Heir to an Indispensable Family

Chapter 5

At that moment Sarah felt like her whole world was spinning. James had given her expensive gifts before - designer bags, fancy dinners, maybe a nice bracelet here and there. But a million dollars? Never. Not even close.

And if those necklaces were really worth that much, then the ring from earlier...

Her brain connected the dots she'd been trying to ignore. The Jelone King Wedding ring wasn't some cheap knockoff. It was real. Which meant Hector just pulled out over two million dollars worth of jewelry like it was nothing, how is that even possible.

“What is happening here?” Sarah's voice came out shaky and weak. Nothing like the confident tone she used on stage just minutes ago.

“Hector.” She reached out her hand toward him, desperate to touch him, to make some kind of connection that would explain all of this.

But Hector stepped backward, putting distance between them. Her hand grabbed nothing but air.

Before Sarah could say anything else, the second woman clicked open her briefcase. Inside, sitting on pure white silk, were two red earrings. They sparkled like liquid fire under the lights. The gems were cut so perfectly they seemed to glow from the inside.

Immediately a chubby guy wearing thick glasses pushed through the crowd to get a better look. His eyes went huge behind his lenses and his mouth dropped open.

“Oh my God! These are Princess Charlotte's set of earrings!” His voice cracked with excitement.

“I heard these were being auctioned off today for a million dollars!”

Sarah's eyes went so wide they looked like they might pop out of her head. Her hands started shaking as she did the math in her brain.

Three million dollars.

That was the exact same amount James's family promised to pay her once she sold Fashion Icon to them. The same three million that was supposed to solve all the Wesley family's money problems.

And here was Hector, just casually buying her gifts worth that much money like it was pocket change.

If only she had said yes to his proposal. If only she hadn't called him a loser in front of everyone, if only she had just played along a little more. Three million dollars could have been hers right now.

Her mind was racing, trying to make sense of everything. Hector was supposed to be broke. Poor. A nobody from some tiny farm in the middle of nowhere. She'd heard him talk about his family's struggles, about how hard things were for them. So how the hell was he suddenly throwing around millions like it was nothing?

Seeing everything that was happening James couldn't stay on that stage anymore. At first, he thought Hector was putting on some kind of fake show with costume jewelry and hired actors. But when he got close enough to see the gold in that briefcase, his confident smirk disappeared. That wasn't fake. Those weren't props. This was real money. Real jewelry. Real humiliation that's coming his way if he doesn't do anything about it.

Sarah felt tears starting to build up behind her eyes. Her voice came out desperate and confused.

“I thought you said your family lived in the countryside. How are you able to afford all these gifts?”

Sarah's voice cracked like she was about to break down completely. The confident, beautiful girl who was running the show just minutes ago was falling apart right in front of everyone.

Hector looked at her with cold eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. His whole attitude was different now - calm, powerful, like he was the one in control.

“So I'm only good enough for you if I'm rich?” His voice came out flat and emotionless.

“That's all it takes?”

He'd already seen the real Sarah today. The way she threw him away like garbage. The way she lied about his work. The way she mocked him in front of all these people. Nothing she could say or do would ever make him want her back. It was over.

“Open everything.”

The remaining five women clicked their briefcases open all at the same time. The sound echoed through the room like gunshots.

People started backing away from the scene, their faces full of fear and shock. Jewelry, gold, diamonds, and precious stones worth more money than most people would see in their entire lives were laid out like some kind of treasure display. The wealth coming out of those boxes was so overwhelming it was scary to even look at.

James felt his legs go weak. His family's fake millions looked like pocket change compared to this. His voice came out shaky as he pointed at Hector.

“Where did you get all the money to buy all of this?”

Sarah's desperate voice cut through the air as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

“Yes! Yes, I agree to your proposal now! I will marry you!”

immediately James felt like someone just punched him in the chest. His heart skipped a beat as he watched his girlfriend - the woman he thought loved him - throw herself at another man the second she saw real money.

He couldn't believe Sarah could be this shameless. This much of a gold digger. If his father hadn't drilled it into his head that he needed to stay on Sarah's good side no matter what, he would have slapped her right across the face for embarrassing him like this in front of everyone.

“I will marry you! Put the ring on my finger now, let's do it!” Sarah stepped closer to Hector, her eyes shining with greed instead of love.

Her brain was working overtime, trying to add up everything she could see in those briefcases. Ten million dollars. Maybe exactly ten million. And if Hector could drop that much money on gifts without even blinking, that meant he had way more sitting in his bank accounts.

This wasn't just about three million anymore. This was about real wealth. The kind of money that could set her up for life.

But Hector took another step back, keeping the distance between them. His voice stayed calm and cold, like he was talking to a stranger.

“You already missed your chance, Sarah. How can you be so shameless that you'd swallow your own words the second you see money?”