Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Rules

There was a line of people who cared about her. What did Julian Grant count for?

Jessie Sterling’s words had been utterly merciless. Back when their families were arranging the marriage, she’d never seen Julian Grant show much care or affection for her. Now, he was suddenly so concerned. Jessie couldn’t help but feel this was a classic case of a man’s baser instincts at work.

’Something he once thought was in the bag, his for the taking, suddenly no longer belonged to him. Did that mean the very thing he used to scorn had now become some hot commodity?’

’Clearly, some people were just sick in the head, thinking that only things you had to fight for were worth having.’

Julian Grant paled at Jessie Sterling’s merciless words. He looked at her beautiful side profile, now devoid of any smile, and sighed inwardly. To be honest, Julian still couldn’t figure out how things between him and Jessie had ended up like this.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she avoided him like the plague.

“I understand. It’s my fault,” Julian Grant said in a low voice. “In that case, let me just wish you a happy marriage and a lifetime of joy.”

When the auction began, Jessie Sterling sat next to Lynn Jennings and vented about her earlier encounter with Julian Grant.

Lynn Jennings clicked her tongue. “Don’t tell me Julian Grant is actually regretting it?”

“Who knows?”

“Serves him right,” Lynn Jennings said with a grin. “Men are such dogs. You can’t be too nice to them. Otherwise, they start thinking they’re so charming that people can’t get enough. Past twenty-five, they’re already going downhill, you know? What’s there to be so proud of?”

Jessie Sterling: “…”

Her thoughts hadn’t gone quite that… “in-depth.”

“By the way, what did you submit for the auction today?” Lynn Jennings asked.

Jessie Sterling: “Nothing too valuable. Just an oil painting I did recently.”

Lynn Jennings: “You call that ’not valuable’?”

She knew that when Jessie Sterling was still in school, one of her final projects had sold for three thousand US dollars.

That price might be a drop in the bucket for an established artist, but Jessie had only been a student back then, which made it an outstanding achievement.

“I just painted it for fun. I also included a vintage watch,” Jessie Sterling said.

The money came from people at the event bidding against each other, and all proceeds would go to a charitable foundation.

The prices might be a little higher than market value, but not absurdly so.

Lynn Jennings: “Oh, in that case, I’m buying your painting.”

Jessie Sterling nodded. She was used to it; she and Lynn Jennings often bought each other’s items at these things.

But when Jessie Sterling’s painting was brought out, a surprising number of people started bidding.

Jessie Sterling was a bit baffled. ’Since when are my works so popular?’

However, it didn’t take long for Jessie Sterling to figure it out.

It wasn’t about how much the painting itself was worth.

Pulling out her phone, Jessie Sterling started slacking off in her seat and sent a message to Victor Morgan.

[Jessie Sterling: Thanks to you, my market value has doubled!]

After sending the message, Jessie Sterling sneakily took a picture of the auction stage.

’If not for my current status—not just as the eldest daughter of the Sterling family, but also as the fiancée of the head of Aethelburg’s Morgan Group—how many people would be willing to bid up the price for my painting?’

’Aesthetics are a very personal thing, after all.’

Jessie Sterling’s oil painting was about one and a half meters tall, depicting a spring scene. The colors were vibrant and bright. A field of lush green grass was dotted with various poppies, next to a flowing stream. In the water were submerged herbaceous plants resembling yellow floating-hearts, blooming with small, pale yellow flowers.

It was a scene Jessie Sterling had seen earlier this spring in a small, unremarkable village on the outskirts of the city, not some famous tourist spot. She had taken a picture of it and, upon returning home, couldn’t resist painting it.

Jessie Sterling didn’t expect a reply from Victor Morgan at all. She knew he was very busy; even though it was evening, Victor was likely still at some business reception.

Unexpectedly, a moment later, a reply from Victor Morgan appeared on her phone.

[Victor Morgan: It’s beautiful.]

Seeing those two words, Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but want to laugh.

’Does this man even know how to find the main point?’

Just as Jessie Sterling was pressing her lips together to keep from smiling, Lynn Jennings, sitting beside her, nudged her with an elbow.

“Jessie, what am I supposed to do if I can’t win this thing?”

Jessie Sterling’s attention was still on her phone. “If you don’t win it, you don’t win it. If you want one, I’ll just paint another one for you later. Won’t that work?”

Jessie Sterling didn’t think it was a big deal at all.

Lynn Jennings: “But the person who keeps outbidding everyone seems to be Julian Grant.”

Jessie Sterling: “…”

She looked up in the direction Lynn Jennings indicated and, sure enough, Julian Grant was indeed bidding.

And every time he raised the price, he did it so quickly and decisively, as if afraid people wouldn’t know he was determined to win.

’Is he crazy?’ was Jessie Sterling’s first thought. “What is he doing, bidding on my painting?” Jessie frowned.

Lynn Jennings shrugged. “Maybe he wants to buy it as a memento? It can’t be to curry favor with your President Morgan, can it?”

The Morgan family’s business and the Grant family’s had absolutely nothing to do with each other.

The moment Jessie Sterling heard that, she felt a wave of disgust.

“Buy it! We absolutely have to buy my painting back today!” Jessie Sterling shoved her phone into her small handbag and spoke with a fierce expression.

In the past, if Julian Grant had wanted one of her paintings, she would have given it to him without a second thought. She would have even locked herself in her studio for seven days and seven nights to produce her best work for him.

But now, the very thought of her painting being in Julian Grant’s collection made her skin crawl.

Lynn Jennings patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, girl. Even if I have to go bankrupt tonight, I’m getting your painting back!”

Jessie Sterling: “…”

’There was no need for such do-or-die heroics, though.’

At this point, Jessie Sterling’s painting had gone from a starting bid of ten thousand to two hundred thirty thousand, a rather severe “markup.”

While the mounting price pained her, Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but curse Julian Grant internally for being such a shit-stirrer.

When Lynn Jennings raised her paddle and called out, “Two hundred fifty thousand,” Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but clench her fists.

’Quincy Sterling might call her a human money-shredder, but even a money-shredder could feel the pinch!’

Sure enough, Julian Grant’s side matched the bid, raising it to two hundred sixty thousand.

Lynn Jennings had already made a solemn vow to Jessie Sterling, so of course she wasn’t going to drop the ball now. Just as she was about to call out “two hundred seventy thousand,” someone beat her to it.

“Five hundred thousand.”

That single bid instantly drew everyone’s attention.

While a price of five hundred thousand was nothing special at a charity gala, everyone was well aware that this was a painting by a new artist with little collection value.

Besides, jumping the bid by nearly double was tantamount to telling everyone in the room that he was determined to have it, wasn’t it?

“What the hell? Who is that? Do they not know the etiquette?” Lynn Jennings grumbled.

But Jessie Sterling, beside her, nearly shot up from her seat.

’Others might not have recognized the voice, but how could she possibly not?’

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