Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 713

Camila Davis couldn’t help but be amused.

How could anyone possibly sell something with this level of indifference? Did he really expect to make a sale?

She walked up to the counter and rapped her knuckles on it.

The young man behind the counter, eyes closed and clearly dozing, barely reacted. He didn’t even bother to open his eyes. In fact, he just turned his head away, as if annoyed by the disturbance, and settled back in for more sleep.

Camila found the whole thing hilarious. She knocked on the counter again, a little louder this time.

This time, his brow furrowed with irritation, but he still had no intention of getting up.

Fine, she thought. She cleared her throat and spoke up. “Excuse me, but your entire stock has just been cleared out.”

That got his attention. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up straight, scanning the countertop.

When he saw everything was still in place, he realized she was messing with him. His eyelids drooped in a surly sort of way as he gave her a hard look. “You trying to start something?”

Camila didn’t back down from the mild threat.

She crossed her arms. “Not at all. I just have a question.”

Her gaze drifted to the old medical book on the counter. “What’s with the script in this book? If you’re selling it, shouldn’t there at least be a translation?”

She expected that, at the very least, he’d offer some explanation or sales pitch.

Instead, he answered without hesitation, “No translation. I can’t read it either. That’s why I’m selling it. If I could, I’d never let it go.”

Camila arched an eyebrow. “If that’s the case, then how do you know it’s genuine?”

She picked up the book and examined it closely. “The writing is about as clear as a child’s doodle. Are you sure this isn’t just someone’s scribbles?”

He seemed offended she was questioning him. “It’s the real deal. It’s been in my family for generations. I can guarantee it’s authentic—ancient writing, no doubt about it. But nobody ever studied it, so it’s been lost over time.”

Camila ran her fingers over the worn edges, noting the obvious signs of heavy use. Clearly, someone had tried to decipher it before, but failed.

While she was still poring over the book, the young man yawned and asked, “Are you buying or not? If not, put it back and let me get some sleep.”

Realistically, no one in their right mind would buy an incomprehensible book like this.

But Camila was intrigued.

She clearly thought Camila could be bought off with a handful of cash.

Camila rarely felt such instant dislike for someone she’d just met. Sandra Taylor and her son had made the list, and now this girl was the third.

Her expression darkened. She acted as if Lavinia didn’t even exist, turned away, and pulled out her phone, scanning the payment code. “So, how much did you say?”

The young man had assumed Camila would back down, and was a bit surprised she was still determined to buy.

“You’re really buying it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Camila shot back, “Why wouldn’t I?”

He shrugged and got to the point. “It’s a one-of-a-kind book. Five hundred thousand dollars. Card, please.”

“Five hundred thousand?” Camila’s eyes widened in disbelief.

An undecipherable ancient medical text wasn’t worth anywhere near that much—not unless he was trying to exploit the sudden bidding war.

She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious. She hadn’t said a word, but he seemed to read her mind and declared, “I’m sticking to the listed price. No haggling.”