The auction had officially begun.
And with each stone that was fiercely contested, its price climbing from the absurd to the outrageous, Evadne couldn't stop herself from grimacing.
The Monteverdes were filthy rich, yes, but Evadne had grown up surrounded by modest simplicity in France. Romos had never once deprived them, she and her mother could have anything they asked for. He gave expensive gifts, and yes, they attended auctions in Paris. But those had clear, tangible value, fine art, couture, rare books. Not like this. Not a hall of people throwing hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, at rocks that may or may not contain anything at all.
"Baby?" Hades reached for her left hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. "Still haven't found one?"
"None yet," Evadne replied, just as another bid was shouted, four hundred thousand dollars.
She visibly cringed.
Hades gently tilted her chin toward him so she'd look at him.
"I'll change the game," he said softly. "Bid on one stone. Just one. And whether it has a gem or not… we'll go on that road trip."
Her brow arched in disbelief. Hades chuckled at her expression.
Truth was, he'd been meaning to tell her this for days.
Before the school year ended, Evadne had mentioned her dream, a road trip for three, just her, Hades, and Casadin. Unsurprisingly, Casadin had agreed immediately. He craved that kind of wild spontaneity. Hades, on the other hand, shut it down.
He gave all the logical reasons, long-distance travel was dangerous, they were still technically teenagers even if legally adults. Just the three of them on the road? Too many unknowns.
Evadne had pleaded, flirted, coaxed, telling him they'd be fine, that she had powers anyway. But Hades couldn't get past the idea that he and Casadin were supposed to be the ones protecting her… not the other way around.
Instead, he had proposed a safer alternative. A trip to Paris. Fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. Romantic dinners. Museum dates. Everything planned, protected, perfect.
Evadne had agreed. Smiled, even. But Casadin? He had just sighed.
And Hades couldn't unsee it, the subtle disappointment in Evadne's eyes, no matter how much she tried to hide it.
Because that smile she gave him? That wasn't joy. It was indulgence.
She was humoring him. Doing what would make him happy. Forcing herself to enjoy it.
But when she was with Casadin, it was different. Everything was effortless. Her laughter was real. Unfiltered. Pure. The way she leaned into him. The way her eyes sparkled. They shared the same rhythm, the same wavelength.
One of them would toss out a joke, and the other would catch it mid-air without explanation. They had whole conversations with just glances. Finished each other's sentences. Spoke a language Hades had no dictionary for.
And he hated it.
No matter how Evadne tried to treat them equally, the imbalance always crept in. He was her fiancé, officially, publicly. Casadin was the "best friend." But in the quiet places, in the moments that weren't for show, Hades often felt like the third wheel.
"It's fine if you really don't want to go," Evadne whispered softly to Hades, her gaze returning to the auctioneer just in time to miss the flicker of pain that erased the smile from his lips.
What he didn't know was that she had already chosen her stones.
She wasn't bidding yet, not because she hadn't made up her mind, but because someone behind them was watching her. Waiting for her move. Ready to sabotage her.
That someone was Cieryl, still simmering with silent rage over how sweetly Hades had been treating Evadne all night.
A wicked grin crept across Evadne's lips. A deliciously petty idea had bloomed in her mind.
When the next item, a medium-sized stone, was brought out for auction, she didn't even wait for the auctioneer to finish his opening speech.
She immediately raised her paddle. "We have the starting bid from Ms. Monteverde at one thousand dollars," the auctioneer announced.
As expected, Cieryl's paddle flew up the moment she saw Evadne bid.
Evadne turned over her shoulder and raised a perfectly arched brow at Cieryl, as if to say really?, before slowly lifting her paddle again.
And like clockwork, Cieryl outbid her.
Others in the room started to catch on, intrigued by Evadne's sudden interest. For the first time since the auction began, she was bidding, clearly invested. Curiosity grew, and soon more paddles rose, the price climbing steadily.
Half a million. The highest bid of the night so far.
"Six hundred thousand," Evadne said smoothly, her voice calm.
"Six fifty," Cieryl shot back with a smirk, eyes locked on her target.
Evadne made it look like she wanted the stone. Desperately.
"Seven."
"Seven fifty," Cieryl snapped again, a glint of pride in her expression. She thought she had Evadne cornered.
Beside her, Hades' brow furrowed. He glanced toward Cieryl, his eyes darkening in warning. But Cieryl didn't even flinch. She met his stare with a smug smile, as if to say, you don't control me anymore.
"Eight hundred," Evadne raised again, lips tight.
"Eight fifty."
Cieryl wasn't bidding for the stone, she was bidding to win against Evadne. She thought this was Evadne's first auction, and that she was just another spoiled girl who couldn't let go of something once she wanted it.
"Nine hundred."
"Nine fifty."
Evadne turned to Hades with a pout, her expression full of faux disappointment. Hades looked toward Cieryl again, this time more threatening, eyes narrowing. Cieryl only smirked, refusing to look away.
Hades was about to raise his paddle, to shut this down with a million-dollar bid if he had to, but Evadne gently placed her hand over his.
"Just give it to her," she said sweetly, the corners of her lips twitching with satisfaction. "Looks like she really wants it."
She raised a brow, her eyes gleaming with mischief. It was subtle, too subtle for the room to notice, but Hades caught it instantly.
The auctioneer turned. "Mr. Falcon? Are you going to bid?"
"No. It's fine," Hades said with a cool smile.
Cieryl's face went slack. Her eyes widened.
She looked around, half-panicked. Hoping someone, anyone, would raise a paddle and outbid her.
But no one did.
"Going once… going twice… sold to Miss Clark," the auctioneer declared.
The room applauded politely.
Cieryl slowly turned to her father's direction. Ryzel hadn't even looked at her.
He didn't have to.
She knew. She knew exactly what kind of storm she had just brought upon herself.
The Clarks might save face tonight, Ryzel would never allow public embarrassment, but that stone was going to cost Cieryl far more than nine hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Evadne leaned toward Hades, whispering, "That wasn't even one of the stones I wanted."
Hades could only shake his head with a smile, amusement written all over his face.
Evadne, never one to let a good moment pass, turned to Cieryl and smirked, sticking out the tip of her tongue in a mockingly playful gesture. She made sure everyone could see it. That's when it finally hit them.
Evadne had been toying with Cieryl the entire time.
Around the hall, murmurs and knowing glances passed between New York's elite. The influential men and women in attendance couldn't help but be impressed. She was barely nineteen and had just manipulated the price of a useless stone to nearly a million dollars. That wasn't just luck, that was deliberate, strategic provocation.
Then again, they weren't all that surprised. She was a Monteverde. Romos Monteverde never moved without assurance of victory. It made sense his daughter inherited the same ruthless precision. And more than that, she was the Falcon's chosen future daughter-in-law. Jupiter Falcon's goddaughter.
With both those bloodlines shaping her, it was no wonder she had the cunning of a tactician and the charm of a queen.
Meanwhile, Cieryl was burning with rage. Her pride had been baited and shattered in front of everyone. What made it worse was seeing the unmistakable pride in Hades' expression as he looked at Evadne, as if he couldn't be more in love with what she just did.
The auction resumed.
Evadne, now seemingly uninterested, didn't bid again. Not once. She simply observed.
Until the final portion of the evening arrived, the small stones.
Unlike the earlier lots, which were sold individually, the remaining twenty or so small stones were bundled together as one lot.
Everyone's attention had already waned. These were the remainders. Waste. At best, decorative. At worst, gravel.
"It seems no one wants to bid for these small stones," the auctioneer said, his voice laced with amusement. "To officially close this evening's auction, let me call, Going once, going twice…"
"One hundred dollars, for all the small stones," Evadne said, raising her paddle with a charming smile.
A few people laughed. Surely, it was a joke.
Evadne pouted at the auctioneer. "Please?"
He glanced toward the Cavendish patriarch, who simply nodded, indulgent. If anyone else had done it, they might've been scoffed at. But not Evadne Monteverde. No one wanted the stones anyway. Might as well let the little princess play.
"One hundred dollars bid by Miss Monteverde," the auctioneer declared, chuckling softly. "Any counter offers?"
Silence.
"Going once, going twice… Sold to Miss Monteverde."
Evadne beamed as if she'd just won the crown jewel of the night.
The crowd began moving toward the appraisal and cutting area. Here, the stones would be crushed in a clear glass machine to determine whether a gem was hidden inside. Winners would pay first, then their stones were cracked open one by one.
Ryzel stood beside his daughter with cold eyes, arms crossed. Cieryl, meanwhile, looked visibly pale.
"You're not getting a cent from me until you pay every dollar of that nine-fifty," Ryzel whispered darkly to her. "So you better pray there's a damn gem inside that rock."
Cieryl looked like she was going to cry.
Her allowance from Ryzel was a thousand dollars a month. At that rate, she'd be paying off the stone until she was thirty. Unless… there was something inside it. Something valuable.
But luck wasn't hers tonight.
Stone after stone was shattered. Sparkling sapphires, emeralds, one opal, and the highest-grade ruby of the night, which had only cost fifty thousand and was appraised at three hundred, all revealed themselves in earlier bids.
As per the official auction details, only six of the stones contained gems. By the time it was Cieryl's turn, all six had already been found.
The technician cracked her stone in the machine.
Nothing.
Just dust and silence.
The room didn't laugh, but the tension was thick. Everyone knew what had just happened. Cieryl had spent nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars for nothing. Her face turned ghost-white. Her pride, humiliated in front of high society, again.
Ryzel didn't say a word. He didn't have to. His silence was colder than any reprimand.
And now it was time to crush the small stones.
"Can I do it?" Evadne asked the technician operating the machine. He quickly nodded, after all, the stones were small and harmless enough to be loaded all at once into the glass chamber.
Hades, without missing a beat, pulled out his phone and started recording the moment.
"Wave for me, baby," he said with a grin.
Evadne obliged, flashing a playful wave toward the camera. Hades just wanted to capture the memory, proof that she had fun tonight, that this wasn't just another society event she endured for his sake.
He turned the camera to the machine, and the crowd around them joined in a soft, teasing count.
"One… two… three…"
Evadne pulled the lever.
The glass cracked down as the stones were crushed.
Everyone expected dust, just powder and shards. Even Hades tilted the camera closer, anticipating an anticlimactic end.
But then…
Gasps erupted from every corner of the room.
Inside the glass chamber, amidst the crushed stone dust, were not just fragments.
There were four glowing gems.
Even Evadne was stunned for a moment.
Not three like she originally sensed. Four. Four precious stones.
And not just any stones, diamonds. And not the common clear ones either. A deep red, a vibrant blue, an inky black, and a smoky grey sparkled beneath the glass.
Murmurs swelled like a rising tide across the auction floor.
The Cavendish team scrambled to call the appraiser.
The man leaned in close, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"These are diamonds," he breathed out, stunned. "All of them. Red, blue, black… and grey."
Gasps turned to awe. Applause. Even the most stoic patrons were murmuring in disbelief.
Four rare-color diamonds, from the pile no one wanted. The lot that had cost Evadne… just one hundred dollars.
"Ahhhhh!!!" Evadne squealed, dramatically throwing her arms around Hades and hugging him tight.
If she didn't celebrate, the entire room would think she had planned the whole thing.
Hades, still holding his phone, finally lowered it and kissed her on the forehead.
"Wow… congratulations, baby. You just hit the jackpot." His voice was filled with genuine joy.
But even as he said it, Evadne could hear the thoughts echoing from the Cavendish patriarch's mind. Regret. Deep, bitter regret.
The red diamond was by far the most valuable of the four, rarer even than pink. But Evadne didn't need it.
She only wanted the blue, black, and grey ones. Those were the ones she sensed mana from.
Without a second thought, she picked up the red diamond and walked over to Lion Cavendish himself, the patriarch of the auction house.
"Here, Grandpa," she said sweetly, handing it over.
Lion blinked in disbelief.
"Miss Monteverde," he said slowly, voice tinged with awe. "This diamond is rightfully yours."
"It's fine," Evadne smiled. "Consider it payment. Not just for the three diamonds I'm keeping, but for tonight. For the experience. I did say some harsh things earlier… about how boring this all was, and how people bidding on stones were insane."
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Evadne continued. "So, think of this as my apology. I was wrong. This was… fun. Very fun."
Lion Cavendish shook his head and gave a low chuckle. "Well, if your mind's made up, then I shall humbly accept it. And in honor of your words, we'll name this diamond…"
He turned dramatically toward the crowd.
"Evadne's Boredom."
Laughter burst across the room. Someone clapped. Then another. Then the rest.
Just like that, Evadne once again became the buzz of high society, not just in New York, but beyond.
Later that night, the red diamond was appraised at thirty million dollars.
And the world would soon know that the Cavendish Luxury Group's newest legendary piece, an ultra-rare five-carat red diamond, was named Evadne's Boredom.
And that the girl who found it? She gave it away with a smile.