Chapter 82
Everyone saw Andrew, Fiona, and the other two members of the Hayes family, with Lionel standing right beside them. No one noticed the fleeting look of hatred in Jordan’s eyes when he caught sight of Lionel.
“Mr. Hayes, we heard Ms. Hayes and Mr. Bass were in love, but later it was revealed he wanted her rare blood type. What role did your family play in this?”
“Mr. Hayes, before you decided to marry Ms. Hayes off to Mr. Bass, did you know what kind of person he really was?”
Andrew’s expression kept shifting, growing more and more unpleasant as he looked over at Jordan and Stella.
Jordan tightly hugged Stella, showing a determined expression to support her. When looking at Stella again, she didn’t even glance at Andrew, completely ignoring him.
Andrew’s expression shifted quickly. He was facing the reporters with a smile. “Honestly, we truly had no idea that she and Mr. Erwin already knew each other and were in love.
“Henry came to us and said they were together. We didn’t approve, but my daughter didn’t object either.
“Thinking back, I guess Henry must have threatened her, but she never came to me for help. I know I failed as a father. I didn’t give my daughter a sense of security.
“I can’t deny my share of responsibility for what happened, but at the time, I just wanted my daughter to be happy, so I agreed.”
As he spoke, Andrew turned to look at Stella. “Stella, ever since you were kidnapped, there have been so many misunderstandings. I know it’s not something we can clear up overnight, but there isn’t a parent in the world who doesn’t love their child.
“We truly love you. When we heard you were coming today, we rushed over. If there’s anything you like later, we’ll buy it for you at the auction. I want you to see just how determined we are to make things right for you.”
Jordan leaned in and whispered in Stella’s ear. “So, your family really is this shameless?”
you’ve seen it for yours
“Now Stella replied. Jordan nodded.
“No need,” Stella said coldly, “If I want something, my husband will get it for me. Andrew, Fiona, if you have even a shred of conscience left, stop pretending and quit using me to whitewash yourselves.
“No matter what you do, you’ll never be able to make yourselves look clean.”
Stella didn’t bother saying anything else to them; just looking at them made her feel sick. She turned to Jordan and said, “Let’s go inside.”
Jordan nodded. “Okay” Jordan didn’t even look back as he led Stella inside.
People were fangirling hard. “Did you see that? Jordan smiled. I thought he never smiled before.”
“He looks so good when he smiles. And did you notice? He’s only that soft and doting when he’s with Stella. He’s not cold at all.”
“I’m so jealous of Stella.”
Stella has already gone in. Although the Hayes family was angry, they had been holding it in. Andrew gestured to everyone, saying, “Sorry, we need to go in as well. The auction is about to start.”
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Chapter 82
As soon as they entered, they saw Jordan and Stella sitting together in the front row, while the Hayes family took seats in the fifth
ΓΟΥ
In the past few years, Jordan had really become a force to be reckoned with. With just that one app, he took the world by storm. His net worth kept soaring, and just a few years back, he was a total nobody.
They’d even tried to get the media to paint Jordan as some creep who went after underage girls, but for some reason, nobody bought it. No one wanted to mess with Jordan, that’s for sure.
Of course, Stella and Jordan had every reason to fight back against them.
Max was fuming and looked like he was about to go over to Stella, but Anna held him back, shaking her head to tell him not to move. Max glanced at Anna, and just like that, all his anger disappeared.
“She’s my sister too, but why is Stella always so disobedient? If only she were half as mature as you.” Max muttered.
“Max, try to understand Stella,” Anna said softly. “After everything she’s been through, it’s only natural for her to change.”
Max seemed to get what Anna was hinting at. “So, you think she might be emotionally messed up? Like, has some psychological issues?”
“I don’t know,” Anna said softly. “But after everything that’s happened, even a normal person would have some psychological scars, right?”
Max mulled it over seriously. Anna thought, ‘Max really is gullible. All it took was a little nudge, and he totally bought it.
Up in the front row, Stella was getting a lot of attention. With Jordan backing her, people were eager to say hello. Even though they’d all seen her hair falling out before, when she looked her absolute worst, no one dared mention it now.
That was Jordan, after all. With his decisive and forceful methods, everyone knew that offending him by accident could lose his entire family business.
Seeing how much Jordan spoiled Stella, even if no one knew the reason, everyone agreed. It was smartest to cozy up to her.
The first auction item was brought out. No wonder this auction had been the talk of high society for ages. The very first piece was already a real showstopper. Jordan looked at Stella, “Do you like it?”
“Are you really going to bid on everything I like?” Stella asked.
“Of course,” Jordan replied.
Stella knew he was just putting on a show. After all, they’d already agreed to this. Now that they were married, it was all about putting on an act for the Hayes family.
Besides, the closer they looked, the more it would help both of their companies. Still, Stella said, “I really like this one, but who knows, there might be something even better coming up.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you,” Jordan said. The way they acted together left everyone sitting behind them guessing. No one could tell if their love was real or just for show.
Lionel watched them, his hands slowly clenching into fists. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he kept feeling like Jordan was glancing his way, and there was a flash of hatred and disdain in his eyes.
Lionel could get Jordan’s disdain, Jordan probably saw him as someone he’d already defeated. But he didn’t know the hatred
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Chapter 82
Anna noticed that Lionel’s eyes were fixed on the front row, and the way he was barely holding back his emotions totally gave him
away.
Anna couldn’t help feeling upset. She’d thought that after three years apart, Lionel would be over Stella by now, but the second Stella appeared, he just couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Lionel, I don’t feel so good,” Anna said softly.
“What’s wrong?” Fiona and Max both turned to Anna, asking her together. Fiona was still sitting with Max, not right next to Anna.
Lionel didn’t even react. Anna just said lightly, “It’s nothing, Mom, Max. You two just focus on the auction.”
Fiona smiled and said, “Anna, if there’s anything you like today, just let us know. Max and your dad will bid for it.”
“No need,” Anna replied. “Just win one at the auction and donate it later. It’ll be good PR for our company anyway.” Fiona said, “You’re always so thoughtful.” By comparison, Stella even went and married Jordan on purpose, just to piss them off.
Stella really liked the third item. It was a pair of bracelets, crystal clear with exceptional luster and clarity. Not only did Stella have her eye on it, but Anna did too, especially since there was a tragic love story behind the pair of bracelets.
Jordan didn’t even hesitate. He raised his paddle and jumped right into the bidding.
