Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 178

Summer's loaded statement carried immense weight, and the surrounding crowd practically salivated at the scent of fresh drama.

Lily forced a polite smile. "Summer, try to understand where you are. This is an auction. Everyone is here to compete for the same items."

As she spoke, she raised her paddle. "Seven hundred and fifty-one thousand."

"Are you running low on cash? Bidding in increments of one thousand?" Summer asked, her eyes brimming with sheer mockery as she raised her paddle. "One and a million and a half dollars."

A one-thousand-dollar increment versus nearly doubling the bid. The difference in class was instantly obvious.

Furious at being painted as cheap, Lily ground her teeth. "Fifteen million!"

Before Lily's words even finished echoing, Summer smiled and fired back. "One hundred and fifty million!"

The entire room erupted into chaos once again.

"Oh my god! Is she finally fighting back? She jumped straight from fifteen million to a hundred and fifty million! That's real cash, not Monopoly money!"

"Did she completely lose her mind from the stress? She was just crying a minute ago, and now she's acting like a completely different person."

"Not gonna lie, it's incredibly satisfying to watch."

"I'm on Summer's side for this round. Honestly, Lily looked incredibly petty just now. Waiting for Summer to bid, only to outbid her by a single grand? Is she actually broke?"

"It's highly possible. After all, she just torched three hundred and sixty million just to spite Summer. Those first two items were decent, but combined, they aren't even worth a million and a half. You can't tell if she's obscenely rich or just incredibly dense."

The unspoken implication lingered heavily in the air. Rumor had it that Lily was the wealthiest man's girlfriend, so no one dared insult her intellect too loudly.

They kept their gossip strictly confined to hushed whispers.

But Lily heard enough of it. Even if she couldn't catch every word, she wasn't blind. She could clearly see the amusement, the mockery, and the sneers painted across their faces.

Lily's eyes burned bright red with indignation.

Xavier couldn't stand seeing Lily humiliated, so he personally raised his paddle. "Three hundred million."

He knew perfectly well that Summer only had that exact amount in her bank account.

She wanted them to pay the highest, most painful premium possible.

Right on cue, Xavier raised his paddle again. "Three hundred and fifteen million."

He was dead set on backing Lily up, shutting down the gossip, and slapping Summer hard across the face, leaving her as the punchline of the entire auction.

Summer let out a brilliant, unbothered laugh. "You really do know how to spoil a woman, Mr. Sterling. But I do wonder—are you footing this three-hundred-and-fifteen-million-dollar bill as a gift, or is this considered a loan to Ms. Sutton?"

"Is she brain dead? Isn't it totally normal for a billionaire to drop cash on his girlfriend?"

"Seriously. Is she just asking these stupid questions to get his attention?"

"Wait, now that you mention it... Summer keeps fighting Lily, only to lose, but then she jumps right back in to fight again. Do you think she's trying to seduce Lily's man?"

"Have you noticed they actually look a little alike? Maybe Summer is just seething with jealousy. They have similar features, but Lily scored the richest man in the city. Summer is probably just suffering from a massive inferiority complex."

Listening to their ridiculous theories with a smirk, Summer casually countered, "What makes you so sure they're a couple? For all you know, Mr. Sterling is already married with a kid."