Now You Want Me? Too Late

"You are here for an auction?" Tessa smirked, looking Elena up and down. "Or are you following Noah?"

Elena rolled her eyes and turned, completely ignoring her.

"Eh!" Tessa moved forward and stood in front of her, blocking her path. "Where are you going? Are you seriously planning to attend the auction?"

Elena cocked her head. "Why? Am I not allowed to?"

Tessa chuckled softly. "Of course, you are. But this is not an ordinary auction. Rare antiques from all over the world are being sold here. Every item costs a fortune."

She cast a mocking stare at Elena. "Are you sure you still want to attend?"

"I like collecting antiques," Elena said. "Natural, I’d attend the auction like this. And if you are implying that I can’t afford anything here, you are mistaken. I believe you haven’t forgotten about the unlimited card."

This time, Tessa’s face turned red, her smile disappearing already.

How could she forget?

That humiliation still stung her chest.

"You..." Tessa snarled. "You clearly know Noah doesn’t love you. He only kept you around because he made a promise to your father. You are nothing but a burden to him."

Elena’s fingers curled into fists.

"To him, I am the most important one," added Tessa. "He trusts me, no matter what. You have seen it yourself. Whenever there is a choice between us, he’ll always choose me."

Her voice grew sharper with every word.

"Yet you continue acting as though everything is normal. You showed up here the moment you learned Noah would be attending. Aren’t you embarrassed?"

The more she spoke, the more furious she grew. "If I were in your position, I would have left long ago. But you keep clinging to him despite knowing there is no love left in your relationship."

Her eyes were filled with contempt.

"Because you are unwilling to give up the comfortable life he provides."

She snorted, her gaze roving around Elena disdainfully. "Now you’ve come to the auction to spend his money. Let me tell you something. After that, I’d like to see if you still want to be with him."

She moved in closer to Elena, a malicious smile on her face. "Do you know what he has been doing behind you?"

Elena’s whole body stiffened as she thought Tessa was finally going to accept the dirty secrets about Noah.

But before Tessa could say anything, Noah’s voice came. "Elena?"

Tessa stopped speaking instantly, panic crossing her eyes briefly. A vicious idea formed in her head almost immediately.

The next moment, she staggered backward dramatically and collapsed on the floor as if she had been pushed down.

"Uh!" She stared up with wide, fearful eyes.

Noah rushed over and crouched beside her, pulling her into his arms.

Fake tears filled Tessa’s eyes. "I only wanted to talk to her. But she pushed me."

Elena almost groaned in frustration. The performance was so pathetic that it was insulting.

It was so obvious that Tessa was pretending. Sadly, Noah wouldn’t see it.

"Why did you push her?" His eyes turned cold as he looked at Elena. "When do you stop targeting her?"

Elena laughed softly. "You are hopelessly blind, Noah. You won’t see the truth. You don’t want to. All you can do is blame me."

She turned and walked away.

Noah’s chest tightened with uneasiness. He had not seen her in days. There was so much he wanted to say.

He wasn’t ready to let her walk away again. Helping Tessa to her feet, he immediately started after Elena.

But Tessa caught his arm. "Noah, I feel dizzy."

Noah hesitated. He wanted to go after Elena, but he couldn’t leave Tessa alone. He looked back at her.

"If you are not feeling well, let’s go home."

Leave?

Tessa fell silent. She wouldn’t want to leave yet.

The auction had not started. More importantly, she hadn’t yet shown Elena how much Noah supposedly loved her.

She wanted to see the jealousy and insecurity in Elena. She planned to pass the message that Noah only loved her.

"No," she said. "I can manage. I want to attend the auction."

"Are you sure?" he asked with uncertainty.

"Yes, I’m fine." She smiled as if she were not dizzy just a moment ago. She leaned toward him and put a hand on his chest, her tone sweet.

"You’ve been looking forward to this auction. I don’t want to ruin it." Her voice softened further. "Let’s go in."

Noah couldn’t decide for a moment. But then he reminded himself why he had come. He knew how much Elena liked antiques.

He had intended to buy something unique, something unforgettable that might soften her heart and convince her to come back to him.

He nodded slowly and led her into the hall where the auction was going to happen.

Elena was already sitting in the front row. Noah walked over and sat down beside her, while Tessa took the seat on his other side.

Elena glanced at him, and their eyes met at that moment.

A strange tension filled the air.

"Elena," Tessa said sweetly, "if you see anything you like, just tell Noah. He’ll buy it for you."

As she spoke, she deliberately put her hand on his.

Elena noticed that intimate gesture, and somehow it still hurt her, much to her annoyance. "I don’t need his money," she replied coldly.

Noah’s face hardened instantly. Fury surged inside him.

"Still pretending?" he hissed, leaning closer. "You bought me a gift. Then you followed me here. And you still lie that you don’t need me."

His jaw tightened. "Stop acting. It’s getting ridiculous."

"A gift? When did I buy you a gift?" Elena asked in surprise.

Noah laughed in fury. He grabbed her wrist and said in a deep, rumbling tone, "The one you bought that day—the red tie."

Elena’s mouth fell apart. Her gaze flicked briefly to Tessa and then back to Noah. "You think that tie was for you?"

"Or else?" He smirked confidently. "Who else would it be for?"

"Of course, for the man who matters to me," she said without hesitation. "And that man is not you."

Noah’s face turned completely dark. A storm brewed in his eyes. His grip around her hand tightened.

"We were together for years," he grunted out. "How can you say I don’t matter?"

Elena sneered.

It was clearly him who had cheated on her in the first place, broken that relationship, and destroyed everything they had built together. He had hurt her so much that she couldn’t recover from the pain in this lifetime.

Yet, he expected her love, loyalty, and devotion.

She opened her mouth to retaliate, but before that, the host’s voice boomed.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

The crowd immediately fell silent.

"We have many distinguished guests attending today’s event," the host said. "But there is also a special guest among us." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Curiosity spread throughout the room.

He raised his hand toward an exclusive private booth on the first floor. "Please welcome the sole heir to the Rowan family empire, the owner of Novacrest Global."

A hushed murmur spread through the room almost immediately.

"Oh my God... He is one of the richest men in the world," someone whispered.

"He is mysterious and rarely appears in public. But he had come to attend the auction today."

"If I had known he would be here, I would have found time to fix a meeting with him," a man said.

Elena also looked up at the private booth. A lone silhouette sat behind the tinted glass.

She slightly narrowed her eyes.

Something crossed her mind. ’Elias is a Rowan, too. Could that man be Elias?’