Love is the Sunshine

Chapter 348 I Want The Painting

Carla returned to the auction house a few moments later.

Her sight immediately caught Terence who was sitting before her as soon as she sat. One of his arms

was around Rena's shoulder as they talked sweetly.

"Where have you been? Why are your hands cold?" Noah asked.

Following the direction of Carla's gaze, Noah found who the woman was looking at. "What's wrong? I

thought you two were together earlier. Why are you back so upset while he seems very happy sitting

with that beauty?"

Carla withdrew her gaze and felt her eyes heating up. They began to brim with tears. Thus, she bowed

her head and searched for a napkin. However, there wasn't any close to her. She turned to Noah and

without further ado, pulled the edge of his sleeve and dried her tears.

Flattered by her sudden reaction, Noah placed his arm around the woman's shoulder and gently

stroked her back. "Don't feel upset, okay? Moving on so fast only means that he doesn't deserve your

love," he said. He then took a list and showed it to Carla.

"Stop crying and cheer up. Look at these items. Choose whatever you like."

Carla managed to distract her mind from Terence who was just sitting across her. There was no way

around it anyway. She saw him bid for expensive items one after another and gave them all to Rena. It

annoyed her so much that Terence didn't even turn to look at her as if she wasn't there at all.

It was easy to tell how pleased Rena was that time. She was smiling ear to ear.

The last item to be auctioned was a painting called Starry Night. Carla's eyes instantly lit up the

moment she saw it. She cried, "Noah, I want the painting!"

It was the only one in the list that she thought was worth trying. She skipped the others as she didn't

want to waste money on them. However, this one was outstanding and gorgeous in all sense.

"No problem!" responded Noah. He immediately held up the paddle in his hand.

Meanwhile, Carla was busy scrutinizing the painting that fascinated her so much. It was then that she

heard Rena's voice coming from the front. "Terence, this painting is extremely beautiful. Could you bid

it for me?"

"Sure. You can have anything you want. Just raise your paddle." Terence's voice was mild. Rena then

excitedly raised the paddle in her hand.

Only a few dared to bid on items whenever Terence was involved.

However, Noah was determined to go against him so it was different this time around.

The price started at one million. However, the bid hit fifty million in just a few minutes and was still

going up.

"Noah, stop! I don't want it anymore. It's getting outrageously high." Carla reached out to press Noah's

paddle down. The Hua family might be one of the most powerful and richest in HA City. However, it was

far outdone by the Ans when it came to wealth.

If the price kept going up, it would bring a loss for Noah.

It could have been okay if the competitor was another person, but it was Terence.

As a reaction to what she did, Noah moved her hand off his paddle and held it up stubbornly.

Rena called out the price again and again, seemingly not bothered about overpaying. She turned

around and glanced at Carla. She then smiled at her disdainfully.

After a while, the price was raised to ninety million and almost reached one hundred million.

Carla suddenly stood up and walked out.

She passed Terence on her way but she didn't even glance at him.

Noah watched her leave and frowned. He then dropped his paddle and followed her out of the auction

house.

That instant, Terence won the bid. He then signaled Nathan to go through all the formalities on his

behalf.

The auction was over and Rena was smiling widely.

She was following Terence out of the auction house. "You are so kind to me, Terence. I'm going to hang

this painting on my wall and watch it every day," she said in a flattering tone.

A slight smile cracked Terence's lips when he looked at her.

"Rena, that painting is not for you. You can take any except that."

Rena's smile gradually faded. Her confusion was all over her face when she confirmed, "Are you going

to give it to..." She hesitated and intentionally stopped before she spoke that name out.

There was no need for Terence to mention any names at all. Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

Carla was the only one who wanted the painting at the auction aside from her.

"Of course not! My grandfather likes paintings too. It's for him," Terence immediately denied.

Rainer brought the car and stopped before them as they talked.

"Oh, I see. That'd be fine. I surely don't mind." Just as fast as it faded earlier, Rena was back to smiling

again. She didn't really care about who the painting would go to, as long as it wasn't for Carla. She

hardly knew anything about art anyway.

The only reason why she bid earlier was to beat Carla.

"Get in. We're going back," said Terence while considerately opening the passenger side for her.

Then they drove away.

Little did they know that Carla was just sitting inside the car behind them. She had been staring at the

two with eyes dimming in frustration.

"Girl, let's go. It's getting late," Noah said.

Carla didn't respond and just remained staring intently at the direction where Terence's car went. Then

slowly, she lowered her head, making it hard for Noah to understand what she was thinking.

Terence had said those cruel words earlier before the auction. She was now confused if he meant what

he said.

He also once promised that he would marry no one else but her.

She was sure that he meant those words back then.

However, she couldn't be sure after what he had said to her tonight.

He was like a different person earlier. His eyes were cold and his actions, eccentric.

Noah started the car and began driving to HA City.

Carla was still drowning in her thoughts at that time and didn't even notice it. They were already on

their way when she finally shook the thoughts off.

She then turned to Noah, who was focused on driving and asked, "Why don't you let the chauffeur

drive?"

Ironically, Terence barely drove whenever he was going out while Noah seemed to enjoy every bit of

driving. He almost didn't need a chauffeur.

She was more than sure that Noah could afford to hire a driver, given that he was the leader of a group

company. So there must be a reason why he was like this.

"Distrust, I guess," Noah replied, holding the steering wheel tightly. His voice was bleak.

"Distrust? How come? The chauffeur's only responsible for driving the car. They are never involved in

any company work. Why don't you trust them?" Studying his face, Carla noticed how his expression

changed a bit.

He then tugged at his collar before speaking, "I had a chauffeur before. He worked for me for three

years and I trusted him completely. We were driving on the road one day when he suddenly drove the

car to the sidewalk." He paused for a while.

Carla was surprised by what she heard. "Why? And then? Was anybody injured? He didn't mean to do

that, right?" she pressed, waiting for the rest of the story.

Noah evaded her stare and looked ahead. He stopped the car and gazed at the traffic light. It was red.

"I thought there was something wrong with the car at first. So I told him to relax and I'll take

responsibility for everything,"

he continued, laughing emptily as he recalled the scene.

"I was more than disappointed when he told the police that it was me who instructed him to run over

those people. He even said that I did it because I spotted my competitor on the sidewalk."

Silence occupied the car after Noah paused. "It was good that no one was killed or injured by the

incident. After the investigation, the police announced me as innocent and I wasn't to be blamed for it."

A sigh of relief came from Carla as he finished. "You were lucky that the police were wise and didn't

mistake you for it."

Although she had no clue about what exactly happened, Carla was aware of how it was like to be

betrayed.

The lights turned green. Thus, Noah started driving again.

"That's the reason why I prefer to drive myself. I will be driving as long as my health permits. I wouldn't

get a chauffeur again."

Nodding, Carla understood Noah's worries. As people would say, once bitten, twice shy. It might be like

a mental obstacle that Noah needed to overcome.

"I see. So you only believe in yourself now and rarely trust others because of that?" she asked.

Looking at her, Noah mildly grinned, "Not really. I still trust people around me. It's just that I don't trust

everyone the same way."

Carla looked back and asked slowly, "Oh. Then how much do you trust me now?"