Page 101 of Gamble with Me

My heart beat so fast it almost collapsed, and a heavy boulder of fear preoccupied my stomach. If I messed this up and lost in the showdown, Chester would feel like the king of the world. It would’ve been okay with anybody else, but it would be a disaster with him. I had to skate out of this as a winner or with minimal damage. The real player knew when to give up.

“What’s it gonna be, Zyon?” Chester repeated his mocking question, smirking at my indecisiveness.

“Give me a moment, Chester,” I said, frowning. “I don’t like making rushed decisions.”

“Your guests are waiting,” he pushed, his lips smiling but eyes throwing deadly daggers at me.

“We’re good,” Stefano interrupted, raising his glass and slamming my shoulder. “Take your time, my friend.”

“Thanks,” I gritted out through clenched teeth, directing my attention to the five community cards. I didn’t want to take my time. I just really didn’t know what to do.

“Okay,” I mumbled inaudibly, only for myself. “You can do this.”

The cards before my eyes blurred as I returned in time to repeat the hand one last time. I raised, Chester reraised, and we moved to the flop that gave me a straight draw, and he continued betting.

His bet was small, which made me wonder with which combination he would only put a few thousand in the middle. A set of kings didn’t make sense because if he were so strong, he would have wanted to win more. Aces? Maybe, but why not protect his hand?

The flop isn’t the place that tells much,I mused, moving to the turn.

The diamond completed the flush, and I checked again. Chester looked at his cards without any emotion and made another small bet. I listened to my gut and raised him to two million, which he called after a minor moment of hesitation.

If he already had flush, why not put all in there? Why wait for another card when I’d presented a strong hand, and there was a big chance I would pay him more?

Only two options arose here. Chester either held an unbeatable combination of an ace-high flush and wanted to trap me, or he held the ace of diamonds that gave him a flush draw. He blocked the best combination possible, called, and waited for another card to improve his hand.

Shit!This was the breaking point.

The ace on the river finalized my straight, tying me into the hand. If any other card came, I would have folded my cards when he pushed it all in ten minutes ago. But with that fucking ace giving me a great combination, I wasn’t sure if giving up was the best solution. What if…?

Think, asshole!I reprimanded myself, gathering my thoughts.

The action on the river was messed up. I checked. Chester bet too little, but when I raised him, he pushed all in.

What the fuck?

I returned on the turn, wondering what was possible. My opponent was a sick gambler. He loved the slot machines, but he wasn’t stupid. Still, was he clever and patient enough to try to trap me with the best hand?

Yes to the first, no to the second.

Chester was anything but patient. If he held the nuts, he wouldn’t have waited for the last card to push all in. And the flush with lower cards didn’t make sense. He wouldn’t have raised me with a queen of diamonds. I had to go for a better starting combination, which catapulted me back to a pocket pair of aces or flush.

Fucking hell!

I raised my head to look at Chester, and our gazes clashed with intense hatred. He sat motionless, holding my look, and I felt the helplessness overcoming my body, but then I remembered.

“He knows,” Valeria had said hours ago, stunning me. “He knew the entire time.”

The realization flooded my system, showing me the path. I had been thinking about the cards and Chester as a person, but I forgot the most significant detail.

I fucked his wife. He knew I wanted her. Well, he couldn’t know how obsessed I was with her, but he was well aware of the affair. His play to outsmart me had only one problem—his ego.

Chester was an asshole who didn’t value and respect his wife. He wasn’t patient enough to trap me with his hand. He would never have only called on the turn if he was better than me. He bet Valeria and his daughter to bluff me out of the hand. Or maybe he was good but not my level of good.

My straight was a winning combination!

Relief washed over me when I opened the velvet box. The shiny silver keys stared back at me, tempting me to shout my exhilaration into the world. I knew I won, but I still wanted to punish him for this stunt.

“Valeria,” I addressed her in a hoarse voice, raising my eyes to meet her frightened look. “These are the spare keys from my two-hundred-million-worth yacht.” I lifted the glossy set for everyone to see. “These.” I took the black, tiny pocket and spilled the miniature rocks into my palm. “These are diamonds worth around three million dollars, and here,” I pointed at my feet, “I have a briefcase with another five million.”