Fiercely Competitive

"What the f**k!"

Someone murmured audibly.

"Is she out of her mind?!" Another person retorted.

"She's got balls, I tell you!" One of the players who had once been privileged to witness Anna's ingenuity in poker exclaimed proudly.

The once tense atmosphere was now engulfed with a mixture of muffled compliments and sarcastic comments until Maximus lifted his hand in the air.

Maximus never knew his girlfriend to be reckless. He observed something different about her behavior which seemed totally off from the Anna he knew. She was more daring, ruthless and dangerously competitive.

Staring at the total amount of roughly fifty-two million dollars on the poker table and what he stood to lose, Maximus leaned closer and whispered into Phoenix's left ear.

"Babe, are you sure you have what it takes to win this game? Don't you think you're been a bit reckless?" A hint of foreboding and threat lingered in his tone.

"Relax, sweetie. Have a little faith in me." Phoenix replied without breaking e