bChapter /b308

Noreen only realized her mistake when she found herself at the edge of the VIP section.

“Miss Lockwood, I’m so sorry–I forgot to mention, I’m not here on behalf of Mr. Harcourt this btime /bNoreen quickly exined. “I’m actually bidding for something of my own today.”

Miss Lockwood blinked in surprise, then nodded. “In that case, let me show you to the back.”

Auction houses had rules of their own–VIP seating was strictly reserved for premium members.

Just as Noreen was making her way toward the regr seats in the back, Seth and Bianca arrived with their friends.

Jude was among them, his voice carrying across the room–loud enough for Noreen to hear every word.

“So let me get this straight,” Jude said, his tone teasing. “You two are here to pick out engagement gifts. Bianca picks, Seth pays.”

“And I’m just here to watch the happy couple unt their love in my face!”

Biancaughed and tried to appease him. “You can help me choose! I might get overwhelmed by all the options–it’d be good to have another opinion.”

“Fine,” Jude grinned. “And maybe I’ll bid on something for you two as an engagement present.”

“That’s way too generous.”

“It’s the least I can do! This is a big deal for you guys!” Jude insisted.

He was still joking around when he turned and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Noreen behind him. He stammered, “N–N–Noreen!”

Noreen didn’t even look at him. With a perfectly nk expression, she walked past the group and headed straight for the seats at the very back.

Jude was so rattled by her that he immediately went quiet.

Seth, on the other hand, didn’t react at all–he simply led Bianca and Jude to their VIP seats in the front row, which had the best view in the house.

Meanwhile, Noreen ended up in thest row, separated from them by two entire sections.

Honestly, she preferred it that way. Peace and quiet.

Noreen’s goal at the auction was simple: bid only on what she wanted. She barely paid attention to anyone else–certainly not Seth and his friends.

She kept her head down, dealing with work emails on her phone, and even found time to chat with Scott about the project.

Since she’d decided to invest in Scott’s venture, she needed to help him get the studio up and running. Lately, she’d assigned Sophia to help out on–site, but whenever she had a free moment, she checked in on their progress herself.

15:41 fn60c3 This content belongs to find?novel/fn60c3

Up front, Jude couldn’t getfortable. He didn’t even know why, buttely, seeing Noreen was like ba /bmouse spotting a cat–he just got anxious, uneasy.

Healy liked to joke that Noreen had given him PTSD. Honestly, it wasn’t far off.

Not that Jude would ever admit it out loud.

Just thinking about the ten–thousand–word apology letter he’dbored over for a week was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.

Not to mention the three hundred million he’d lost in damages. And the fifty million he’d sunk into the Port Redevelopment Project afterward…

Worst of all, his father was still in the hospital!

Noreen was honestly terrifying. It was like she was born to keep him in check.

Definitely not someone he wanted to mess with.

Unable to help himself, Jude texted Healy to ask what he was up to.

Healy replied he was workingte.

“Forget about worke to the auction. Seth and Bianca are here,” Jude urged.

Healy shot him down without a second thought. “No time.”

Besides, he had no interest in ying third wheel.

“Noreen’s here too. High–stakes drama, are you sure you want to miss it?” Jude typed.

After that, Healy didn’t reply–probably busy.

With ten minutes left before the auction started, Jude slipped off to the restroom and ducked outside for a quick smoke.

When he came back, he nearly dropped his phone at the sight of Healy sitting right next to Noreen.

He blinked, convinced his eyes were ying tricks on him.

No way.

Wasn’t Healy supposed to be too busy? How had he gotten here in ten minutes? Did the guy have teleportation powers or something?!