Chapter 138:
Once Napier appeared, their battle intensified. Her bids of fifteen and twenty million kept testing him, and she watched him closely each time, gauging his reaction until she finally bowed out at the perfect moment.
He realized she had managed to steer everything exactly as she wanted. Even as Brandon thought about all the money she had forced him to spend and the public spectacle she had caused, he couldn’t bring himself to resent her. If anything, he found himself in awe. It was her bravery, her calculated approach, and the way she seemed to know exactly what was happening in his mind that set her apart.
He had walked away with the prize, but it felt like a loss in other ways. She might have lost the bidding, but she had found her own victory by outsmarting him. Who was this woman, really?
Up in the dimming mezzanine, Napier’s gaze followed Millie as she slipped away into the shadows. “She truly is her father’s daughter. If only he were still here…”
Darkness finally overtook the hall, and Napier’s quiet sigh seemed to echo in the emptiness. Life held no room for what-ifs. The reality remained that his own son had been claimed by the sea, and Millie’s father had tumbled from a rooftop, dying right in front of his cherished daughter.
“Take me back. I feel so very tired,” Napier’s words sounded older than ever. Time had caught up with him, leaving him just another elderly man nearing his eighth decade. A loyal attendant gently wheeled him away.
On the second floor, Millie sat quietly in her seat. Weariness swept over her, and she leaned into the sofa for support. Her body had not yet recovered from the injuries caused by her recent fall down the stairs and the miscarriage that followed.
Nearby, Charles had watched everything unfold, barely able to contain his excitement.
“Serena, I’m amazed by you!” Charles whispered, struggling to keep his voice down. “You managed to resolve things with my grandfather, and even when Brandon had every advantage, you turned the tables. There were moments I thought the situation was impossible, but you pulled it off. How did you manage all of this?”
Millie watched the scented candle on the table, its gentle flame filling the space with a soft, golden glow. How had she managed all of this? A memory of her father’s kind smile flickered through her thoughts.
It was just that the weight of everything she had lost had become her greatest teacher. Having once loved Brandon with her whole heart, she knew him better than anyone else ever could. From the moment he confronted her in the terrace garden, she realized some things would never work out, yet she had chosen to see them through anyway. Her childhood with the Bennett family and all the challenges she had faced shaped her. She was no longer just Brandon’s wife at that moment—she stood proudly as Millie Bennett in her own right.
“But what happens to the tanzanite now?” Charles finally asked, worry coloring his voice. “Are we just going to let Brandon give it to Vivian?” He remembered it was something Millie had set aside for the child she once hoped to have.
This auction had meant raising money for children in need, and since she lost her own child, Millie decided to donate the tanzanite to charity. If Vivian were the one to claim it in the end…
.
.
.