The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 492 After a while, Yolanda finally noticed something off. “Mom, look at their clothes.” Everyone was dressed to the nines; even Arabella was in a light pink suit, her hair pulled up high, and she radiated a cool yet aloof aura.

They, on the other hand, seemed to be misfits.

“Did we wear the wrong clothes?” Yolanda felt uncomfortable in her dress, and it finally clicked why they received puzzled and annoyed looks at the entrance.

It turned out they were dressed inappropriately! Olga realized it too and felt a tad embarrassed. They had never been to a land auction before and had no clue about the dress code.

Attlee tried to comfort them, saying, “Even if we did dress wrongly, it’s no biggie. People will only care about who bags the land, not what you're wearing.” Romeo and Arabella sat side by side in the front row, their hands tightly clasped. Hans, sitting next to them, said coldly, “Keep sdistance.” The AC is too cold; I'm just trying to warm Arabella’s hands. I'll let go soon.” On hearing Romeo, Hans turned to Arabella and asked, “Are you cold?” “Um-hmm.” Arabella could only nod in agreement.

Hans took off his coat and gently laid it on Arabella’s lap, saying, “Wrap this around you. I'll get someone to turn up the heat.” “No need.” Arabella didn't finish her sentence before Hans was already speaking to a staff member.

“Your high ponytail looks great.” Romeo brushed a strand of hair from Arabella’s forehead, admiring her delicate features, and gently said, “You look good in a suit too.” “You look good today too.” Arabella looked into his eyes and said softly, “I'll give you that piece of land later.” “Give it to me?“, “Mmm-hmm.” Arabella raised an eyebrow and asked, “Don’t you want to build a Ferris wheel and a shopping street?” Romeo was surprised that she knew about his plans.

He had planned to give it to her once it was built. He had already thought of a name.

But Arabella didn’t know about his intentions; she thought he was interested in the commercial value of the land. “Anyway, since someone is paying for most of it, I'm just regifting it to you. But it'll take stime.” “That's nice. You always think of me.” Romeo leaned in closer, his breath brushing against her ear.

Just as Hans finished talking to the staff, he turned around to see them whispering again, leaving him puzzled.

Everyone around them was shocked to see their intimate behavior and stared in disbelief.

This was the first tthey saw Romeo whispering sweet nothings to a girl in public.

Especially to a girl who seemed to be barely out of high school.

Who the hell was she that Romeo was so smitten? Can they share the secret? Yolanda, sitting in the last row, felt a pang of jealousy seeing Romeo always leaning in to whisper something to Arabella. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was so nice to Arabella! They always seemed to have a lot to talk about and share. They looked like a couple in love! No wonder Arabella was not interested in Zachary; she had already found a better choice.

Before the auction even began, representatives from various groups got up to greet Romeo, the Kenneths, and Hans in the front row.

Olga noticed Arabella leaving her seat and wondered where she was going. Shortly after, Romeo followed her.

Seeing Arabella’s seat empty, Olga quickly took the opportunity to sit next to Louisa and said, “Hello, Mrs. Collins, we meet again. You remember me, right? I'm Attlee’s wife, Olga.” Louisa was chatting with a few ladies when she saw Olga sitting in her daughter’s seat and felt immediately annoyed. “Who gave you permission to sit here?” Caught off guard, Olga felt the mocking gaze of the ladies and tried to laugh it off: “I saw Arabella go to the restroom, so I “You think you can call Arabella by her first name?” Louisa immediately signaled a staff member.

“Mrs. Collins, please letexplain.” Before she could finish her sentence, a staff member interrupted, “I'm sorry, but could you return to your own seat?” Olga wanted to protest, but with all eyes on her, she had no choice but to stand up and smile, “Mrs. Collins, we'll chat later then.” “Chat about what? Mrs. Collins doesn’t even know you. Who do you think you are, trying to cozy up to her?” “Exactly! There are many people who want to suck up to Mrs. Collins, but you're the first one who's so shameless!” “Why are you still here? Where did this nobody even cfrom? Just because you walked through the door, do you think you're entitled to talk to Mis.

Collins?” “Today's land is definitely going to be the Collins family’s!” “Let's congratulate Mrs. Collins in advance.

Louisa gestured for them to stop the premature congratulations, as she had no interest in the land and would definitely not buy it, which would mess up her daughter’s plans.

She and her husband were here because, after the auction, they were to attend a dinner party with their daughter.

But others didn't know that. They assumed the Collins family was here in full force to buy the land, indicating its potential commercial value.

This made them think even more highly of the land's value.

After being snubbed, Olga vowed to teach them a lesson! However, she caught a glimpse of Louisa talking to a staff member, and soon after, they brought a new chair for Arabella! Seeing this, Olga was livid. She wasn't svirus. She just sat there for a bit. How outrageous! Arabella had been living at her place for eighteen years, and they'd been through a lot together. Mrs. Collins‘ weird favoritism towards Arabella was quite noticeable, as if she had it out for her.

Fast forward a bit, and the auction was about to kick off.

The host explained the details about the land: its purpose, size, planning requirements, and all, then the bidding started.

The opening bid was a whopping three hundred million dollars, and each raise of the paddle was an additional fifty million dollars.

“I declare the auction open.” The host banged his gavel, officially starting the bidding war.

All the big corporations started throwing their hats in the ring.

At first, everyone was all gung-ho about bidding until the price skyrocketed to eight hundred million dollars, and then the bidders started to thin out.

Arabella was still going at it, McMillan Corporation wasn't backing down, and the Collins group was hot on their heels.

Attlee was wiping the sweat off his brow, his hand shaking. Each the raised his paddle, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.