Chapter 3

With all bets locked in, the dealer moved to the third card.

The cards flipped over.

Chloe caught the Jack of Spades. Paired with her Jack of Diamonds, she was showing a pair of Jacks—instantly taking the lead!

Julian received the 8 of Hearts, giving him the potential for a devastating straight flush alongside his previous 10 of Hearts.

And me? I caught a pathetic 3 of Diamonds. Sitting next to my Ace of Spades, my board was a scattered mess. I had a high Ace, but my overall potential looked dead in the water compared to theirs.

In a single second, the tides had turned.

The dealer gestured to Chloe. "Pair of Jacks is high. Ms. Miller, your bet."

Color flooded back into Chloe's cheeks.

She looked at the miserable 3 on my side of the table and almost burst into wild laughter.

"Stupid really is forever, isn't it? You thought an Ace would carry you to the finish line?"

"No wonder your father hates you."

She leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with pure malice.

"Since you love raising stakes, Nadia, let's make it personal."

"I bet every stitch of clothing on my body against yours. Whoever loses strips down to nothing. Completely naked. And crawls on all fours across this entire ballroom for every guest here to see."

"Dare to take that?"

Under the suffocating gaze of the crowd, I hung my head. My shoulders began to tremble slightly. To everyone watching, I looked broken, speechless from humiliation, pale with terror.

Julian watched my trembling frame coldly.

Yet, as the chandelier light flickered across my lowered face, a sudden jolt hit him. The curve of my jaw, the downward slant of my eyes... they looked hauntingly familiar.

His chest tightened. He couldn't help but speak up.

"Nadia, fold now. For your grandfather's sake, I won't touch your three percent in the docks."

"In exchange, the engagement is off. And you will drop to your knees right here, bowing your head to Chloe and me to beg for forgiveness."

"Do that, and we'll call it even."

Julian leaned back in his chair, his tone dripping with condescending mercy.

"Think carefully before you speak."

The ballroom went dead silent. Everyone expected me to grab the lifeline Julian had thrown down.

They were all wrong.

My shoulders were shaking—not from fear, not from humiliation.

From sheer, unadulterated adrenaline.

It had been years since I ran into an idiot like Chloe, who so generously handed me her own throat on a silver platter.

I slowly lifted my head.

In my mind, I had already calculated every card remaining in the deck. I knew the math. I knew the outcome.

Flawless. Unavoidable.

"I call."

Two words, dropped like lead weights.

The entire room went slack-jawed. Julian and Chloe stared at me in disbelief.

Julian's pity turned back into harsh contempt. "You really have a death wish."

I didn't care. Looking straight into his dark eyes, I smiled faintly.

"My bet is on the table, Julian."

"Since you want me on my knees, let's throw that in too. If I win, you will never again use your 'eternal love for your mentor' as an excuse to keep cheap trash like Chloe around as a substitute."

"Dragging someone like her into your bed isn't honoring your mentor's memory. It's desecrating it."

The mention of his mentor struck Julian like a whip.

His temper flared instantly, his eyes burning with fury.

"Shut your mouth! What do you know about her?!"

"You know nothing about what she means to me! You're an outsider—you have no right to speak her name!"

Julian's chest heaved. Stripped of all patience, his voice dropped to a sinister growl.

"Fine. You want to ruin yourself? Be my guest!"

He whipped his head toward the dealer, his jaw clenched tight.

"I call!"

"Deal the fourth street!"