Triumph Above All novel

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 my 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 handed 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.