تسجيل الدخولEveryone in the city knows that Michael Shaw despises me to my core. He even takes pleasure in humiliating me in public at banquets. He sneers, "My family made its fortune through gambling. Nancy Jackson is just a pretty face who can't even recognize all the suits in a deck of cards. Marrying her would be worse than marrying an inflatable doll that at least reacts!" Still, the marriage agreement between our families comes first. On top of that, the fake heiress, who is his true love, can't have children. So, he forces me to gamble with him. "If you lose, I want your womb to bear me a child. You have to get a C-section without anesthesia," he demands cruelly. I've long had enough of him always giving me a hard time. A soft laugh escapes my lips, and I reply, "Fine. If I win, then I want your manhood, Michael." The crowd bursts into laughter. Everyone says that I'm overestimating myself. Everyone knows Michael is the best gambler in the city. I lower my eyes and say nothing. Indeed, he is one of the best. After all, five years ago on a stormy night, I was the one who held those hands and taught him how to cheat for the first time to stay alive.
عرض المزيدMy brows twitched sharply. "What are you doing?" I asked.Michael looked up, pain etched on his face as he said, "I want to pursue you."I know… I've done a lot of terrible things to you in the past. But Ms. F—Nancy, please trust me when I say my feelings for you are real. I don't dare ask for your forgiveness. I only hope… You can give me another chance."I frowned deeply. I truly didn't understand his behavior.Did that strike from me give him Stockholm syndrome? Or did the beating from Ms. Shaw Senior damage his brain?I lowered my gaze to him and said bluntly, "No. Because I really do hate you."Michael opened his mouth, as if to explain himself, but I cut him off before he had the chance.I stood up and said, "Michael, if I had truly been the useless 'trophy' you mocked and claimed couldn't even tell card suits apart, then I would've been left with only two choices in your wager."Either I would've folded immediately, and you'd shamelessly humiliate and mock me even more.
Willow's shrill cries gradually faded away.Only then did I have the chance to look at Michael, who had been silent the whole time."Alright, now it's time to settle our bet," I said.The entire lounge was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and everyone held their breath.I walked over to my chair and took out a sleek silver dagger from my handbag. The sound of the blade leaving its sheath echoed menacingly through the silent lounge. I gripped the dagger and slowly walked toward Michael. When the tip of my high heel stopped in front of him, I looked down."You won't go back on your word, would you, Mr. Shaw? After all, you were the one who personally bet your family jewels and lost them to me."Michael handled it much more gracefully than Willow. He accepted his loss, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his face away.I didn't say anything more either. With a sharp motion, I raised the dagger high.A streak of silver traced a curve in the air.The blade slammed down between
Willow jolted with shock, and she slowly turned around to face me. Her previous smugness was gone, replaced by sheer terror and desperation.She had barely taken two steps before collapsing to her knees in front of me.Willow clutched my leg and begged through tears, "Nancy, I was wrong! Please spare me! That bet was just a joke. I can't strip naked here. I'd be ruined. My life would be over!"You wouldn't have the heart to let me die, would you, Nancy?"I scoffed and shook my head, reaching out to lift her disheveled face."You and your homewrecker of a mother are so alike."Back then, when she got pregnant from the affair and my mother caught her, she dropped to her knees just like this. She cried and begged my mother for mercy. "Mother was too soft-hearted and believed her lies. She gave her money, telling her to disappear and to get rid of you."As I spoke, I tightened my grip, contorting Willow's face."And what happened? Not only did she not abort you, she even raised y
Michael staggered back in shock and fell into his chair. He tilted his head back and stared fixedly at my face."But she didn't look like you back then," he mumbled.I leaned down slightly and chuckled. "Solvega is a place that eats people alive and spits them out clean. Only an idiot like you would reveal your whole face and get into trouble."Back then, only the top half of my face was uncovered."Michael's hand trembled in midair as he covered the lower half of my face. He couldn't help but murmur, "It really is you… Ms. Fortuna."That murmured "Ms. Fortuna" immediately transported me five years into the past.…Back then, Michael wasn't the powerful Mr. Shaw he was now. He was just an unloved, exiled, and bullied outcast of the Shaw family.He carried the Shaw family name, but none of its protection.The people hunting him were a group of ruthless Ruslavian gamblers. They dared not kill him outright, as killing a Shaw family member in public would be a direct provocation a


















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