Mistakes in the Auction

Our battle raged on, and now we were barely making any increases as we both realized our limits.

"475,000 gems!"

"480,000 gems!"

The tension in the room was palpable as we neared the 500,000 mark.

Our bidding increments had shrunk to mere thousands, a stark contrast to the impulsive dozens and hundreds of thousands at the beginning.

Although what I was doing was undeniably stupid and reckless, I couldn't bring myself to back down.

My mind kept pushing forward, compelling me to press the button as if some unseen force was driving me. This wasn't normal at all. Sure, Clara's smug smirk annoyed me, but I wasn't usually this impulsive.

Wait, something was off. I knew I wasn't normally this rash. Clara's smirk was irritating, yes, but not enough to justify this irrational bidding war.

It didn't make sense. Why was I this angry? Aside from that look she gave me, there was nothing substantial to warrant such intense animosity.