Chapter 197 Take Everything From Him, Including You


    Rachel turned to the reporter and smiled. "You may be right about something. People might have


    already heard that Hiram and I were engaged before we were even born. Both our families were fully


    aware that we would get married someday, so my family didn''t marry me into Hiram''s just for their


    wealth.


    As for the kidnapping incident... I would rather not use the word ''forgive, '' for Hiram did nothing wrong


    in my eyes. Marriage brought us together, and the two of us became one. From then on, we faced and


    will face everything together, good or bad. Marriage isn''t a game, and we won''t give up what we have


    because of a small setback like this, " she said, casually speaking what came into her mind, sounding


    neither humble or pushy. Thanks to the reporters throwing one question after another at her, she had


    forgotten how nervous she was.


    Confronting such sharp questions, Rachel hardly had time to be nervous.


    "Time''s up for questions! The auction will start soon! Everyone should go into the hall now, this way


    please! Follow me!" shouted the man in ck uniform. He gestured the security to escort Hiram and


    Rachel inside.


    Hiram beamed and gazed at Rachel tenderly, and said in a voice that only she could hear, "Thank you,


    darling! Thank you for saying all that. I''m so proud to have a wife like you! You deserve all my love!"


    It sounded like Hiram was making a vow. Most women in the world would be moved into tears after


    hearing his words.


    However, Rachel wasn''t one of them.


    She took a deep breath as they walked away from the reporters, and noticed something wrong with the


    high heels she was wearing. "Don''t talk to me about love now! The strap on my left shoe hase off!


    Please buckle it up for me!"


    She was feeling so nervous after all the questions that she had walked too fast. Thank God her long


    dress was covering her high heels, otherwise she would have lost face in front of all these people.


    Hiram took a closer look at her white high heels and saw that the strap had loosened. He waved to the


    security to wait a moment.


    Then, he squatted down with a smile on his face to buckle the strap for Rachel.


    This sudden movement caused the reporters, who were currently making their way to the auction hall,


    to stop in their tracks and quieten down. They hurriedly picked up their cameras and continuously


    snapped at the scene in front of them even as security tried to stop them.


    Watching Hiram kneeling on one knee in front of her, Rachel felt a mixture of feelings surging up inside


    her. She knew Hiram was proud and unruly, but now he was kneeling in front of her, ignoring the


    people around them. She couldn''t help but smile contently.


    Hiram had once refused to kneel down to propose to her, causing a rift between them, but now, Rachel


    could erase that problem from her mind forever.


    Hiram stood up after buckling her strap up, then he led Rachel to their table in the auction hall with his


    hand on her waist.


    Finally having a little more privacy from the reporters, Rachel took a deep breath and realized that her


    face was stiff from all the smiling. She now knew that the act of smiling all the time was actually a tough


    job to do. She looked around and saw Patrick Yan sitting in front of a table not far from them with a


    woman on either side of him.


    This man seemed to never keep a low profile. Everyone here had brought one date with them, but


    Patrick wasn''t afraid of making his hobbies public. He had brought two dates to such an asion


    without giving a damn about what people would think of him.


    Noticing Rachel''s eyes on him, Patrick stared back at her and blew a kiss.


    Rachel immediately turned away, cleared her throat consciously and sat up straight. Just then, Hiram


    passed an auction list to Rachel and said, "Take a look. They''ll start with scripts and paintings, so you


    might not have much interest in the first two rounds. But look at the third round and see if there''s


    anything you like. Don''t worry about the price, we''re always the highest bidders at this auction."


    "What did you do with those items you got? And where did you keep them after the auction?" Rachel


    asked as she nced through the items on the list. It seemed people were going to spend heavily on


    this auction. Even though Rachel had no idea what most of the items were supposed to be, she knew


    that they must have been hard to acquire.


    "Some are kept in our warehouse now, and others were donated to museums, " Hiram replied. Behind


    them, Luke and Albert were taking a seat.


    Rachel greeted them and said jokingly, "My dearwyer, what brings you here? Are people here in


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    need of legal consulting? And hey, Albert, nice to meet you again!"


    "Are you joking? Don''t you know that my family is one of the richest in town? The auction expects us to


    raise our paddle as frequently as we can!'' shouted Luke. He shook his head, making faces at Rachel.


    Albert nodded in greeting at Rachel. What Rachel didn''t know was that he had been very worried about


    her just now, when she''d been standing in front the cameras and encountering so many tough


    questions.


    He had watched Rachel from the very beginning, but much to his surprise, she had turned out to be


    more capable than he had thought.


    Soon, the first round began.


    Like Hiram had guessed, Rachel had no interests in any of the scripts or paintings. They made no


    sense to her at all, and she was d that she didn''t need to pretend that she enjoyed them.


    On the other hand, Luke bid on one famousndscape painting that was painted in ancient times.


    Rachel noticed that some of the people there were raising their paddles frequently, and she wondered


    whether they really understood what was going on. Every time they raised their paddle for an item, the


    bid would be raised by 500, 000 bucks. It seemed more like people were too excited on bidding and


    making sure that they would get an item.


    There were altogether five items in the first round, and Chad, who was taking care of their paddle, bid


    for one of them like Hiram had told him to.


    Rachel found that most people stopped raising their paddles as soon as Chad raised his.


    In the second round, porcin was the star.


    As usual, the auctioneer introduced the history of every porcin item here. Rachel didn''t know what


    he was talking about, but she knew that the porcin items in Hiram''s ancient house were much more


    delicate than the ones waiting to be bid on here. ''What makes the people here willing to spend so much


    on this?'' she wondered.


    But after giving it more thought, she realized this was the reason why it was called a charity auction. All


    these people hade here to give their money to a special cause.


    Rachel excused herself to thedies room.


    She felt better after getting some fresh air outside. She looked into the mirror at her delicate face, and


    she could feel her waist sore after sitting upright for two rounds straight. After touching up her make up,


    Rachel put her powder back into her handbag and turned around to go back to Hiram, but instead


    received a shock.


    Patrick was standing at the door of thedies room with a cigar in his mouth and staring at Rachel as if


    she was naked. "You look gorgeous tonight!"


    "Thank you for saying so, but don''t you think a gentleman shouldn''t tter ady by the door of the


    She was curious how she could run into this man everywhere.


    "Aha, do I look like a gentleman? I''ve never given a fucking damn about propriety." Patrick blew the


    smoke out and stared greedily at her graceful figure, narrowing his eyes. "Rachel, do you know


    something? You''re the first woman I''ve longed to sleep with but can''t get the chance to."


    Rachel couldn''t believe her ears and thought she had gotten him wrong for a second. Then, wide-eyed,


    sheughed and said, "Mr. Yan, I remember there''s an old saying that a friend''s wife shouldn''t be flirted


    with. Watch your words please!"


    "I''m not Hiram''s fucking friend! I''m his rival! Do you get me?" shouted Patrick.


    Rachel was prepared to leave, but Patrick stepped forward. He smiled, his unruly beard making him


    look even wilder, and said, "Keep this in mind, Rachel. One day, I''ll be stronger than Hiram, and I''ll take


    everything he loves from him, including you!"


    Rachel retreated to avoid the smoke from his cigar and retorted, "Really? I''m looking forward to seeing


    what you will look like when your career is in its full stride. But for now, please excuse me!"


    After that, she made her way to the other exit of thedies room.


    Hiram, who had been waiting for her outside, approached her and held her hand. Together, they made


    their way back to their table.


    "What did Patrick say to you just now?" asked Hiram in a low voice. When Hiram had noticed that


    Patrick was no longer in his seat, he had immediately suspected that he might have followed Rachel to


    thedies room.


    Rachel took a seat, smoothed her dress, and turned to Hiram worriedly. "He said he would take


    everything from you."


    Hiram snorted and tightened his arm around Rachel''s waist. He said in a calm voice, "He isn''t the first


    person to say so, and he certainly won''t be thest. He really thinks too much of himself!"


    After taking the position of president of Streams Comapany, he knew that a lot of people were coveting


    his status as the wealthiest man in H City, but it wasn''t something he bothered himself with. He was


    confident in his abilities.


    Rachel leaned her head on Hiram''s shoulder and whispered to him, "Hiram, I really don''t care about


    your family''s fortune. Once in a while, I can''t help but think that we might be happier if you had nothing


    in your pocket than we are now."


    Hiram lowered his head and kissed her on her forehead. "You must have confidence in me. Whether


    guarding ancestral properties or pioneering new frontiers, I believe I can do it well. I''m doing my best to


    protect everything that belongs to our family, and I''ll do better than that to protect you as a husband!"


    Hiram swore to himself that he would show anyone who coveted his fortune or his woman how he


    would kick them deep into the earth one after another.