2025-01-22 18:01:17Hamilton glared at Roman as he walked away. Did he think this was a joke? How dare he say he would bid for the ring?
“Don’t listen to him, Hamilton. He’s just bluffing. He has no money to bid with. He’ll just embarrass himself.” One of his female admirers said to him.
He smiled at her, realising she was right. There was no need to worry. They mingled for a little while before it was time to begin the auction.
The first item on the list was a vase that was crafted by an artist who was late. It was among his final works before he passed away, and that made it valuable. About ten people bid on it before it was finally sold for eight hundred thousand dollars.
Next was a pearl earring set that belonged to a matriarch of a foreign country, and had been recently acquired after being displayed in a museum for two years.
Hamilton immediately saw a chance to flaunt his wealth, and bid for the earring.
“The starting bid for the earrings is three hundred thousand dollars.” The auctioneer announced with a smile, after giving a brief narration of the item’s history.
“Four hundred thousand!” Hamilton called out immediately.
“Four hundred thousand and fifty!”
“Five hundred thousand!”
“Six hundred thousand!” Hamilton called out again with his bidding pad raised.
“Six hundred and twenty thousand!”
They bid for about a minute before Hamilton finally won with a two million dollar bid.
“A beautiful piece for my queen.” He announced proudly as he stood, and bowed while people in the hall applauded him for his generosity.
Haylee smiled because of her gift, and tried to sneak a glance at Roman to see if he was watching her. For some reason she couldn’t understand, she wanted his attention on her, not on Annabel.
Roman was not looking anywhere close to her direction, and that made her smile falter. Even with her new gift, she wasn’t happy. The bidding continued for several other different items like paintings, sculptures, and some other jewellery pieces.
When a diamond bracelet was put on auction, Hamilton bid again. This time he won the bid for the necklace with a final price of five million dollars.
Haylee still looked in Roman’s direction, hoping the high price would have caught his attention. But she was disappointed to see that he was discussing with Annabel.
Annabel smiled at Roman and even put her hand on his chest. This made Haylee shift around in her seat out of discomfort. Despite her new jewellery, she was finding it hard to smile.
Hamilton sat back after bidding for the bracelet. His worry had been for nothing. Roman hadn’t bid on a single item at the auction. Maybe he had hoped that Annabel would pay for him, and she changed her mind at the last minute.
He wasn’t seated in the same place as Roman, else he would have found an opportunity to mock the man for daring to believe he could outbid Hamilton.
Then he realised that he didn’t need to be close to Roman to humiliate him. That was when he spoke up. He made sure his voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the auction hall.
“Roman, I thought you said you could buy the auction house. Why haven’t bid on anything since the auction started? Has your magic money suddenly disappeared?” He asked smugly.
Everyone in the hall began to laugh and whisper about Roman.
“What he wants hasn’t been brought up yet. Enjoy fighting for the other items. He’s only here for the ring.” Annabel responded.
“Has he also lost his voice? Why can’t he speak for himself?” A male guest asked and more people chuckled.
Roman remained calmly seated. He just put a hand on Annabel’s arm to keep her from responding to the man’s words. He leaned down to whisper in her ears,
“They’re not worth it, Anna. Don’t waste your energy.”
Roman leaned back on his seat, and Annabel did the same. She was more calm now, but being so close to Roman was making her heart beat faster than usual.
“I wonder how much she’s paying you for your services in her bed.” Someone seated behind Roman and Annabel said and that caused another round of laughter.
Annabel frowned and Roman entwined his fingers with hers to prevent her from doing something rash.
“They’re basically calling you a prostitute. Do you really want me to just ignore them?” She whispered to him and he nodded.
“There’s nothing you will say to them that will make them change their opinions of me. But remember that actions speak louder than words.” He winked at her and she smiled.
She admired his confidence, and his ability to remain cool under pressure.
After a few more minutes, the auctioneer finally brought out the antique ring. Roman didn’t pay attention to the history narration that was given, because he was too focused on the ring’s engravings. He felt a strong pull to it, and a brief memory flash that made him more determined to get it.
“We will start the bidding for this ring at twenty five million dollars, making it the most expensive item on auction today.” The auctioneer announced.
“Thirty million!”
“Thirty three million!.”
While a few others called out their bids, Hamilton turned to watch Roman. When he saw that Roman was still quiet, not joining the bid, he chuckled to himself. Roman had indeed been talking nonsense when he said he wanted the ring.
Hamilton saw this as his chance to impress Haylee and everyone else in the hall. Someone said fifty million and Hamilton raised his bidding pad.
“Eighty million dollars.” He said confidently.
There were gasps and looks of admiration from the guests and even the auctioneer because of Hamilton’s high offer. Even Haylee was shocked that he bid that much money for the ring
Hamilton’s ego got even bigger, and he enjoyed the attention he got from the crowd.
“Eighty million, going once. Going twice,” Before the auctioneer could give the bid to Hamilton, Roman spoke up.
“Two hundred million dollars!”
The auctioneer nearly tripped as he heard such a high bid. There was a sudden silence in the hall, with people’s faces frozen with different expressions of shock.
Then the silence was broken when almost everyone began to speak at once. Murmurs of disbelief, and astonishment went through the crowd like a shock wave.
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Hamilton was pissed off because Roman dared to bid for the ring.“You’re being so confident because you have Miss Annabel seated beside you. Trying to take advantage of her will not work at this auction. You seem to be unaware of the rules, and that could get you in trouble.” He said to Roman.“Don’t act like you’re concerned for my well being.” Roman scoffed at Hamilton.“And he’s well aware of the rule that no one can pay on behalf of another person once they bid on an item. The person who pays must be the same person who bids. I gave him the list of rules before we came.” Annabel said with a smirk as she looked in Hamilton’s direction.“And does he know what will happen to him when he fails to pay for the item with such a high bid?” Hamilton asked.He didn’t get a response to his question because the auctioneer began to speak again.“Two hundred million, going once. Going twice,”“Two hundred and ten million.” Hamilton said as he raised his bidding pad.He immediately put his hand
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This time, the reaction to Roman’s high bid was not silence. The whole room erupted in an uproar of voices, all trying to speak at the same time. Everyone wanted to find out what gave Roman the audacity to announce such a high bid. Hamilton sat back and gave up.“Five hundred million, going once. Going twice!” The auctioneer paused for a few seconds, then said, “Sold to Mr Roman. Congratulations, the ring is yours.”Suddenly, Hamilton smirked. He realised that he hadn’t lost. Roman fell for his trick. He almost let his pride make him forget his initial reason for raising the bid. He wanted to trap Roman into bidding more than he could handle, so Roman could get in trouble with the owner of the auction house. This was a win-win situation for him. He just had to stand back, and watch Roman face the consequences.“I can’t believe he made such a high bid.” Haylee said to herself with a frustrated sigh.But Hamilton heard her because they were seated so close together. He responded to her
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Hamilton’s face turned ghastly pale as all the blood drained from his face. If his family was kicked out of the business association, it would be a big blow to their finances. And everyone would blame him for it.“Sir, forgive my offence. Whatever I did to offend you, please have mercy, sir.” Hamilton immediately dropped to his knees to beg.“You don’t even have an idea what you’re apologising for.” Kade said with a disgusted expression on his face as he stared down at Hamilton like he was an insignificant bug.“I must have spoken out of turn. Or maybe it’s something else. Whatever I did, sir, please forgive me. Spare my family. Please.”Kade just scoffed, and turned away to give the guards new orders.“Take him out of here. If he resists, then drag him out. I don’t care, as long as you get him out of my sight.”Hamilton moved forward on his knees and tried to grab Kade’s legs, but he was forcefully dragged away by the guards, while still screaming for mercy.They dumped him in the al
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“You think they’re friendly?”Roman didn’t answer immediately. His eyes scanned the tree line, catching brief flickers of movement—figures slipping through the undergrowth, dark shapes blending with the green.“If they were friendly,” he finally said, voice low, “they’d have said hello by now.”Kade sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “A hostile welcome committee.”The two of them kept moving, slow but steady, acting like they hadn’t noticed the shadowy figures. But their hands were close to their weapons, just in case. “Outsiders,” he said. “You do not belong here.”Roman’s grip tightened around the artifact in his pocket. He took a step forward, raising his hands in a non-threatening way. “We’re here for the temple’s secret. We have reason to believe we’re meant to be here.”The leader’s eyes went to the vial peeking from Roman’s fingers. Then he shook his head. “The temple does not welcome intruders. Turn back.”Roman met his eyes, unwavering. “I don’t think you understand. I ha
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Roman stood in front of the jagged rock face, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. The ring on his finger felt heavier than usual, as if it were alive, pulsing with some kind of ancient energy. He glanced at Kade, who was a few feet away, arms crossed, looking thoroughly unhappy.“Are you sure this is the right spot?” Kade asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because, no offense, but it just looks like… a rock.”Roman ignored him, pressing the ring against the rough surface. For a moment, nothing happened. Just silence. The kind of silence that makes you feel stupid for even trying. He frowned. Maybe Kade was right. Maybe this was just a wild goose chase.But then — something. A faint tremor beneath his feet, so subtle he almost thought he’d imagined it. Dust and tiny pebbles rained down from above, and Kade straightened up, his eyes narrowing.“Uh… Roman?” Kade said, his voice tinged with unease. “Did you feel that?”Before Roman could answer, a thin, glowing outline began to form on
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The war with the Vaughn siblings was over. Reginald was safe too. Roman knew it was time to go back, and so he did. Roman sat in the private jet, staring out the window. The turbulence barely registered because he was deep in thought. He had finally wrapped up the legal battle with the Vaughn siblings, securing his ownership of Reginald's company and sending his enemies into complete ruin. It should have felt like a victory, but there was a strange emptiness that lingered."You're quiet," Kade said from across from him. "You should be celebrating."Roman smirked, shaking his head. "I'll celebrate when the work is truly done. Right now, I have bigger things to focus on."Kade looked confused. "What now?" Then it occurred to him. "Oh. The herbs. And that book."Roman let out a breath. "Yes. I left it untouched for too long. It's time I find out what it's really leading me to."Kade nodded, understanding. "So, once we land, what’s the plan? Straight to the office, or are you going to lo
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Roman sat at the head of the conference table. Kade was standing beside him, with his arms crossed. Roman's law enforcement contact across from them. He placed a thick folder on the table.“This,” the detective said, sliding it toward Roman, “is everything you need.”Roman flipped the folder open. Proof of bribe to a federal judge, and a recorded confession from one of the court clerks, who had overheard the exchange and agreed to testify.Kade let out a low whistle. “They’re done.”He shut the folder and leaned back in his chair. The Vaughn siblings had thrown every dirty trick at him—kidnapping, smear campaigns, bribery. But this was their sloppiest move yet. A bribe like this was career-ending, not just for them but for their high-priced attorney as well.Roman turned to his legal team. “File this with the court first thing in the morning. I want the case dismissed immediately. Then, set up a press conference.”A murmur of agreement swept through the room as his team got to work.
