Chapter 31\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 31\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selene\u00a0<\/p>\n
Present time\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never judge a book by its cover.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If life had taught me anything, it was that. Beneath all that filth and decay, who would have thought that something so special could hide inside that box?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne silver!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice cut through the quiet murmur of the hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, the room was silent, as heads turned to our table, eyes widened in surprise. The entire hall seemed to shift their attention toward me as if I\u2019d just grown two heads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could practically feel their disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their eyes said it all-who is this idiot daring to bid one silver coin on a box of useless junk?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even Sienna\u2019s table had gone quiet. I could feel their gazes drilling into my back, a mixture of shock and amusement radiating from them. It didn\u2019t matter. Let them look. They could call me a mad woman for all I cared, because right now, I was too excited to even focus on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, after all these years, that box had found its\u00a0<\/p>\n
way\u00a0<\/p>\n
back to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beside me, Evelyn\u2019s mouth hung open. She blinked rapidly, turning to me as if trying to confirm she hadn\u2019t misheard. \u201cMy\u2026 lady?\u201d she whispered, voice trembling with disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The men sitting across from us watched me with the same stunned curiosity. The man in white leaned slightly forward, golden eyes gleaming with intrigue, while the one in black remained still, though I could feel his eyes on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignored them all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The auctioneer on the stage hesitated, staring at me as though unsure whether to laugh or continue. Her mouth opened. then closed again. I heard her thoughts spinning through her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You know what? Why not? Nobody else would buy it anyway, might as well\/sell it to the lady.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne silver,\u201d the auctioneer repeated. \u201cDo I hear anyone else? Anyone willing to compete?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crowd exchanged confused looks. Someone in the back scoffed loudly, the sound dripping with disdain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s really starting it for one silver,\u201d a man muttered. \u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous. I\u2019ve never seen an auction house sink this low.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another person nodded, chuckling. \u201cTell me about it. She\u2019s probably selling it cheap because she knows it\u2019s worthless. Only a fool would waste even a single coin on that trash.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A third voice snickered. \u201cThat girl\u2019s probably new. She doesn\u2019t know the difference between junk and treasure. Look at her, she really thinks she\u2019s buying something valuable. Poor, foolish thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their laughter rolled through the room, but I smiled faintly. I always loved when people underestimated me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat girl is weird, brother. Why would she buy a box of junk for one silver?\u201d Sienna\u2019s soft voice echoed beside our table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:44 Tue, Dec 23 MG.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 31\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kane\u2019s voice followed, low and confident. \u201cYou don\u2019t feel any spiritual energy from the box, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Sienna replied almost immediately. \u201cI can\u2019t sense anything useful from that box at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kane chuckled. \u201cThen don\u2019t bother yourself with her. It\u2019s not our business what some foolish woman does with her money. She must be a rich lady who enjoys wasting coins. Don\u2019t mind her, Sienna.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t even glance back. My attention stayed fixed on the auctioneer, who was still looking at me with a sly smile, eyes darting across the room as though begging someone to compete. But no one did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The longer the silence stretched, the more I could see the amusement across her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, the auctioneer cleared her throat, smiled and said, \u201cFine, fine!\u201d She lifted her gravel and struck the podium with a solid thud. \u201cSold, for one silver coin!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sound echoed like a victory drum in my wars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At last. It was mine again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI must say,\u201d the auctioneer added, \u201cthis is the first time I\u2019ve ever sold anything for a single silver coin. You\u2019re lucky, miss.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
From somewhere in the crowd, a man muttered just loud enough for others to hear, \u201cLucky or stupid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few snickers followed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back in my chair, resting my chin on my knuckles, and grinned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t said a word since the whispers began, not because I couldn\u2019t defend myself, but because people like them weren\u2019t worth the effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, they\u2019d be the ones with regret twisting their guts when they learned what I had just bought for a silver coin. When they realized what that \u201cbox of junk\u201d truly held, they\u2019d turn red and choke on their pride.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI see,\u201d a deep voice said suddenly, drawing my attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up and met those piercing green eyes again. The man in the black cloak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see?\u201d I echoed, one brow lifting. \u201cWhat did you see?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned back in his chair, calm and composed, arms crossing over his chest as if he were testing me with that gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t come here for anything else,\u201d he said slowly, voice low and certain. \u201cYou came for that box. It\u2019s like you knew it would be auctioned today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers stilled on the table. For the brief second, my smile faltered, then returned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How amusing. Out of everyone in this hall, he was the only one perceptive enough to notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I met his gaze again, lips curving into a faint smirk. \u201cMaybe I did,\u201d I said. \u201cOr maybe I just got lucky, like she said.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But even as I spoke, I knew from the flicker of understanding in his eyes, he didn\u2019t believe in luck any more than I did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man in white tilted his head at me. \u201cIf what he said is true,\u201d he murmured, \u201cthen I wonder what\u2019s in that box that caught your attention so much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I met his gaze but said nothing. His tone was casual, but his eyes were studying me. It was irritating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why were they both so curious about me? Did I look like someone who owed them answers?\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:44 Tue, Dec 23 MG.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 31\u00a0<\/p>\n
I narrowed my eyes slightly, suspicious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
309\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he noticed my expression, the man in white raised his hands a little, smiling. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not a thief. If I wanted the box, I would\u2019ve competed for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that so?\u201d I said flatly. \u201cWell then, since you didn\u2019t compete for it, you shouldn\u2019t ask me so many questions about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice was blunt, colder than I intended, but I didn\u2019t take it back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His brows lifted slightly, as though I\u2019d struck him speechless. For a second, the corners of his mouth twitched, he looked amused, maybe even a little impressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he could respond, a man in a neat dark uniform approached our table and bowed. \u201cMy lords,\u201d he said politely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both cloaked men turned to him, their attention snapping away from me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man hesitated, his gaze flicking briefly toward Evelyn and me, then back to the two men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeak,\u201d the one in black said, voice low and commanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man straightened quickly. \u201cMy lords, about the sword\u2026 it has already been taken by another person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed both their faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d the man in white asked sharply. \u201cThe red sword?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The messenger nodded nervously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man in black frowned, eyes darkening. \u201cHow is that possible? They were supposed to auction it today. Who would buy it before it was even listed?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no idea, sir,\u201d the man said quickly. \u201cThe auction house refused to tell me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked, glancing between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The red sword? I had no idea what they were talking about, and honestly, I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d already gotten what I came for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rose from my chair, brushing imaginary dust off my sleeves. \u201cIt looks like we\u2019re done here,\u201d I said to Evelyn, ignoring the\u00a0<\/p>\n
men\u2019s conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lady?\u201d she asked softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took her hand and guided her away from the table. Neither of the men tried to stop me as we left, though I could feel their gazes burning into my back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tue,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board: Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Hope Is Not Optional \u2014 Manuel Flores 31 Chapter 31\u00a0 Chapter 31\u00a0 Selene\u00a0 Present time\u00a0 Never judge a book by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-ruthless-tycoons-obsession-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}