The two exchanged smiles. There was a hint of ridicule gleaming in their eyes.

Kayla had a knack for consoling herself.

Claudia was thrilled to acquire a necklace worth more than three million dollars during her outing. The smile on her lips during her trip home wouldn't dissipate.

On her journey home, her thoughts were wrapped around the fact that Bennett did not concede to Kayla. She was so engrossed that she'd entirely forgotten about her earlier moment of hesitation about going out.

When she got back to the villa and slipped off her earrings, that forgotten question resurfaced.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Storing her earrings, Claudia looked at her reflection.

Her cheeks had turned rosy again.

Oh, how she had changed!

She wondered what had been monopolizing her thoughts.

Claudia gave her face a quick pat and turned around, only to see Bennett entering the room.

Her heartbeat began to quicken even more as he approached her with a cup of water.

Taking the cup from him, Claudia sipped the water. Her eyes darted to the bed sheet beside her, as if it could distract her from the palpable tension.

Setting the cup aside, she glanced at her phone and said, “I think I'll go take a shower now."

"Sure," Bennett responded, his eyes lingering on her for a moment.

He grabbed the cup Claudia had just set down, took a sip, and made his way downstairs.

When she emerged from the bathroom, the room was empty. It was only nine o'clock, and Bennett was nowhere to be found. She surmised he was probably holed up in the study, attending to some work.

Picking up her phone, Claudia started venting about her run-in with Kayla at the auction.

Aurora had just clocked out from a long day at work and was less than pleased. Her replies were rife with profanity.

"I should've known she was that brazen. Had I known, I would've given her a piece of my mind," Aurora said.

Claudia sighed.

"I had no idea she'd have the audacity to act that way."

Aurora huffed, "Good thing Mr. Dreskin saw right through her and put an end to her little game."

She added, “You know, something just occurred to me. If Kayla's leveraging her mom as an excuse now, who's to say she won't have her confront you in person next time?"