The Divorced Heiress Revenge (Bella Thompson) novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65 

Bella’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly. Then she rolled her eyes. 

Justin’s handsome face darkened when he saw Ryan flirting with his ex-wife. 

“Bro, how was my performance just now?” 

Ryan returned to his seat next to Justin with a bright smile and nudged him with his elbow. 

“Good.” 

Justin glared at Ryan and added, “If you do that again, I will chop you to pieces.” 

Ryan looked dejected. “Bro, what did I do now? You’re more temperamental than all my girlfriends combined!” 

Soon, the first auction item was displayed on the stage. It was a landscape painting from the 

Renaissance. It was intricate, but since the painter was not well-known, the base price was set at $1 million. 

Justin did not have much interest in historical relics, but he was familiar with them because of his grandfather’s influence. 

He could tell at a glance that this painting was the same as the one in his grandfather’s studio. 

Nigel had the original painting, so this one from the Platinum Auction House should be a replica with exquisite craftsmanship. 

There was a big difference between replicas and fakes. However, it was not unheard of for high- quality replicas to be auctioned off at high prices. But surely, one would rather buy the original work than a replica. 

“$1.5 million!” 

“$2 million!” 

“$3 million!” 

Just as the auctioneer was about to drop the hammer, a crisp yet gentle voice sounded. 

“$5 million.” Bella slowly raised her paddle. 

Everyone glanced at this mysterious and beautiful woman in surprise. 

Justin looked at Bella’s beautiful side profile and felt suspicious. 

First of all, this painting was not worth $3 million, let alone $5 million. 

Secondly, Anna had been spending time with Nigel for so long. She usually helped Nigel take care of his rare treasures, antiques, and paintings. Thus, she would certainly be aware that the original piece was with Nigel. Why would she spend an unreasonable amount of money to bid for this replica? 

“$6 million!” 

Everyone turned their attention to the back of the hall. 

Rosalind held up her bidding paddle, as if she were afraid that people would not be able to see her. 

She could not tolerate Anna stealing the show and wanted to snatch the limelight back from her. 

“$7 million.” Bella calmly raised her paddle again. 

“$8 million!” Rosalind followed, shouting so loudly that the people around her looked at her. 

Jean was nervous. She had never participated in such a high-profile auction. How could a painting be sold for $7 million in just a blink of an eye? This was also the first auction item. 

Was Rosalind not interested in the other items? 

“Mom, should we bid for it too?” Bethany was a little upset that Rosalind was showing off and asked Shannon in a low voice. 

“They’re our relatives, so let’s not fight with them.” 

Shannon had been to many such auctions, so she knew that the good things would be left to the end. 

“$9 million.” Bella raised the paddle again, determined not to give up until she won the bid. 

Jean’s blood pressure went up. 

She did not have such a high budget to spend on Nigel’s birthday gift. Her heart was already bleeding.