Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
At that moment, a commotion surged at the entrance.
A lady in a striking red cocktail dress made her way into the venue. The red garment struck a pleasant contrast with her fair skin.
Almost all of the men present had their eyes on the gorgeous lady.
Timothy’s eyes narrowed.
It was her.
Timothy recognized the woman in red at first glance.
Following that, another kid in a red cocktail dress showed up in pigtails, looking bright and cute.
Holding Ginger’s hand, Mia headed to a private lounge on the second floor. The view was better there and the rooms were catered for the regulars.
Timothy watched her vanish from his sight.
The surrounding men were still gushing about her figure and some of their words crossed the line.
Timothy’s swept his gaze in their direction. His gaze was so scary that it zipped their lips almost instantly. They didn’t say anything further.
Timothy withdrew his gaze. While staying in his seat, he eyed the private lounge on the second floor again.
Luna, who was sitting behind him, happened to notice his gaze. It irked her. Luna had an inkling of that woman’s background.
According to the sources, that woman was Monalize, a regular at Xanier Island.
She normally hung out with men. People had lost count of the number of men she hung out with.
Irritated, Luna looked at Caleb. “Caleb, I heard something about that woman when I was on my way here. Do you want to know?” “Fancy me. What did you hear?” “She seems to be a regular at Xanier Island. This place is known for its male hosts. She selects different men for a company for every visit. She’s popular because she’s generous with money.”
She sneaked a peek at Timothy to observe his expression, but the mask was covering his face.
Caleb asked, “That’s it? Nothing more? Nothing about her hometown or real name?”
She replied slowly, “I haven’t heard anything about that, but I’ve heard that her personality is different from Mia Bowen’s. I don’t think she’s Mia Bowen.
Timothy finally piped up, but in a steely voice, “Mia Bowen, Mia Bowen. Can’t you address her respectfully?”
Feeling wronged, she retorted, “Do I have to call her Mrs. Barrett? You’re divorced, though.” “Shut up! If you’re going to keep this up, you might as well return.” His patience was running thin.
Luna kept quiet despite the frustration boiling in her.
Caleb gave her a helpless look. “I told you not to stick your nose in it and not to ask questions. Forget it. Let’s focus on the auction.”
Instead of fighting back, Luna let the conversation end. She couldn’t help but look at the second floor.
Was there something magical about that face? Why was Timothy attracted to Monalize despite her bad reputation?
The auction would commence at any moment now.
The curtains in the private lounge were drawn. Mia was on the couch overlooking the view on the first floor.
Her gaze landed in Caleb and Timothy’s direction.
Ginger tiptoed. “Mommy, is Mister here? Where is he?” “The middle seat on the third row, wearing a black and white mask.” “Oh, I saw him. Can I call him later?” Ginger showed her pink wristwatch, which was repaired.
Mia swirled a glass of champagne. “If you want to. I wonder what is he going to buy from here.”
At that moment, Tanner knocked on the door and entered the room. “Ms. Lane, I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t know that she’s your daughter. Here’s an apology gift. I hope you’ll have a wonderful stay here.”
He felt his life shaved off by ten years the moment he learned the news of Ginger going missing.
Fortunately, Ginger was safe and sound, otherwise, the Lanes would’ve turned the whole island upside down.
Mia wore a solemn expression.
It seemed like Dominic had personally contacted Tanner after learning the news of the attempted kidnap.
Otherwise, Tanner wouldn’t offer an apology this quickly.
She merely spared a fleeting glance at the gold bars brought by Tanner.
She returned her attention to Ginger. “Anything you’d like for an apology gift?”
“Can I request for anything?” Ginger asked.
Tanner quickly explained, “Yes, as long as I can afford it.”
Tilting her head, Ginger gave it a serious thought. She raised the bidding number. “I want this.”
He paused and gazed at Mia, unable to understand Ginger’s words.
Mia stroked Ginger’s hair. “If my daughter raises the number, could you give her the item?
“Not a problem.” A weight lifted off his chest.
The items on auction were worth more or less the same as the gold bars. If Ginger took a liking to something worthless, he wouldn’t lose anything!
He quickly left, and the room became silent.
“Mommy, why is that uncle so happy?” Ginger was curious.
“Because he thinks that it’s his win, but that won’t last for long.”
Although Mia wouldn’t intervene in Ginger’s decision, the latter had high standards because she had seen a lot of things since she was young.
Mia looked at the guests on the first floor. “The auction is starting soon. You can buy anything you want.”
The next thing she knew, Ginger shoved the bidding number into her hand.
“This is a gift from me to you, Mommy. You can buy anything you want!” Ginger declared proudly.
Feeling touched, Mia hugged Ginger and showered her with kisses. “There’s nothing that I want. You can make any purchases as long as you like them. I’m not angry anymore!
How could she be angry when her daughter was this good at making her happy?
*15 BOWLS
A tracker was inserted into Ginger’s watch so that Mia could know her whereabouts nend time. However, it was a secret from Ginger.
Soon, the auction started.
Caleb took an interest in a necklace and began bidding, His competitors backed down in no time.
When he thought that it was his win for sure, someone else raised their number. “60
thousand dollars.”
“Okay, someone from the second floor is bidding it for 60 thousand dollars. Is there more?”
He clenched his teeth. “65 thousand dollars.”
“66 thousand dollars.” After calling her bid, she looked at Caleb, the “ex¨Chusband” she frowned upon.
He knew that Monalize was doing this on purpose. He felt helpless. “Tim, she’s doing this on purpose, isn’t she?”
“Well, anyone can tell.” Timothy shifted his gaze onto the second floor and happened to see a small head bobbing around behind the glass.
She wasn’t tall enough for him to see her, so he could only see her head.
??
In the end, the necklace Caleb liked belonged to Mia.
Still unable to accept his defeat, Caleb began to make a bid when the next necklace was auctioned.
As he had expected, Mia raised her number at the end again.
“And here begins my revenge arc.” He sounded a tad excited.
Timothy calmly commented, “Don’t play with fire.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve never lost once in this game.”
Caleb began to compete with her. When he was going to give up, she gave up first!
At the end of the day, he spent one million dollars on something he didn’t like. Timothy smirked, “Congratulations on your first loss in this game.”
Caleb’s ego took a blow.
The question was¨Cwhy was he the victim?
Caleb had nothing to do with Mia and Ginger. Only Mia, according to the men’s guess, might he something to do with Timothy.