Chapter 2

In that instant, everyone in the living room fell silent. Dahlia and Jasmine looked at each other, evidently surprised that I, who had always been meek, was acting so firm today.

Mom laughed hollowly to break the tension, though her gaze repeatedly drifted toward the whiskey bottle that had been tampered with. "You silly child. It's just a drink between family members, so there's no need to make a big deal out of it. You should just take a seat, Weston. I'll pour you a glass."

I raised my hand and directly blocked the bottle the moment Mom raised it to pour me a drink. "I'd need you to hold it right there. I'll certainly drink it, but let's be clear about the stakes first."

Dad's expression turned grim. His breathing grew heavy as he threw his cutlery on the table again. "I'll go along with whatever game you want to play! You'd better make sure that you don't go back on your word or start whining when you're defeated!"

I smirked coldly, glancing at the glasses on Jasmine's face before looking out the window at the new BMW. "I'd like to up the stakes since you're so eager, Dad. The first one to pass out covers the mortgage and the car payments for the next year. I'd also like to add another clause for this year."

I stopped for a moment, making sure my voice carried clearly into every corner of the room. "I've heard that Jasmine is planning to buy Mom and Dad a bigger place and is a bit short on the down payment. I want the loser of this wager to cover it. It's not much—only about 45 thousand dollars."

In that instant, my statement caused an uproar.

Jean went pale with fright and grabbed my arm. Her voice was shaking. "Have you lost your mind, Weston? You're setting yourself up to fail! It's 45 thousand dollars! How are we supposed to pay that?"

Those surrounding relatives also went wild. They looked at me as if I were an idiot, though their faces were full of anticipation for the drama to follow.

"You said it yourself—everyone here is a witness!"

"You'd better not try to back out when you lose the bet!"

"He's been cornered, so he's just saying whatever comes to mind."

Jasmine adjusted her glasses. A glint of barely contained glee and greed shone behind them. After all, she had been looking for a way to squeeze money out of me, and here I was handing it to her.

"I'm fine with that! I'm not going to stop Weston if he's so desperate to show off how much he loves Mom and Dad! You shouldn't get in the way, Jean! You play, you pay—those are the rules!"

Jean was fuming. Her chest heaved as she tried to argue.

I merely squeezed her hand, signaling for her to trust me, and gave her a reassuring glance. "I'm fine with 45 thousand dollars, but I have a condition that needs to be met first."

I looked around the room. My voice was steady as I continued, "If I win, I'm not pitching in a dime for family expenses ever again. I want Dahlia and Jasmine to take over Mom and Dad's retirement completely.

"I also want them to pay me back every cent I've given them over the past 20 years. It's not much—roughly 300 thousand dollars in total."

Ryan let out a yelp and nearly jumped out of his seat. "You want 300 thousand dollars from us? You must be out of your mind! You gave that out of respect for Mom and Dad! Why should it be returned to you?"

Jasmine scowled. "You'd better not go too far since we're still family, Weston. Do you intend to cut off the family?"

I laughed hollowly. "What's the matter? You can't possibly be getting cold feet, right? You're the ones who said I was a lightweight. You're the ones who said we should play by the rules. You guys couldn't possibly be doubting yourselves right now, right?"

Dahlia struck the table and shouted. Spit flew from her mouth. "I'll do it! I'm not afraid of you! You're a lightweight who collapses after three rounds, so there's no way you're winning this! You're paying that down payment and mortgaging your home once you lose the bet!"

Jasmine tried to intervene but couldn't stop her, so she simply nodded. Her expression was grim. "I'm in since Dahlia agreed. I don't think a verbal agreement is enough, though. We have to sign a formal agreement."

That was just what I had in mind. I took out my phone and turned on the recording function. "I think a written agreement is necessary—and we should get some witnesses too. It just so happens that Aunt Maria and Aunt Nina are playing cards downstairs, so let's get them up here to act as witnesses."

Mom and Dad looked extremely displeased, but there was no turning back now. Dad waved his hand at Ryan and said, "Go get them this instant! I'd like everyone to see how ungrateful Weston truly is and how he's throwing away the family's fortune!"

I finally turned to Jean and said, "Go to the store downstairs and grab two cases of vodka. Make sure they are 40% ABV."

Jean gazed at me worriedly. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she held back.

I leaned forward and whispered, "You have to trust me, Jean—I won't lose this time. I'll reclaim everything we've lost."

Jean met my resolute gaze and nodded. "I'll go get them now. If we lose, we'll take it on together."

I watched her back as she left, and my eyes stung. I was determined to make them pay back what they owed in blood this time.