Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 175

The tea set would go to Silas Sinclair. He loved drinking tea, making it the perfect gesture of gratitude.

The vintage watch would be for Sebastian Stone. Tessa had mentioned his obsession with collecting luxury timepieces.

The auction officially began.

After the host introduced the vintage watch, Summer raised her paddle. "Twenty thousand dollars."

Hearing Summer's voice, Lily frowned slightly. A men's watch? Who on earth was Summer buying that for?

From the corner of her eye, Lily glanced at Xavier.

Xavier was an avid collector of luxury watches.

However, this particular watch hadn't caught Lily's attention, so she hadn't planned on bidding for it at all.

But circumstances had changed.

The moment Summer bid, Lily immediately raised her paddle. "Seventy thousand dollars."

Xavier turned his head to look at her.

Lily flashed him an overly sweet smile. "I looked into this earlier. Although this watch is a bit niche, its craftsmanship and design are incredibly unique. I actually had my eye on it from the start. I wanted to win it for you—surprise!"

Xavier smiled and nodded, his eyes brimming with profound affection.

Summer caught the entire exchange, having glanced over the moment Lily challenged her bid.

Catching Summer's gaze, Lily's smile grew even more radiant and triumphant. As long as she was here, Summer wouldn't be walking away with a single item today.

Over the next few rounds of bidding, Lily deliberately stayed one step ahead.

Summer bid one hundred and fifty thousand, Lily bid one hundred and sixty. Summer bid three hundred thousand, Lily countered with three hundred and ten. It was pure, unfiltered spite.

Summer shot Lily a frigid glare.

Noticing the hostility, Lily turned around and offered a mock-apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, but I really love this watch too. May the best woman win."

Furious, Summer aggressively raised her paddle. "Fifteen million dollars!"

Lily seemed to scoff before elegantly raising her own paddle. "Thirty million."

Summer gritted her teeth. "Forty-five million."

Lily didn't even hesitate. "Sixty million."

She knew she had limitless financial backing. Summer, on the other hand, only had a couple hundred million at most—the pity money her brother had handed over for buying Summer's house.

She wanted to see how long Summer could possibly keep this charade up.

Once the price hit three hundred million, she planned to drop out. She would let that idiot Summer bankrupt herself over a useless vintage watch, turning her into the biggest joke of the night.

Summer was visibly enraged, her chest heaving as she hesitated for a long, agonizing moment. "Seventy-five million!"

Lily casually matched it. "Ninety million!"

"One hundred and sixty-five million," Summer hissed, forcing the words through clenched teeth.

Lily countered smoothly. "One hundred and eighty million."

Suddenly, Summer collapsed back into her chair, adopting the posture of a utterly defeated woman. "Lily, you win. The watch is yours. Congratulations."

Lily's smug smile froze.

She gave up already?

Didn't she have at least two hundred and fifty million to burn?

The host enthusiastically scanned the room for any final bids. Met with stunned silence, the gavel slammed down three times.

A niche vintage watch appraised at three hundred thousand dollars was won by Lily Sutton for a catastrophic one hundred and eighty million dollars.

Thunderous applause echoed through the hall, with everyone cheering on Lily's supposed triumph.

Yet, Lily couldn't summon a single ounce of joy.

She felt like she had just crowned herself the biggest clown in the room.

But considering Summer's hateful glare and gnashing teeth, it didn't look like a deliberate setup.

Lily shook her head. Whatever. As long as she successfully thwarted Summer, it was worth it.