Devoted Love:The Billionaire's Precious Wife
Chapter 253

Chapter 253: Chapter 253

After a while, Yolanda finally noticed something off. "Mom, look at their clothes."

Everyone was dressed to the nines; even Rosemary was in a light pink suit, her hair pulled up high, and she radiated a cool yet aloof aura.

They, on the other hand, seemed to be misfits.

"Did we wear the wrong clothes?" Yolanda felt uncomfortable in her dress, and it finally clicked why they received puzzled and annoyed looks at the entrance.

It turned out they were dressed inappropriately!

Olga realized it too and felt a tad embarrassed. They had never been to a land auction before and had no clue about the dress code.

Attlee tried to comfort them, saying, "Even if we did dress wrongly, it’s no biggie. People will only care about who bags the land, not what you’re wearing."

Romeo and Rosemary sat side by side in the front row, their hands tightly clasped. Hunter, sitting next to them, said coldly, "Keep some distance."

"The AC is too cold; I’m just trying to warm Rosemary’s hands. I’ll let go soon."

On hearing Romeo, Hunter turned to Rosemary and asked, "Are you cold?"

"Um–hmm." Rosemary could only nod in agreement.

Hunter took off his coat and gently laid it on Rosemary’s lap, saying, "Wrap this around you. I’ll get someone to turn up the heat."

"No need." Rosemary didn’t finish her sentence before Hunter was already speaking to a staff member.

"Your high ponytail looks great." Romeo brushed a strand of hair from Rosemary’s forehead, admiring her delicate features, and gently said, "You look good in a suit too."

"You look good today too." Rosemary looked into his eyes and said softly, "I’ll give you that piece of land later."

"Give it to me?"

"Mmm–hmm." Rosemary raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don’t you want to build a Ferris wheel and a shopping street?"

Romeo was surprised that she knew about his plans.

He had planned to give it to her once it was built. He had already thought of a name.

But Rosemary didn’t know about his intentions; she thought he was interested in the commercial value of the land. "Anyway, since someone is paying for most of it, I’m just regifting it to you. But it’ll take some time."

"That’s nice. You always think of me." Romeo leaned in closer, his breath brushing against her ear.

Just as Hunter finished talking to the staff, he turned around to see them whispering again, leaving him puzzled.

Everyone around them was shocked to see their intimate behavior and stared in disbelief.

This was the first time they saw Romeo whispering sweet nothings to a girl in public.

Especially to a girl who seemed to be barely out of high school.

Who the hell was she that Romeo was so smitten? Can they share the secret?

Yolanda, sitting in the last row, felt a pang of jealousy seeing Romeo always leaning in to whisper something to Rosemary. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was so nice to Rosemary!

They always seemed to have a lot to talk about and share. They looked like a couple in love!

No wonder Rosemary was not interested in Zachary; she had already found a better choice.

Before the auction even began, representatives from various groups got up to greet Romeo, the Kenneths, and Hunter in the front row.

Olga noticed Rosemary leaving her seat and wondered where she was going. Shortly after, Romeo followed her.

Seeing Rosemary’s seat empty, Olga quickly took the opportunity to sit next to Louisa and said, "Hello, Mrs. Collins, we meet again. You remember me, right? I’m Attlee’s wife, Olga."

Louisa was chatting with a few ladies when she saw Olga sitting in her daughter’s seat and felt immediately annoyed. "Who gave you permission to sit here?"

Caught off guard, Olga felt the mocking gaze of the ladies and tried to laugh it off: "I saw Rosemary go to the restroom, so I—"

"You think you can call Rosemary by her first name?" Louisa immediately signaled a staff member.

"Mrs. Collins, please let me explain."

Before she could finish her sentence, a staff member interrupted, "I’m sorry, but could you return to your own seat?"

Olga wanted to protest, but with all eyes on her, she had no choice but to stand up and smile, "Mrs. Collins, we’ll chat later then."

"Chat about what? Mrs. Collins doesn’t even know you. Who do you think you are, trying to cozy up to her?"

"Exactly! There are many people who want to suck up to Mrs. Collins, but you’re the first one who’s so shameless!"

"Why are you still here? Where did this nobody even come from? Just because you walked through the door, do you think you’re entitled to talk to Mrs. Collins?"

"Today’s land is definitely going to be the Collins family’s!"

"Let’s congratulate Mrs. Collins in advance."

Louisa gestured for them to stop the premature congratulations, as she had no interest in the land and would definitely not buy it, which would mess up her daughter’s plans.

She and her husband were here because, after the auction, they were to attend a dinner party with their daughter.

But others didn’t know that. They assumed the Collins family was here in full force to buy the land, indicating its potential commercial value.

This made them think even more highly of the land’s value.

After being snubbed, Olga vowed to teach them a lesson!

However, she caught a glimpse of Louisa talking to a staff member, and soon after, they brought a new chair for Rosemary!

Seeing this, Olga was livid. She wasn’t some virus. She just sat there for a bit. How outrageous!

Rosemary had been living at her place for eighteen years, and they’d been through a lot together. Mrs. Collins’ weird favoritism towards Rosemary was quite noticeable, as if she had it out for her.

Fast forward a bit, and the auction was about to kick off.

The host explained the details about the land: its purpose, size, planning requirements, and all, then the bidding started.

The opening bid was a whopping three hundred million dollars, and each raise of the paddle was an additional fifty million dollars.

"I declare the auction open." The host banged his gavel, officially starting the bidding war.

All the big corporations started throwing their hats in the ring.

At first, everyone was all gung–ho about bidding until the price skyrocketed to eight hundred million dollars, and then the bidders started to thin out.

Rosemary was still going at it, McMillan Corporation wasn’t backing down, and the Collins group was hot on their heels.

Attlee was wiping the sweat off his brow, his hand shaking. Each time he raised his paddle, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

Olga was on pins and needles: "How are they bidding so fiercely? What are we going to do now? All of our funds combined are just 1.2 billion dollars. If this keeps up, they might snatch this land right from under our noses!"

"This land could have been bought for 800 million originally, but now—" Attlee glanced at the number on screen, which had already reached 850 million. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead.

Yolanda was also feeling the heat, her fists clenched. They needed to secure this land, or they’d be up shit creek without a paddle!

"900 million."

"950 million."

"1 billion."

Finally, Rosemary dropped out of the bidding.

Hunter whispered to Romeo next to him, "How much money does the Harris Group have?"

"1.2 billion."

Then Hunter threw his hat back in the ring.

"1.05 billion! The Collins Group is bidding 1.05 billion!"

As the auctioneer announced this, the room fell silent. Who would’ve thought the bidding for this land would reach such heights?

Olga grabbed Attlee’s hand anxiously and said, "What are we going to do? It’s already at 1.05 billion!"

Attlee’s hand was shaking like a leaf. All their hopes were pinned on this moment, but no

"1.05 billion for the first time."

"Dad, bid! Quick!" Yolanda, seeing her father’s face turn pale and his forehead slick with sweat, hurriedly prodded him. "We still have a shot, dad. Bid! Can you hear me? Dad!!"

"1.05 billion for the second time."

Attlee finally snapped back to reality, raising his hand.

The auctioneer saw him and cried out, "1.1 billion! The gentleman at the back bids 1.1 billion."

Since his seat was at the back, the auctioneer didn’t remember which group he belonged to, so he could only say "the gentleman."

The room was buzzing. Everyone was curious which group could afford such a sky–high price. They all looked towards the last row at the edge, where someone had raised a sign.

"Which group is it? So loaded?"

"They’ll have to pay in cash later. You can’t mortgage real estate. Which group has so much cash on hand?"

"Why haven’t we seen them before? And why are they seated so far back? Can they really afford this?"

Hearing the whispers around her, Olga sat up straight. Today, she was going to show everyone the strength of the Harris Group!

"I won’t bid anymore." Hunter whispered to Romeo beside him, "Your turn."

Romeo raised his sign, stunning the room once again.

"1.15 billion! McMillan Corporation bids 1.15 billion!"

Yolanda was so taken aback that she was at a loss for words.

So that handsome man was a bigwig from the McMillan Corporation!

She finally knew his identity, but at this point, the Harris family was running low on funds!

"What do we do? We only have 1.2 billion." Olga did the math, but she didn’t expect the McMillan Corporation to be so relentless. Now, only the McMillan Corporation and the Harris Group were left in the running!

They had underestimated the McMillan Corporation’s power!

If the McMillan Corporation was willing, their little nest egg wouldn’t stand a chance!

"1.15 billion for the first time."

Attlee’s heart felt like it was about to explode.

"1.15 billion for the second time."

"Place a bid, Dad. Quick."