Hedging Your Bets

The night before our trip, my girlfriend, Bailey Carter, tags me in the group chat. "Check your flight ticket." I tap into the flight app and realize that my flight ticket is cancelled. The date shows that it was cancelled three days ago. Before I can even type a single word into the group chat, our friend, Derek Wilson, pops up. "I made a bet with Bails that you wouldn't check your ticket before you left tomorrow, but she made you check it yourself. That's cheating!" Bailey replies, "That's enough. You lost anyway because he only just found out now. Go book his ticket again. We'll just sit separately now." They continue chatting very happily in the group chat. The same thing happened last time when they bet that I wouldn't notice that they changed our standard two-bed hotel room to a triple room. I was then made to sleep on the extra mattress provided. Another time, they made another bet that I wouldn't realize that they changed our travel itinerary, switching out the only time I wanted to visit the art museum for an escape room. Every time I tell them that I don't like what they did, they will gaslight me and tell me the same thing. "But you never told us that you cared about it. How would we have known that you'd mind?" Yet, they have never once asked me about my opinion. I don't bother booking my flight ticket again. Instead, I open another flight app and search for a flight to Northland, planning to watch the aurora borealis at night. Maybe it's alright to be alone after all.

Everyone 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.

When we're playing cards during the holidays, my cousin, Owen Thompson, suddenly calls it boring and tells us that he wants to make a big gamble. Then, he tosses his BMW keys onto the table and asks if we're bold enough to follow up with our own bets. I know that Owen is just trying to flaunt the fact that he's bought himself a BMW. Everyone is stunned by his antics. They quickly say, "This is just a game. We're not going to bet anything else." After that, they start complimenting how amazing Owen is to be able to own a BMW at such a young age. I, on the other hand, hesitate to do so. After all, my trump cards are a set of Ks. Having gotten his ego boosted by the compliments, Owen is about to flush the deck when I put my car keys belonging to a cheaper, rundown car. Then, I mumble, "I'm going to follow up with a bet of my own." Everyone falls silent at my statement. They just stare at me in disbelief, whereas Owen widens his eyes out of shock. Almost immediately, things grow heated between us. The moment both of us place our car keys onto the betting table, our feeble relationship as cousins is quick to vanish. But I don't regret my decision. Owen is the one who has decided to bet his BMW, after all. Since he's capable of being this ruthless toward his own relatives, I might as well not give a damn about his feelings at all. Owen lets out a cold chuckle before saying, "How much do you have in that pocket of yours, huh? You really think you can scare me, chump? I have a BMW, for crying out loud! You should gather more money first before placing your bet! Don't go around scamming others with just a shitty car!"

Damon Chase, CEO of Chase Enterprises and a typical bad boy is challenged to find a girl to fall in love with him. He only has a month to find this girl or he will lose the bet. Skye Davis becomes Damon's victim, she is stubborn and not easily taken by Damon's advances. Damon is determined to win this bet and will place a bet on a bet in order to do so. What Damon does not know is that Skye has her own little secret and he is in for more than he bargained for. Will Damon get what he wants, or will he become the victim? Will Damon learn that if you bet on love, then you gamble with your heart?

On my wedding day, my childhood friend, Finn Wheeler, kicked open the chapel doors with a whole crowd of his friends behind him. He announced that he wanted to take me away and marry me. However, we hadn’t even gone far when he suddenly let go of my hand. Then, he laughed nonchalantly and said, “Guys, I won again for the one hundredth bet. You lost. Pay up.” Only then did he turn back to look at me. “I was just joking,” he added lightly. “You didn’t actually believe me, did you? You can go back in and finish the ceremony.” Everyone laughed at how I’d pursued Finn for ten years and how I would do anything for him. However, neither Finn nor any of them knew that being taken from the altar was just one part of my wedding plan.

The night I brought my boyfriend home to meet my parents, my dad insisted on playing cards with some relatives. When he came back, he collapsed to his knees in front of me, crying. Not only had he lost half a million dollars, but he had even gambled away my boyfriend to my cousin. He slapped himself and begged me for forgiveness. However, instead of yelling at him, I helped him to his feet. Then, I took out the savings I’d set aside for my future wedding and the deed to my house. “Let’s gamble one more time.”