Astraea’s tone sounded sweet and too fake.
“Pick, Mrs. Gutierrez.”
“Oh, I remember,” she seemed to think of something, took a cup of wine from the server near her, “your face is still dirty.”
“So sorry, I will help you clean it.”
After she spoke, the cold drink flowed down from above my head.
The wine and the color mixed together into chaos, making me look even worse than before.
I could picture how I looked now, surely like a street dog.
Otherwise, Astraea would not laugh so happily; the joy on her face could not be hidden.
The banquet hall became quiet, and everyone stared at me, waiting for my answer.
Waiting to watch me cry hard, then drop down like a dog and beg for forgiveness.
I tightened my hands, my eyes moved coldly across all the people there, then stopped again on Waylon.
With a woman beside him, he held a glass of wine in his hand, as if he already knew his maritime project would turn out well and shine after it finished.
But even now, he still did not understand that before, his maritime projects could move forward without trouble only because the people on this line knew me as the Cooper family’s daughter, so they showed him respect.
If not, with only his own skill, how could he rise to the top in Phenix City in only a few years?
“Waylon, you make me do this.”
“After today, the fall of the Gutierrez family is also caused by you.”
Right after I spoke, Astraea seemed to hear a funny story and lifted her voice toward everyone.
“Did you all hear? Mrs. Gutierrez has lost her mind, saying she wants to ruin the Gutierrez family!”
Loud laughter rose from below.
“Audrey is truly pushed crazy by her husband and his little lover, speaking nonsense in front of everyone!”
“Make the Gutierrez family go bankrupt? She does not even think about her own value! A woman who climbed up by her looks, one night, is not even equal to a piece of jewelry Waylon gives his new lover!”
Astraea broke a bottle of costly wine over my head. “Mrs. Gutierrez is dreaming. I help you come back to your senses.”
“The Gutierrez family is the top in Phenix City, how can it fall just because you, a girl with no family, say it?”
Waylon also showed a frown, thinking I was mad with anger, so I was speaking nonsense, trying to pull his attention with strong words.
He coldly laughed, then hinted to the host to keep calling bids.
“Audrey, instead of thinking about the Gutierrez family going bankrupt, you should first care about yourself.”
“The current price has now reached twenty thousand. If you still do not decide, if you truly end up with some man with strange tastes, I also cannot help you!”
I turned my eyes toward the crowd, and a fat man was staring at me with oily eyes, full of desire.
He was well known in this group for liking to toy with women, and just from that, he had already caused two wives to die.
Now he held his card up, looking sure he would win.
Cold sweat came out across my body, I took off the bracelet from my hand, and raised my voice.
“This is my family heirloom, beyond price, I will use it as collateral here!”
Hearing this, not only Astraea, but also Waylon looked at me with surprise.
He naturally knew how much this bracelet mattered to me. I wore it at all times, even while washing, and I did not want to remove it.
But he did not know that this bracelet was actually a token of the Cooper family.
Anyone who knew the Cooper family or had ties with the Cooper family could check a person’s identity through this bracelet.
And Astraea just happened to be someone who did not know its worth.
After a brief surprise, Astraea looked at me with an unfriendly look.
“Mrs. Gutierrez, this bracelet looks so cheap. How can it be worth twenty thousand? In my eyes, even a cheap street item is better than this.”
“But you already wear a fifty-dollar ring; this twenty-dollar bracelet really suits you.”
After Astraea spoke first, laughter also rose from the crowd.
“Family heirloom? This broken bracelet? She really dares to show it.”
“Isn’t Audrey an orphan? Where does a family item come from? Could it be some gift from some random man!”
Waylon set down his glass, his brows tightening.
“Audrey, even if you make up stories, there should be a line. How can this bracelet have no price?”
Astraea also followed. “Even if this bracelet has no value, if Mrs. Gutierrez wants to give it to me, I can still give you a little money.”
“Hmm… I give you two hundred.”
She pulled out two hundred-dollar notes from her bag, tossed them onto the floor with scorn, and reached out to grab my bracelet.
I moved back, holding it close.
Waylon grew upset from my refusal again and again, his tone turning heavy. “Audrey, are you done acting like this? It is only a bracelet, since Astraea wants it, hand it over.”
Astraea lifted her chin with pride. “Did you hear? Waylon tells you to give it to me! If you still hold on, later you will not even get the two hundred!”
“No!” I held the bracelet tighter. “This is not just something from my family, it is also the Cooper family token!”
