One by one, the auctioneer began calling out the offers.

“$4.2 million. $4.6 million. $5.1 million.”

With every number spoken, David leaned in, his attention sharpened like a blade. Earlier bids slid beneath his own, yet he stayed taut with anticipation.

When the announcement of six million rang out, disappointed murmurs stirred through the crowd near him. Only then did David finally let go of the breath he had been clutching. That figure stood as his bid, and the surrounding faces hinted no one dared to climb higher.

As expected, the next amounts announced lagged far behind David’s. Triumph flickered in his expression, his gaze sliding to Sophie with a flash of self-satisfaction.

“$6,010,000,” the auctioneer said next.

“What?” David stiffened, unsure if his ears had played a trick on him.

But the auctioneer rolled smoothly into the next figures. “$5.3 million. $4.9 million.”

For a split second, David wondered if that earlier call of six million and ten thousand had been nothing more than his imagination.

At that moment, Alice nudged him, urgency sharpening her tone. “David, didn’t you hear? Someone just outbid you!”

David drew back, disbelief etched on his face. “$6,010,000? Are you certain? Or am I losing it?”

Her hesitation showed as Alice replied, “I think that’s what I heard too.”

A jolt of panic shot through David, though he clung desperately to the thought that maybe he had been mistaken. Since the announcements kept streaming without pause, he had no way of confirming it. All he could do was hold his breath and wait for the final tally to be posted.

David turned pale, his face almost blending with the stack of bid slips in the auctioneer’s hands.

At last, the string of numbers reached its end.

“Results confirmed. Lot A1356 goes to bidder 101 for $6,010,000.”

Shock hit David so hard his legs gave way, and he almost collapsed. “Why does it have to be bidder 101 again?!”

Sophie’s jaw dropped right along with the news. “Bidder 101 strikes once more! Is he planning to sweep the entire floor clean?” she exclaimed.

Adrian let out a mild cough. “This hall is crammed with thousands of stones. Even the wealthiest man alive couldn’t afford to haul them all home.”

That remark made Sophie chuckle. “You’ve got a point there.”

Still, when she glimpsed David’s stunned expression, she leaned toward Adrian and muttered, “But don’t you think it’s strange? No matter what David aims for, the winning bid seems to cut him off.”

Rather than give her a direct explanation, Adrian posed a question of his own. “Does that outcome make you happy?”

Sophie nodded with vigor, even punching the air. “Immensely satisfying.”

In her mind, she pictured the smug remarks David would have hurled if the gemstone had ended up his.

Then a thought struck Sophie, halting her grin. “Hold on. You brought me here because you already knew David would lose, didn’t you?”

Back when Adrian first suggested watching the results, she had been reluctant to tag along. At the time, she brushed off bidder 101’s repeated victories as nothing more than coincidence. But what were the chances that every stone David set his sights on would fall into someone else’s hands?

If no one had outbid him, she would have been forced to endure his taunts alone, and that thought unsettled her. But Adrian had carried himself with steady confidence, as if certain the spectacle would unfold in her favor.

“I only took a gamble,” Adrian replied, tilting his head toward her. “Did you notice how far the closing price veered from David’s number?”

Sophie ran through the earlier bids in her head. The first clash had been David’s hundred thousand matched by bidder 101’s hundred thousand and one. Now it was bidder 101 claiming six million and ten thousand, leaving David in the dust.

From the color draining from his face, Sophie guessed David’s own bid had stalled at six million even.

Her brow furrowed. “So you think this mysterious bidder has it out for him? Always edging just high enough to steal the win?”

Adrian gave no direct answer. Instead, he laced his fingers through hers. “Patience. You’ll see soon enough.”

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