She admired the paintings on the walls with a kind of quiet wonder, while he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“I can’t believe these are the most expensive works of art in the world. I’m almost afraid to ask what the price of this collection is.”
“A huge price, Clara… but the so-called ‘real’ price is often ridiculously inflated. Sometimes a piece sells for hundreds of times more than any reasonable figure. In truth, the price is simply whatever a buyer is willing to pay. For the ultra-wealthy, acquiring high art is often nothing more than a high-stakes gamble—where the prize is fame and cultural recognition. The winner of an auction doesn’t just buy an object, they buy the status of owning a ‘masterpiece’… the true value of which they will likely never understand.”
“You speak as though
