Yvonne wanted nothing more than to tell the shopkeeper that Nolan was not acquainted with Yulia or
Skylar, and that he should not give them a special discount. Robbing the couple of even a single penny
gave her immense joy. However, Nolan Oakley put out an arm that served as a warning for her not to
say anything.
Cheekily, Skylar extended a hand to lower one of the shopkeeper’s raised fingers, leaving only one
finger pointed in the air. “How about this?” he chuckled dryly.
The shopkeeper looked at his lone pointed finger. “$1million?” He asked for confirmation from Skylar,
but he answered his own question with a pained, hesitant expression on his face. “Alright, $1million is
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmy best price since you are friends with Mr. Oakley here.”
He was about to continue posturing when Skylar smiled politely and spoke. “No, no. You’re mistaken! I
meant one thousand dollars!”
“One… thousand?” the shopkeeper nearly spat at him. Skylar clearly had no respect for him
considering his offer started at $2million.
“Sir, are you really here to buy an authentic piece of work?” the shopkeeper asked with an offended
scowl. “How could you offer to buy an original Fontaine for a thousand dollars? On account of Mr.
Oakley, I’m willing to lower my asking price to $600,000. That’s it, take it or leave it!”
Skylar chuckled in amusement. “Alright then, it’s a deal!”
“Sky!” Yulia whispered while tugging on her husband’s sleeve anxiously. She was not an art expert by
any means, but even she could tell there was something odd about the shopkeeper’s behavior. A real
Fontaine would easily cost $20million. How could he just arbitrarily lower the price to $600,000 just
because of Mr. Oakley? Who was he trying to cheat? There was definitely something fishy going on!
Yulia had to alert her husband somehow.
“Don’t worry, dear, I got this,” Skylar whispered back to his wife, reassuring her. Yulia could only trust
that her husband knew what he was doing.
Skylar fished out his credit card from his wallet and passed it to the shopkeeper who was all too happy
to oblige. After the payment went through, the shopkeeper happily rolled the painting into a case and
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmhanded it to Skylar.
“Sir, I’m sure you’re aware of the rules around here, right?” the shopkeeper asked as he rolled up the
painting into a case for Skylar.
“Of course. I pay you the money, you give the goods, and we go our separate ways. Naturally, even if
the painting turns out to be a fake, I won’t ask for a refund. Similarly, if the painting turns out to be a
real treasure, you can’t ask for it back!” Skylar told the shopkeeper what he wanted to hear.
Nolan Oakley, who had kept silent all this while, turned to Yvonne with a sly grin. “Yvonne, your
cousin’s husband seems like one of those people with too much money. A simple painting with some
fancy artist’s name slapped on made him drool on the carpet! It’s so obvious the painting’s a dud
though. I wouldn’t even pay $300 for it, let alone $600,000. What a joker!
Hearing this, the shopkeeper quickly put on a no-nonsense expression. “Sir, you said it yourself just
now. Once the painting is in your hands, there will be no refunds,” he reiterated.