Even Sheryl, who was not much keen on jewelry, gazed at it in astonishment.
"Do you like it?" asked Charles, noticing that Sheryl couldn't take her eyes off the jewelry.
Sheryl smiled lightly. "Not really. It's just that it looks kind of gorgeous."
Cary smiled and went on, "This jewelry is from my private collection. Today, I have decided to auction it for the good cause. I believe you are aware of its value. The bid starts at ten million and we will raise it with the least amount of two million at a time. Let's begin!"
As soon as Cary announced the beginning of the bidding, Charles raised his card. "Fifteen million."
Charles hadn't bid for anything the whole night. Although he was very much willing to donate to the charity, he wasn't really intrigued by any of the previous items, but this one was different. Sheryl had obviously taken a liking to it and he wanted to give it to her. He even fancied how pretty she would look if she put it on.
"Charles! What are you doing? This is crazy!" Sheryl exclaimed in a low voice. She was utterly shocked by Charles' bid and tried to pull his hand down. She inquired, "That's a lot of money. Why are you bidding for the jewelry?"
Sheryl wasn't against donating the money to charity, but spending it on such a useless and extravagant object was a lame idea.
Charles could read her mind clearly. He patted Sheryl's hand to put her mind at ease. "Don't worry about the money. I can afford it. And since you like it, I will make sure that I win the bid."
"No! I don't really like it. I was just... I..." Sheryl stammered. She didn't want Charles to spend so much money in buying her some luxurious jewelry.
Seeing Charles' gushing demeanor towards Sheryl, Holley was filled with envy. She was jealous that Charles would waste so much cash only to make Sheryl happy. Despite the fact that she felt sulky, she turned her head to confront George who was sitting beside her and pulled his sleeve lightly. "George, I like it."
George looked at Holley, and realized at once what her actual goal was. He figured that Holley didn't need the jewelry, yet she simply wanted to contend with Sheryl. In any case, she had requested something and George couldn't just deny her.
And since he loved her, he wanted to do his best to fulfill her needs. Without any hesitation, he raised the card and stated, "Twenty million."
Charles showed no surprise and raised the price to thirty million. George followed with a forty million bid and Charles raised the price of the jewelry again to fifty million. And this time, George hesitated.
"Why did you stop bidding?" asked Holley, annoyed at the delay in his response. George knew clearly that Charles had an advantage over him, yet Holley didn't want to give up.
She simply wanted to take away everything that Sheryl set her eyes on.
She nudged George with her elbow and demanded, "What are you waiting for? Raise the card. Don't you love me? I want that jewelry. Aren't you going to buy it for me?"
"Holley, I think we should stop here. If you really like ornaments, I will buy better ones for you. Don't you think that's a much better option?" asked George with a slight frown. He was certain that the diamond was worth around thirty million and no more, yet the bidding had now unquestionably surpassed its own value. George knew that it was not beneficial to proceed with the bidding.
"No!" Holley retorted firmly. "I like this one and I want it. Nothing else can replace it. You must get this one for me today."
George heaved a long sigh and raised the bidding card again, putting the price of the jewelry at fifty-two million.
On the other hand, Charles was bound to get the jewelry. When he was about to raise the card once again, Sheryl squeezed his hand and shook her head. "Enough, Charles! Don't bid higher than this. It's really not worth it and I don't even like the diamond that much."
She gazed lovingly at Charles and smiled. "I know that you truly desire to gift the jewelry to me, but Charles, if Holley really likes it, then just let her have it."
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