The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 123

Victoria froze.

Tammie's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the hand Elias had placed on Victoria's waist. "Shawn, what… what is going on?"

"It's quite obvious. She's my date."

It was a classic case of a battle lost before it even began.

Tammie pressed a hand to his forehead, struggling to process it. "What an unbelievable coincidence!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask her," Elias added.

At that, Tammie turned to Victoria. He was about to ask, his expression hopeful, when she met his gaze and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Mr. James," she said.

Tammie sighed in disappointment, then spread his hands open toward Elias. "Alright, you win again."

Just then, a staff member approached and whispered something in Tammie's ear.

"The auction is about to start, and I need to take care of something backstage. Shawn, go on and take your beautiful date to your seat!" With that, Tammie turned to leave with the staff member.

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. He turned back, took Victoria's hand, and bent down to kiss it. "Until later, my dear Miss Sanger!"

"James," Elias said, his eyes narrowing, a hint of warning in his icy tone.

Tammie, however, looked as if he'd won a victory. He gave a smug arch of his brow and walked away without another glance.

Only when Tammie was out of sight did Elias release Victoria. He strode toward his seat without another word.

Victoria stood in place for a moment, took a deep breath, and then walked over to sit down beside him.

The lights in the hall dimmed.

The auction officially began. The auctioneer stood behind a podium, introducing the first item of the evening.

Each seat had a catalog detailing the background of each piece and the order of their presentation.

Victoria listened to the auctioneer while flipping through the catalog. She appeared focused, but with a man as intimidating as Elias beside her, it was nearly impossible to concentrate.

Especially since she still had no idea what his motive was for helping her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our first item tonight is a rare sunflower dish. The bidding starts at nine hundred thousand dollars…" The auctioneer spoke clearly, and as she finished, a soft white light illuminated the glass case, followed by a chorus of rising bids.

Meanwhile, Victoria found the description of the item she intended to win tonight.

It was the fifth-to-last item.

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