Chapter 113 THE AUCTION.

Chapter 113 THE AUCTION.

Asher

"I'll come to you when it's time." He said, walking away.

I sat in the room for hours, and neither he nor Dima returned. I changed my clothes, and rose up to my feet, intending to go myself but the door opened just at that moment. 

Nathaniel paused the moment he saw, his eyes scanned me. "You are that impatient?" He asked and I scoffed.

"I was only scared you would leave without me." I said, and his gaze dropped, a slight smile forming on his face. I scoffed, heading towards the door. "Let's go." I told him, walking out. 

Nathaniel followed closely behind. "Make sure to keep your head down when you get there, I don't want anyone to figure out we went there for a specific reason." He said and I nodded. 

The place was covered by high walls, you could hardly see what was going on in there and you would probably not escape if you were caught. 

Nathaniel handed our tickets over to the guard at the door, and he verified it. We tried to walk in but he held his hand out. 

"You two—" He trailed, his eyes drifting between the both of us, scanning our bodies. "You don't look like locals." He said and I could feel my heart skip a beat, I parted my lips to speak but Nathaniel beat me to it. 

"I don't think you need to know our identity." Nathaniel said and the guard actually smiled. 

"Fine. You can go in." He nodded to us, moving out of the way.

Nathaniel walked in immediately without hesitation and I couldn't help but shake my head. 

"Why did you respond like that?" I asked, stepping closer to him. Nathaniel didn't stop and kept on moving forward as he answered me. 

"How else do you think I should reply to him?"

"With that reply, I'm afraid people already have their eyes on us." Nathaniel paused at my words and turned slightly to face me. 

"What do you think would help? Saying we are indeed not locals and are here to find some goods." He challenged and my gaze dropped, that was indeed what I was thinking of, but not in such a direct way. 

"I never said that." I retorted, he nodded, walking away. 

I followed strictly behind him, my eyes scanning the surroundings. The place looked like a typical night marker but more organized. The goods sold in the path were goods you would hardly find in the town. What a peculiar place.

Nathaniel came to a stop, and I paused, looking up at the sign hung above the building he stopped at. 

"Big Risks Guarantee Big Profits."

I turned towards Nathaniel. "This place is mostly about risking it all on things you aren't sure about. Don't care about the item, just buy it." He said and I nodded. 

We walked in and the place looked more extravagant than outside. The pillars were rimmed with gold, and an expensive chandelier hung from above. My eyes still scanned the place when someone stopped before Nathaniel. 

Nathaniel popped out another set of tickets and handed it to the waiter. I leaned back, studying him. 

It suddenly made sense why he had left the ticket to me so easily, he knew I wouldn't be able to enter even if I had those tickets. The waiter bowed his head lightly and led us inside. We sat in the top right corner of the hall, our spot was obviously expensive and well seeked as I could see the peering eyes of different visitors when we walked in.

I pulled the curtains close and hurried to sit by his side. "You actually had another ticket and you didn't think to tell me about it."

Nathaniel smiled like I had just told a joke, he grabbed onto the glass of water on the table as he looked towards me. "Does it matter? We already agreed to enter together." He said, taking a sip of the water. 

I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn't get any words out. He dropped the glass on the table and put a slight frown on his face. 

"Don't tell me you were already wishing to abandon me?" He asked, and I sneered turning the other way. 

A loud sound came from the speakers and I turned my attention to the stage. "A huge welcome to today's guests, the bidding will start now." A feminine voice came from the speakers. 

I turned towards Nathaniel, my brow arched slightly upwards. 

"I already told you, it's just an intermediary." He said and I nodded. 

My eyes drifted to the side, a high wall partition between our section and the other. Before us, there was also a curtain, to prevent the people from below seeing the ones above. "You must have spent a lot." I said but I didn't get an answer from him.  

"The first item." The lady announced. The item was soon raised up to our view. 

Through the lace curtains, I could see the intricately carved bracelet, covered by a rectangular glass box. 

I relaxed in my chair, a smile playing on my lips. I picked up the paddle from the table but Nathaniel held my hand down. 

"That's fake."

I frowned. "I thought you said I shouldn't care about that." I said, and for the first time, he was the one left with nothing to say. 

"That doesn't mean you should buy entirely useless things." He glared hard at my hand but I didn't let it go. 

"This is the first item, let the people below place their bids first." He said and I nodded, letting it go. 

"Starting price; 20000 dollars."

I turned towards Nathaniel, my eyes widened but he only signalled for me not to say a word. A fake was actually worth this much, crazy. 

"25000 dollars."

"30000."

"30,000 going once. Going twice. Sold." The announcer said and applause rang out in the room. 

I turned slightly to Nathaniel, "Seems they know it's a fake.”