My Husband Auctioned My Private Photos, I Ruined Him on the Spot Chapter 04

My Husband Auctioned My Private Photos, I Ruined Him on the Spot Chapter 04

“Well…”

The auctioneer hesitated. “If you insist on continuing, we’ll have to factor in Hayes Holdings’ real estate. But after bankruptcy, those assets have tanked in value. They’ll barely scrape together another fifty million.”

“Just do it.”

“Look at this crazy woman.”

The men shook their heads. “Throwing away her last safety net over pride. What a waste. That third photo was the one I wanted most.”

“Relax. We haven’t even sold a fraction of them, what’s the rush?”

“Exactly. I snuck a peek ahead. She gets more pathetic the further in you go.”

Every gaze aimed at me dripped with pity or mockery. “Just a cornered animal lashing out. She’s done.”

“After this next one, she gets to sit there and watch us pick through the rest of her little collection.”

“Man, I’d kill to see her face. You think it’s the same one she makes in Ashford’s bed?”

Snickers rippled through the room.

I swallowed the ache in my throat, clenched my fists, and looked up at the auctioneer.

The fourth photo appeared. “Fourth item, opening bid: two million!”

“Wow. I seriously love this one. Fifteen million!”

“Twenty million!”

“Twenty-five million!”

“Blank check.”

I spoke.

Every gaze swung back to me. The auctioneer’s smile was barely hanging on. “Mrs. Ashford, please don’t disrupt the proceedings. If this continues, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

My voice stayed flat. “I’m not disrupting anything. I said clean sweep bid. And not just this photo, I’m sweeping all of them.”

The auctioneer and the audience exchanged glances before bursting into laughter. Even Bianca let out a giggle, leaning onto Landon’s shoulder.

Landon’s eyes practically dripped with tenderness. His icy expression cracked open.

“She’s lost it. Three hundred sixty-five lots? That’s a damn fortune. She didn’t have that kind of money even before the bankruptcy.”

“Only Mr. Ashford could pull something like that off.”

The auctioneer took several seconds to recover his professional composure. “Mrs. Ashford, you’ve exhausted your verified assets in the previous rounds. You cannot place a bid at this level. Which gentleman bid twenty-five million? Going once!”

Crash!

I grabbed the water glass in front of me and hurled it. It shattered at the auctioneer’s feet, making him stumble backward.

I stared him down, cold. “I said I’m calling a clean sweep. Are you deaf?”

“Evelyn Ashford!”

Someone snapped. “We’ve played along for three rounds. You’re broke. Stop the act.”

“Bidding without backing has consequences. We’re doing you a favor just by showing up for these. Show a little gratitude.”

The auctioneer’s smile vanished. “Mrs. Ashford, if it weren’t for the Ashford name, you wouldn’t even have qualified to bid tonight. Keep this up, and I’ll have security escort you out.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Who says I’m broke?”

Landon shot me an unreadable look.

The crowd faltered. “You’ve got to be kidding. This may be a private auction, but you think our verification process is a joke? We know exactly how much you have.”

I turned to the auctioneer. “As long as I still have funds, I can keep making clean sweep bids, correct?”

“In theory, yes, but…”

“Re-verify my funds.”

I cut him off. Everyone exchanged uncertain glances. Even Landon’s brow furrowed slightly.

I pulled the microphone closer. “What’s the matter? Afraid you can’t keep up?”

“Fine! Run it again. Let’s put an end to this farce once and for all.”

My photos vanished from the screen, replaced by my account balance.

The auctioneer regained his stance. “Bidder thirty-eight, second fund verification.”