Arthur was rendered speechless. The man who had the best equipment in the world had the nerve to constantly complain about being poor. It was obvious that he had finances that could never run out all his life, and yet Richard refused to buy him even one meal last night.
“Fine,” he finally said. “Ten thousand. That is the lowest I can go.”
“Deal.”
The two adult men sat on the sofa as they made their very childish bet.
Elliot went downstairs in casual wear after a while. In order to make his walking easier, Benedict had gotten him a crutch out of nowhere. Elliot was extremely reluctant to use it at first, but he had no choice but to use it for the time being.
“Elliot, we have decided to leave only after your engagement party,” Arthur declared.
Elliot sat down beside the “None of you are allowed to leave until the engagement party is over
Upon hearing that, Arthur asked with a curious expression on his face, “Elliot, how exactly does it feel like to fall in love with a woman? Why is it that I have met so many of them, but none seemed to have ever made my heart throb?”
“It is hard to put into words. You will know when you meet the one.” Elliot wasn’t good at explaining something like this as well.
All he knew was that there was no escaping when fate finally came. He himself was a prime example of it. He used to be repulsed when his grandmother tried to arrange his marriage for him, but now, marrying the person he had pursued with all his heart felt like a wonderful dream. Arthur noticed how Richard was sitting with his back as straight as a soldier, so he reached out and gave the man a pat on the back. “You can be at ease with us.”
“It’s a habit,” Richard threw out before he
leaned into the sofa.
After seeing him relax, Arthur turned to Elliot and told him, “Richard and I made a bet earlier. The one who gets married first will have to give the other person ten thousand.”
“Do you have a limited budget? How about I sponsor ten million dollars?” Elliot thought that their gamble was too small for someone of their status.
“It is alright. It is only a small gamble!” Arthur said. “It is mainly because Richard is used to living so frugally that I am afraid he won’t be able to take it.”
“His money is usually spent on his swords and knives.”
Arthur was slightly worried for his stoic friend then. “I wonder what is going to happen when he finds a woman he likes but continues to be such a stingy guy. The lady might not be able to take it.”
Despite being teased, Richard remained calm and only peered at Arthur as he simply uttered, “I wouldn’t want to
trouble you to worry about me.”
The trio seemed to have returned to the old days. Somewhere deep in their memories, they would never forget the time when they supported and took care of each other as they navigated their way through the dangerous rainforest. Those experiences were enough to make them appreciate the value of true friendship..
As Arthur and Richard left Elliot’s villa around 9 PM, Arthur was suddenly in a good mood and he decided to take his friend to a place he had in mind. He proceeded to make the arrangements on the way.
“Richard!’ he called out solemnly. There is a place I want you to come with me. I need your help with something.”
The stoic man didn’t even need to think a second longer. “Okay,” Richard said.
He wouldn’t sit idly by when it was matters concerning his good friend.
Arthur then told his bodyguard to drive to the place where he stayed last night.
He wasn’t specific with his words, but the bodyguard immediately understood and began to drive in the direction of Starryfield, the bustling part of the city center. It was a place where the air even smelled like it had been perfumed.
This was the city that never slept. It was a place where all the high-end bars from around the world were located.
When Richard got out of the car and looked up to see that they had stopped at a bar, he frowned. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Someone bullied me while I was here yesterday, so I made an appointment for a fight with them. I planned to bring you here to even the score, Arthur obediently answered him.
Richard only looked at him with suspicious eyes. Arthur had always been the prankster and idealist among them ever since they were children.
‘Look, are you going to help me or not?” Arthur lightly slapped him. ‘Are we not brothers?”
At last, Richard nodded and he chose to believe Arthur. Him standing so straight made him look out of place as they stood under the red and green lights of the bar.
The two of them then walked into the lively hall of the bar. They could see that the nightlife had already started. The lighting in the bar gave the place an oddly sensual atmosphere now that it was around 10.30 PM. There were many girls dressed in fashionable clothes as they chatted amongst themselves in the dim room. The instant they noticed the two men walking in, their eyes glinted greedily like they were hunters looking at their prey.
The men weren’t just any prey. They were quality, high-level ones. From the, cold, complex aura they exuded, they were definitely at the top of the food chain.
