YOKED TO A BILLIONAIRE BY VENNEH LISAH

"Is he crazy? One hundred million for one necklace?" Amira was dumbfounded.

"What's the big deal about one hundred million? My darling can afford that as well," Leila scoffed, raising her bidding paddle again.

"Put it down..." Smith swiftly pulled her hand down and said, "Are you trying to ruin Franklin?"

"Dad, what are you doing..." Leila started.

"Listen to your dad. Don't do anything stupid," Amira reprimanded.

Even though Leila was outraged, she had no choice but to accept her fate.

"One hundred million going once, one hundred million going twice..." the emcee announced.

"Are you mad? You're paying one hundred million for one necklace?" Violla lowered her voice, struggling to remain calm. "Don't you think it's a waste of money?"

"Money is just a number." Davon remained unmoved.

"But..." Violla started.

"And the ruby necklace is sold at one hundred million!" The emcee banged the lectern to end the bidding. A concierge dressed in an evening gown cautiously delivered the ruby necklace from the stage to Davon.

The man took the necklace and handed it to Violla immediately. "This is for you!"

She was shocked. "He purchased the ruby necklace at one hundred million, and he's giving it to me? Is he sure about this?"

There was an uproar among the guests. Most of them engaged in hushed discussions with their families, trying to figure out Violla's identity. They wondered which wealthy or influential family she belonged to in order to be chosen by Davon.

Most of the present guests did not know who she was, except for three of them. Those three people did not dare to make a sound as they turned to look at Amira, who shot them a look, urging them to expose Violla's true identity.

Two of the three guests hesitated to do that. The other woman was her aunt Mercy, a distant relative of the Milan family.

Previously, her uncle Tony had tried to lecture Violla at the Smiths' residence but had faced retaliation from the woman. That uncle and aunt still hadn't gotten over it.

When the uncle saw Violla entering the auction hall earlier that night, he muttered a curse under his breath before finding an excuse to smoke backstage.

Consequently, the aunt was left alone in her seat. Initially, she was not keen on stirring up any trouble, but Amira called her on her cell phone and kept repeating what had happened at the Smiths' residence that day. All the while, she emphasized how Violla had disrespected them.

Furthermore, Amira had also said, "Mr. Roman is still kept in the dark. He is completely oblivious to the kind of woman Violla is. I am sure Mr. Roman will be very appreciative of whoever exposes her now."

With that thought in mind, the aunt stood up and started walking towards the front row. Amira knew that her ploy had succeeded when she saw the woman approaching Davon. The corners of her lips curled up into a smug sneer.

"Mom, what is Aunt Mercy doing?" Leila tugged at Amira's sleeves and asked, "Is she intending to...?"

"Shh!" Amira immediately covered her daughter's mouth with her hands to stop her from talking. She gritted her teeth and growled, "Shut your mouth!"

"Mm, Mm!" Leila nodded continuously, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes.

"What are you two plotting again?" A crease appeared between the Smiths' brows.

Franklin had also noticed the mother-daughter pair behaving strangely but chose not to ask anything. He just wanted to look at Violla quietly.

Violla was currently at the center of everyone's attention, shining like a star.

It was the dream of countless heiresses to win the favor of Davon, to marry into the Roman family, and become his woman. Undoubtedly, that was the greatest accomplishment in any woman's life.

Media was usually not invited to any of Davon's functions, and there was usually a rule banning the distribution of any photos taken. If that were not the case, that night's event would have definitely been the hottest topic in town.

Violla's mind was in a state of chaos as she stared at the ruby necklace worth one hundred million.

She kept crossing and uncrossing her arms in front of her chest, and her breathing became quick and uneasy, accompanied by an increase in her heart rate.

"Do you want it or not?" Davon frowned, looking impatient. "I am going to throw it away if you're not taking it!"

As Davon spoke, he pretended as though he were about to toss the ruby necklace away.

"I want it! I want it!" Violla anxiously snatched the necklace from him, and in her state of panic, she lost her balance and fell into his arms.

He smiled and whispered intimately into her ear, "I like that you're so enthusiastic."

"I... I didn't fall on purpose," Violla stammered, her face turning red from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. However, her voice was drowned out by the round of applause that erupted from the guests.

"I have something to tell Mr. Roman. Let me go over!" A voice suddenly interrupted their romantic moment. Violla looked up from Davon's arms and saw a familiar face.

"Isn't she Tony's wife, Mercy?" Violla recalled.

Her heart did a double somersault as worry instantly consumed her. Tony and Mercy were rather ignorant and easily influenced. Thus, she could easily guess that Amira must have instigated the woman to come over and expose her.

"You need to make an appointment with Mr. Roman's secretary to speak to him," the security guard stated expressionlessly, blocking Mercy's path. "Please leave now."

"I'm not here to discuss business matters with Mr. Roman. I'm here to tell him a secret..." Mercy panicked and started yelling over the heads of the guests. "Mr. Roman, Mr. Roman! You have been deceived. This woman, Violla Milan, is not as innocent as she seems. She has a tainted reputation and..."

"Take her away," Davon commanded coldly.

"Understood," the security guard immediately covered Mercy's mouth and dragged her away.

The woman whimpered as she struggled to speak but was knocked unconscious by the security guard before being dragged away like a dead dog. Pin-drop silence filled the auction hall. The remaining guests were all terrified – no one dared to make a sound.

After hearing the commotion, Tony hurried back to join the crowd and was shocked by what had happened.

Just as he was about to inquire about the situation, Smith forcefully held him back and said, "You shouldn't associate yourself with the situation right now. Otherwise, the company might be implicated."

"But my wife..." Tony began.

"Nothing will happen to her," Smith reassured him. "When you pick her up later, say that you didn't know anything about what she was planning and scold your wife. At most, they will give you a verbal warning and won't make things any harder for you."

"Alright then," Tony answered, his face grim. "But what on Earth happened? How did my wife offend Mr. Roman?"

"Maybe she couldn't stand that b*tch Violla and wanted to stand up for you," Amira pretended to be fuming over the situation. She continued, "Oh dear, now that Violla has such a strong backing, we can't afford to offend her anymore. It's so unfortunate that your wife has to suffer because of that b*tch!"

"Keep your comments to yourself," Smith snapped.

Amira glared at her husband while fanning herself with her handkerchief. Sighing continuously, she headed back to her seat.

"Mom, how did it go? Did Mercy manage to tell him?" Leila asked immediately.

"She was dragged away before she got to say anything," Amira replied, putting a hand to her chest. Just thinking about what happened sent a shiver down her spine. "It seems like that b*tch, Violla, is very important to Mr. Roman. Looks like we underestimated her. Luckily, we didn't do that ourselves. Otherwise, we would be the ones suffering right now."

"She got lucky to be favored by Mr. Roman. Let's see how long she can last," Leila said, boiling with anger. "He'll get sick of her sooner or later,we all know he changes women like clothes!"

"Stop talking about it for now. We should head home first. Judging by the situation tonight, I have a feeling that something else might happen," Amira observed.

Just as Amira and Leila were about to leave, the emcee suddenly announced that they would be continuing with the second round of the auction.

The second item was a pink diamond ring. Although it was only a twelve-carat diamond, natural pink diamonds were extremely rare. Additionally, the diamond had been flawlessly embedded into the ring.

Moreover, there was a special significance behind that pink diamond ring. It had a history of 99 years and had three previous owners altogether. Each owner had experienced a beautiful love story.

As such, the ring signified perfect love and was named "Beloved!"

"I want it," Leila said, unable to take her eyes off the pink diamond ring. She tugged at Franklin's arm and requested in a coquettish manner, "Frank, please buy that for me."

"You can call for the bid yourself," Franklin replied, having lost interest in the auction and intending to leave. "My assistant will stay and make the payment later. Just remember one thing, no matter what you do, don't offend Mr. Roman!"

"Yes, yes, I understand," Leila nodded eagerly and added, "Don't worry."

After Franklin gave some orders to his staff, he stood up and left.

"Leila, listen to Mom. Don't buy it," Amira tried to cajole her daughter into leaving as well. "So much has happened tonight. We should play it safe and leave before anything else bad happens."

"It's precisely because the night has been so eventful that I should treat myself to a present for having a hard day," Leila disagreed. "It's not every day Franklin is so generous. Since he's allowing me to bid for anything I want, I should take the chance to showcase myself in front of everyone. Otherwise, those rich ladies will always look down on me at social parties!"

After hearing her daughter's perspective, Amira stopped insisting as well.

She could understand the reasons for Leila feeling that way. Even though the Stanleys enjoyed a high status, her daughter was never popular among the socialites' circle. Whenever she attended one of their gatherings, she would always go home feeling hurt and in tears.

It might actually be a good opportunity for the woman to be seen. That way, those people would stop looking down on her in the future.

"The bidding starts now. The starting bid would be nine million, with each bid increment being five hundred thousand!" the emcee announced.

The guests started raising their bidding paddles when they were certain that Davon was not interested in the item.

Leila was one of them. In order to flaunt the Stanleys' generosity, the woman bid in an increment of one million instead and managed to catch the attention of the rest of the guests very quickly.

She was feeling secretly delighted. The time had finally come for her to make a name for herself.

Violla was in no mood to continue watching the auction and was about to try requesting Davon again to leave, but before she could speak, he had already stood up and offered his hand to her. "Let's go out for a walk."

"Sure." She placed her hand on his palm and allowed him to lead her towards the exit of the hall. Just like that, they had become the center of attention again. Even the auction was temporarily halted. The event only carried on after the two of them left the hall.

Leila was extremely upset. She had to spend so much money to bid for an item while Violla easily grabbed the attention of everyone without doing anything!

How unfair was that!

"Don't let that b*tch ruin your good spirits," her mother reminded softly. "Let's leave after you win the bid for this item."

"The Blacks have placed a bid of thirteen million…"

"Thirty million!"

Leila raised her bidding paddle, instantly capturing everyone's attention once again. Typically, consecutive bids during an auction would increase by slight increments. However, Leila decided to double the previous bid right away, demonstrating her generosity.

Her motivation extended beyond the desire for the pink diamond ring; she also aimed to outbid Barbra, a socialite from the Blacks family. It was common knowledge that Barbra had once fervently pursued Franklin.

While Leila didn't want to offend Davon, she couldn't allow herself to lose to the Blacks.

"Mrs. Stanley has placed a bid of thirty million. Thirty million going once, thirty million going twice, thirty million so…"

Leila wore a conceited smile, convinced that she was about to secure the bid.

"Fifty million!" Barbra suddenly exclaimed.

Leila's veins filled with fury upon hearing Barbra's bid, and she quickly retaliated by raising her paddle.

"Mrs. Stanley," Franklin's assistant promptly intervened, halting Leila, "Mr. Stanley has given orders not to exceed fifty million. If the bid goes beyond that, we must give up on the item."

Leila felt exasperated and asked, "Why? It's not like we can't afford it."

"It's not about money," the assistant explained, lowering his voice. "Mr. Stanley has considered that if someone bids fifty million or more, it signifies a genuine desire for the item. By outbidding them, it could negatively impact business relations."

"But..." Leila began.

"Fifty million going once, fifty million going twice, fifty million..."

Seeing the emcee about to conclude the auction, Leila panicked and hastily raised her paddle. However, the assistant forcefully pulled her hand down, preventing her from bidding.

"You can't, Mrs. Stanley," the assistant insisted.

"Get lost!" Leila angrily pushed the man away and shouted, "How dare you stop me, you lowly servant!" She defiantly raised her paddle again.

"Sold!" The emcee banged the lectern, signaling the end of the second round of the auction.

Leila's hand froze halfway in the air as she once again became the subject of mockery. The crowd applauded, congratulating Barbra on winning the bid.

Barbra graciously smiled at the other guests, accepting their congratulations. At the same time, she turned around and provocatively glanced at Leila.

Enraged, Leila trembled with anger. She had already made a fool of herself before the auction had even officially begun. She had also been humiliated by Davon's subordinate outside the restroom. Now, in the auction hall, all she wanted was to bid for an item to salvage some of her lost dignity, yet she felt oppressed once again.

She surveyed her surroundings, noticing how the socialites and wealthy businessmen's wives stared at her with mocking smiles. She felt like a clown!

Completely disheartened, Leila lost control. She glared at Barbra with a furious expression, resembling a livid wild cat, longing to pounce on her and tear her to pieces.

"Forget it, Leila. Let's go home. Today just isn't our lucky day," Amira accepted the harsh reality and tried to coax her daughter into leaving. "We'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. We can come back next time!"

"That's right, Mrs. Stanley. Let's depart for now..." Before the assistant could finish his sentence, Leila delivered a tight slap across his face.

Everyone, including the other security guards from the Stanley family, was shocked by her actions.

The assistant, who was Franklin's most trusted employee and had grown up with him, was considered half a Stanley. Even Franklin and his parents had never reprimanded the assistant before, so it was a shock when Leila slapped him in front of everyone.

Amira, Leila's mother, was stunned and couldn't comprehend her daughter's loss of composure. She exclaimed, "Are you crazy? How can you lose your composure so easily over such a small matter?"

Leila shouted back at her mother, "Mom, stay out of it!" She pointed at the assistant and continued, "If you didn't pull me back, I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself! You lowly bastard, I'll definitely ask Frank to fire you!"

The assistant remained silent, lowering his head, but a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

Amira, shaking with exasperation, was about to scold Leila when Barbra approached with a pink diamond ring. Barbra, beaming brightly, provocatively said, "Beloved, what's this? Taking it out on a subordinate because you couldn't afford it? Leila, if I were you, I would have already dug a hole and hid in it. Look at you; you're such an embarrassment! I bet Franklin left the event early because he couldn't stand you."

Leila gritted her teeth and yelled, "Shut up!" She turned her anger towards Barbra and continued, "Barbra Black, you're just an old hag no one wants to marry. I don't understand how you can be so smug!"

"Well, I'm still better than you, even though I'm single," Barbra sneered. "Even though you married Franklin, so what? He doesn't love you at all. His eyes weren't even on you from the start of tonight's event. He only feels disgust and contempt for you. If my guesses are correct, he doesn't even want to sleep with you."

Leila, trembling with rage, reached forward and slapped Barbra tightly.

Barbra was unable to dodge in time, and a red mark instantly appeared on her face. At the same moment, the pink diamond ring slipped out of her hands and disappeared from sight.

The rest of the guests gasped in shock as they witnessed Leila's audacity to slap Barbra in front of everyone. No one had expected such a bold move.

The Black family was known to be catching up with the Stanley family in wealth and status. Franklin, aware of this fact, had always treated the Blacks with respect in business dealings. However, Leila's actions seemed to undermine all his efforts.

"How dare you hit me, Leila!" Barbra shouted, trembling with fury.

"Miss Black, please calm down," Amira interjected, stepping forward to apologize on Leila's behalf. However, Barbra couldn't hear a word over her anger. With a simple gesture, Barbra signaled for two security guards to apprehend Leila.

"What do you think you're doing? How dare you lay a finger on me!" Leila yelled arrogantly. "My husband is Franklin Stanley!"

"How arrogant!" A cold voice echoed through the hall, instantly silencing everyone. Davon had returned with Violla just in time to witness the commotion.

Violla couldn't shake the feeling that everything happening that night was somehow orchestrated to target Amira and Leila. Could it be that someone had deliberately arranged it?

The crowd instinctively made way for Davon as he slowly moved forward. Like the fates who determined destinies at birth, Davon's words cut through the tension. "You must possess quite the nerve to cause trouble at my event!" Davon snarled.

His intense gaze seemed to suffocate the room, and Leila trembled in fear, unable to utter a single word.