats at the center of the first row.

There was always a pecking order at events like this.

Not that it mattered to her. Still, from where she sat, every time she looked toward

the stage, Jarrod and Sylvie were the first people she saw.

And every time she glanced up, Sylvie was leaning in close, whispering something to Jarrod, who would bend his head, listening intently.

Whatever they were saying, Jarrod would smile faintly, his eyes warm and attentive as he looked at Sylvie so gentle, so focused, it was almost unsettling.

Elodie’s expression remained calm as she looked past them to the stage.

But Esmeralda noticed it all and gritted her teeth. “Is this their little love show? Should we just wheel a bed out for them right here?”

Elodie just gave Esmeralda’s hand a gentle squeeze, a silent gesture of comfort.

She herself felt nothing extra-no jealousy, no anger.

Tonight’s charity gala was a grand affair, nearly two hundred high-profile guests in attendance. Every item up for auction had been donated by celebrities or major organizations, and all proceeds would go to help children in remote areas or provide critical medical aid.

It was a cause that mattered.

Elodie might have come mainly to find someone, but she planned to do her part for charity, too. If something caught her eye, she’d bid-just a small gesture for the greater good.

The auction items rolled out, one after another.

From her seat, she watched as Jarrod handed his bidding paddle to Sylvie.

Apparently, he intended for Sylvie to call the shots tonight-he’d buy whatever she fancied, no questions asked.

Sylvie accepted the paddle with a bright smile and didn’t hold back, raising it again and again.

One winning bid after another, she was the undisputed star of the room.

All around them, people looked on with envy.

Esmeralda slammed down her wine glass. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think Sylvie was already Mrs. Silverstein! She’s not even official yet and she’s got all the perks. Elodie, don’t let it get to you.”

In Esmeralda’s eyes, Elodie had given her all during those three years of marriage. No matter how things ended, the wounds ran deep, as if her heart had been roasted over open flames.

Elodie exhaled softly. “I’m fine.”

Aside from the bitter irony that Sylvie was Selma’s daughter, nothing else could touch her anymore.

“That little wannabe-she thinks a couple of fancy feathers make her a swan!” Esmeralda muttered, rolling her eyes at the pair in the front row.

Most of the auction items had come and gone, but nothing had caught Elodie’s interest.

She was about to bid on something random just for the gesture—when the glamorous auctioneer smiled and announced, “Next up: a natural jade and diamond ring! Starting bid, $1.29 million!”

Elodie looked up, not expecting much.

But when she saw the ring, her eyes widened in shock—