Chapter 17

On the night of the charity auction, Aurora avoided entering through the main entrance, where there was a red carpet and several photographers. It's not that she wasn't decently dressed to pass through there - she was wearing a white flared dress that accentuated her curves - but only the "important" people could go through there, meaning the rich and the daddy's boys. In reality, Aurora was sure that most of them pretended to care about the children just to have a good reputation.

She walked through the event in search of her friends. She stayed like that for a few minutes until she saw Lucca, the aggressive short guy, running towards her.

"Aurora! I finally found you..." she interrupted him when he started pulling her arm in one direction.

"I need your help. Actually, the children need you," Lucca said.

"What do you mean?" Aurora asked, not understanding, but didn't receive an answer as both of them stopped in front of an Asian girl who had a big gentle smile.

"Aurora, this is Rose," Lucca introduced.

"Hi, nice to meet you," they greeted each other. "Lucca told me you could help us."

"I'll do what's within my power," Aurora replied.

"So... would you accept being auctioned?" Lucca asked.

"What?!" the redhead widened her eyes, thinking something inappropriate.

"Don't worry," Rose laughed. "We came up with the idea of auctioning off a date with some girls. It's just a fun way to get people to donate money."

Aurora hesitated to accept, but both of them were practically begging and making cute faces to soften her heart.

"Okay, fine. It's for a good cause."

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the event, a sequence of flashes accompanied Tristan and Xavier's walk on the red carpet.

"Smile. We're being photographed!" Xavier nudged Tristan, who rolled his eyes and walked faster.

There were numerous tables scattered in front of the grand stage. The two sat side by side at a table right in the center, where other members of "Callahan's" were also seated. Taking advantage of not being in a work setting, they talked about random things, except Tristan, who was distracted by his phone.

"How much are you going to donate?" Xavier asked Tristan, who ignored his existence. "Are you going to ignore me now?"

"Shut up, Xavier," Tristan replied, irritated.

"Are you in a bad mood because of me?" Xavier smirked mockingly. He enjoyed getting his friend/boss angry.

"You forced me to come here!" Tristan looked at him angrily.

"I was given the mission to improve your image. It may not seem like it, but your bad reputation stains both your name and the company."

"So what?" Tristan replied.

"So, that won't be good for business," Xavier said, obvious. "Stop thinking with your lower head, Callahan!"

Tristan sighed and went back to fiddling with his phone before he completely lost his patience and strangled the big-eared guy next to him. The lights were dimmed, and the spotlights were directed towards Rose, who stepped onto the stage to the sound of applause from the audience. She began to speak about the importance of donating money to the institution, but Tristan had no interest in paying attention, let alone looking at the stage. He absentmindedly swiped his thumb across the phone screen, bored.

Suddenly, Xavier started poking Tristan. He tried to ignore it, but Park was being persistent.

"What do you want?!" Tristan looked at him with fury in his eyes.

Xavier said nothing, just pointed forward. Tristan's gaze shifted to the stage, specifically to Aurora, who stood at the center with a shy smile.

"Let's start with a bid of 10 thousand," Rose said next to Aurora, holding a microphone.

"10 thousand," a man spoke, raising his hand and initiating the bids.

"What's happening?" Tristan asked confused.

"They're auctioning a date with the shorty," Xavier replied.

"20 thousand," another man said.

"30 thousand," the bids kept increasing, which made Tristan uncomfortable with the competition for Aurora.

"We have 30 thousand. Does anyone want to offer more?" Rose asked.

"40 thousand," Tristan raised his hand, grabbing everyone's attention.

Aurora became more nervous, her desire to run away from there grew. She knew Tristan was filthy rich and that he didn't give up when he set his mind on something.

"40 thousand. Does anyone want to match that offer?" Rose said.

"50 thousand," Xavier realized that Tristan really wanted to pay for a date with Aurora and, as part of his mission to make him donate a good amount, he would take advantage of that opportunity.

"60 thousand," Tristan retorted.

"70 thousand," Xavier increased the bid.

When Aurora realized that she was being "fought over" by the two, she felt desperate. Of course, it was for a good cause, but going out with Tristan or Xavier was not an option for her.

"Oh no... I don't want to go out with Mr. Arrogant, let alone with the small-dicked one!" In an impulsive act, she grabbed the microphone from Rose's hand. "Just a curiosity, I'm a virgin."

With that simple sentence, men of different ages raised their hands with large sums of money to offer. Aurora was impressed to see the conflict among all those perverts, even accompanied men made offers.

"100 thousand!"

"200 thousand!"

"300 thousand!" The bids kept increasing.

"Please, gentlemen, calm down!" Rose took the microphone back from Aurora, and slowly the men fell silent. "At the moment, we have 300 thousand. I'll give you..."

"400 thousand," Xavier raised his hand.

"500 thousand!" Tristan reentered the competition. He was outraged by Xavier's audacity, who was laughing mockingly. And to heat things up even more, he decided to make a much higher bid.

"I offer 800 thousand for the girl," Xavier said.

After Xavier's significant bid, there were a few seconds of silence. The audience didn't have enough money to match the last offer. With a tense atmosphere hanging in the air, everyone waited to see if Tristan would surpass Xavier's bid, but he remained silent.

"As no one can match this offer, then I declare..." Rose began to say.

"1 million!" Tristan, furious, stood up, becoming the center of attention.

Everyone was left speechless, including Rose, who even dropped the microphone. Aurora was stunned, simply unsure how to react. She never imagined that a man would bid so much for her, even with the wrong intentions.

"H-how?" Rose stammered.

"I will pay 1 million for her, and let's end this circus!" Without waiting for a response, Tristan walked toward the stage, climbed the small steps, and unceremoniously took the checkbook from Rose's hands and signed it.

"So... Let's give a round of applause to Mr. Tristan Callahan," Rose announced, and the audience began to applaud, except for Xavier, who burst into laughter.

"For someone who said he wouldn't donate a single cent, you just spent 1 million on a 'shorty'!" Xavier thought, laughing even harder at that idea.

After filling out the check, Tristan handed it to Rose and held onto his "prize," dragging her off the stage. Aurora pulled her arm away and managed to break free from him. Tristan turned to face her.

"What was that?" Aurora asked, confused.

"What was what?" Tristan pretended not to understand.

"You paid 1 million for a date with me." Aurora shook her head from side to side. "You're crazy."

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for charity," Tristan forced a laugh, but she didn't believe his words.

"Now you're using children to cover up your pursuit of me?"

"I'm not pursuing you. Xavier forced me to come here to have a reputation as a kind man."

"A kind man?" Aurora raised an eyebrow. "I'll pretend I believe that!"

She walked past him, purposely bumping into his shoulder. To her surprise, he stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"Are you angry with me?" Tristan asked.

"No, of course not!" Aurora sarcastically replied. "Why would I be mad at you? For entering my house in the middle of the night and harassing me?"

"I was drunk," he laughed humorlessly. "And it's not considered harassment when both parties are willing participants."

"I didn't participate!" Aurora began to get nervous. "You must have been very drunk to think I reciprocated the kiss."

Tristan gave a half-smile, knowing she was lying, as her cheeks started to turn pink.

"However, you owe me a date. I don't usually spend a million for nothing..." His voice became whispery as he got closer to her. "You'll have to compensate me for every cent."

Slowly, he backed away, leaving a perverted smile on his face that drove any woman crazy. Aurora stood there, completely immobile, with a racing heart. Tristan had no idea of the effect he had on her.

Aurora stopped a passing waiter and took a glass of champagne from his tray. She downed it in one go, surprising both the waiter and the aggressive shorty who was approaching her.

"Take it easy, friend! It's only eight o'clock," Lucca said.

"Leave me alone!" she replied, and he laughed. Aurora left the empty glass on the tray, grabbed another full one, and dismissed the waiter.

The two friends chatted casually as they observed the people around them. Lucca, acting like a true fan, freaked out when he spotted Tristan at a table and felt apprehensive about approaching him. Meanwhile, Aurora savored her drink and tried to ignore her friend's outbursts until someone approached, making her smile openly.

"Oh, I'm glad you guys are here," Alex said, returning the smile.

"We would never refuse to help others, right, Lucca?" Aurora nudged him with her elbow, trying to divert his gaze away from Tristan.

"Y-yeah. I already made a donation, gave a sum of money and all my old toys. We also auctioned a date with Aurora," Lucca said, causing the girl to shudder. "I don't know how much we managed to raise because I was making my donation at that moment."

Alex expressed concern as he asked, "Do you feel safe going out with a stranger?" This question made Aurora feel a knot in her stomach. "If you don't want to go out with this guy, I can..."

"N-no! It's fine," she smiled shyly. "The guy I'm going out with isn't really a stranger. We are..." Aurora looked for an appropriate word, but couldn't find one and had to lie. "We are friends."

"Hm, that makes me feel better. Anyway, how much did your friend pay?" Alex asked.

She opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. She didn't know if she should tell the truth or lie.

Suddenly, Rose appeared, calling for Aurora as she approached the trio. "There you are, the 1 million girl!" Her arrival made Aurora's smile fade a little.

"1 million?" Alex frowned, not understanding.

"This girl raised 1 million when she was auctioned," Rose explained. Alex looked at a random spot, trying to process this information. It was a surprising fact. "Thank you so much for agreeing to participate. You helped us a lot."

"It was nothing," Aurora discreetly smiled.

"I'll be going now. The auction is still ongoing, and I need to present it. See you later, my love," Rose said, kissing Alex.

In those brief seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Aurora, she felt as if the world around her crumbled as she witnessed the kiss between Rose and Alex.

"You and Rose?" Lucca asked as soon as the girl moved away. "Since when?"

"It's been a few weeks," Alex replied, looking down and embarrassed.

Aurora didn't know what to do or say. Should she smile and show support for the relationship, or should she punch him for giving her hope that one day they would be more than friends?

"I-I..." With great difficulty, she smiled. "I hope you two are happy together." Saying those words was harder than smiling; she could already feel her eyes welling up. "I need to go now." Without giving any further explanations, she hurriedly made her way out of the event.

Tristan was chatting with the accountants from his company at the central table. He felt excited after finding a reason to approach Aurora, but his enthusiasm disappeared when he saw her running towards the exit.

Curiosity and concern consumed him. He wondered where she was going, even considered following her, but ended up remaining seated in that chair, regretting not taking action when he had the chance.