Five Years Up I Reveal I'm The Richest He Kneels And Begs novel Chapter 5

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A mistress kept in the dark.

Those words pierced Sienna’s heart like poisoned ice.

Her whole body went cold, she told herself, “Adrian Prescott… you were wrong. It was never that I, Sienna Sloane, wasn’t good enough for your family. It was that you were never worthy of my love.

“We could have had it all–just one more step, and we might have made it, openly and honorably. But now, there was nothing left.”

Stumbling, she left, her heart was numb and hollow.

A few days later, Sienna was discharged.

Adrian came to pick her up, his tone carrying a trace of guilt.

“Sienna, to make it up to you for these days I wasn’t here, I’ll take you to the auction tonight. Whatever you like, I’ll buy it for you.”

At the auction, he did exactly that.

He spent extravagantly, bidding on several pieces of jewelry for her, drawing teasing from his

friends.

“Adrian, are you trying to bankrupt the rest of us? You’re taking all the good stuff!”

“Yeah, man, I was hoping to get something for my father’s birthday–forget it now!”

Then someone laughed with open disdain.

“Honestly, Adrian, all this for a girl from the slums? Those jewels lose their worth the second she

puts them on.”

Adrian’s smile vanished. He turned and shot the man a cold look.

The man raised his hands in mock surrender but still smirked.

“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up! But come on–she’s just a poor little nobody. You treat her like she’s

precious. How’s that fit the Prescott heir’s image?”

Sienna had heard those words for five years.

Adrian would sometimes silence them, but never strongly enough.

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And now she realized–if he hadn’t secretly agreed with them, would anyone dare say such things

so boldly?

Just then, Celeste appeared at the entrance to the lounge in a sleek designer gown, her smile polished and poised.

“What a coincidence. You’re all here.”

The crowd greeted her warmly, asking why she’d come.

Celeste brushed a hand through her hair and smiled, her tone gentle but tinged with self–pity.

“Since the children were born, I’ve hardly had time to dress up. Thought I’d come find a few

pieces for myself today.”

Compliments poured in instantly.

“Miss Harrington, you look effortlessly radiant. Some people don’t even come close!”

“Exactly. Some women can pile on all the jewelry they want—it still won’t hide that cheap air

about them.”

Sienna listened quietly. Each word felt like another needle, driving deeper into the wounds in her

heart.

When the second half of the auction began, new jewelry items were presented.

Someone called out teasingly, “Adrian, come on–if you’re not letting us win, at least let Celeste have one. She rarely comes out these days.”

Adrian chuckled softly and didn’t raise his paddle again.

One by one, the pieces went to Celeste.

Celeste glanced over at Sienna, her smile laced with triumph.

Finally, the highlight of the evening appeared a dazzling antique crown.

Celeste’s eyes lit up. She joined the bidding eagerly, her competition fierce. The price soared past

one billion.

Sienna couldn’t help it–she laughed quietly.

Celeste’s smile froze. “Miss Sloane, what’s so funny?” she asked.

Sienna’s voice was calm. “Nothing. I just find it amusing watching everyone fight over a replica.”

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Celeste’s face darkened. “What do you mean? Who told you it’s fake?”

The room fell silent. Several people turned toward Sienna with visible displeasure.

Sienna listed several professional flaws in the craftsmanship–precise, logical, undeniable.

She didn’t mention the most conclusive evidence–the real crown was sitting safely in her

family’s private collection at the Sloane Family Museum.

She was merely trying to be kind, to keep someone from wasting their money.

But instead of thanks, laughter erupted.

“Hah! Did she just say it’s a replica?”

“A girl from the slums thinks she’s an expert now? Read a few magazines and suddenly she’s an appraiser?”

Celeste laughed lightly and turned to Adrian.

“Adrian, you really should teach Miss Sloane a thing or two about jewelry. It’s fine if she

embarrasses herself in front of us, but what if she says something like that in front of your

parents someday?”

Adrian’s expression hardened slightly. He took Sienna’s hand, his voice faintly reproachful.

“Sienna, enough. Don’t say things when you’re not sure.”

At that moment, her heart sank to the bottom.

A man like him–with all his knowledge and experience, there was no way he hadn’t noticed the

same flaws she did.

But he didn’t even bother to look–because to him, someone like her couldn’t possibly know

better.

He didn’t need facts. His bias had already made up his mind.

Sienna looked at him, her eyes full of quiet sorrow.

If he’d always thought they were from different worlds, always believed she was beneath him, then why had he ever reached for her hand in the first place?

In the end, Celeste won the crown for one billion.

Sienna no longer wanted to witness the farce. She rose and went to the restroom.

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She had just finished washing her hands when Celeste came in, blocking the doorway.

“So, Sienna,” Celeste sneered, “how does it feel pretending to be one of us? Doesn’t suit you,

it?”

“Don’t think reading a few appraisal books makes you an expert. True elegance–true class- comes from birth. You don’t have that. You never will.”

Sienna ignored her and tried to step aside.

Celeste grabbed her arm, leaning in close, her voice low and venomous.

does

“You want the truth? I’m not just Adrian’s childhood friend. I’ve been in his bed more times than I can count. I gave him a son and a daughter–yes, the ones living in your house right now.”

“The Prescott family would never accept you. They think you’re beneath him, and they’re right. That’s why they forced him to have heirs with me. And he agreed.”

“Do you understand what that means?”

“It means that in his eyes, you’re just a plaything—a mistress hidden in the dark. Marriage? Children? He’ll only ever choose someone like me–a woman from his world.”