Natalie Wheeler suppressed her anxiety and sat across Frederick Addington. Jasper Milton was seated on her left.
“We are playing five-card stud, do you know the rules?” Stephen asked kindly.
“I know, but I’m not good at it,” Natalie said with a dry smile.
“It doesn’t matter, we aren’t pros either. The base is ten dollars. It’s at least ten dollars per bid with no cap,” Stephen said mischievously.
With no maximum amount to the bid, Natalie knew that they must be betting a high amount.
However, she actually had an advantage. As long as there was no funny business, other than luck, the game was mostly a game of psychology.
“Please show me some mercy,” Natalie said.
“Haha,” Stephen laughed wildly and began to deal.
Natalie didn’t look at her hole card. The cards which were dealt for Natalie, Jasper, Frederick and Stephen were A, K, J, and K respectively.
There were only a few of them playing, so they just removed the cards from 1 to 6, leaving them with the cards 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A.
Every time Natalie took the initiative to bet, she would bet at the lowest price. In the end, the four face-up cards of Natalie were A, Q, J, and 10. Jasper’s face-up cards were K, K, Q, and Q. Stephen had folded during the third street. His three cards were 10, 7, and Q. Frederick’s face-up cards were K, 10, 10 and 10.
Natalie glanced at her trump card and put it down quietly.
“The one with three 10s may speak now,” Stephen said.
“Both of you are waiting for a K, for one of you has K as your last card, and the other one doesn’t have a K. I bet ten thousand, but I didn’t bring that much cash with me. How about if I just use a check?” Frederick asked.
“Why do you want to use a check? You can transfer a hundred thousand dollars to my account. I have cash with me,” Stephen said.
“Alright,” Frederick logged into his personal bank account and transferred one hundred thousand dollars to Stephen.
After Stephen received the money, he went to take the cash.
Jasper closed his cards.
Natalie smiled slightly and said, “Mr. Addington, do you think one hundred thousand dollars is enough? I bet one million dollars.”
Frederick was stunned and he stared at Natalie, “There are already three Ks facing up. Are you sure you want to bet so much?”
“Mr. Addington, you may doubt that my hole card is not a K. Just bet one million dollars for me to show the card,” Natalie said calmly.
Frederick frowned. He glanced at Natalie, and then turned to look at Allen.
Allen smiled gently and there was nothing unusual on his face.
“Are you sure that you are letting your girlfriend play like this?” Frederick asked Allen.
“I can afford it. I don’t mind as long as she’s happy,” Allen said dotingly.
Jasper looked at Allen coldly, and there were stormy waves in his seemingly calm eyes. In just a few seconds, he withdrew his gaze and his face became calmer.
Frederick smiled evilly and folded his cards. He looked at Natalie and said with a smile, “You are a girl, I don’t want to scare you. I’ll let you win the first round.
“Thank you,” Natalie showed Frederick her hole card, which was just an eight.
Frederick chuckled.
When Stephen came over and saw that everyone had folded their cards, he asked curiously, “Who won? Natalie, what was your hole card?”
“It’s an eight.”
“Awesome. Women are no inferior to men,” Stephen praised.
Frederick threw a pile of chips to Natalie, “I admit defeat.”
For the second, third, and fourth round, Natalie didn’t have a good hand. Hence, she folded the cards during the third street.
She watched their funds flow onto the table.
Every round was at least ten thousand dollars.
During the fifth round, the fifth street, Natalie’s face-up cards were J, Q, 9, and 10. Jasper’s were 10, 8, 2, and 3, while Frederick’s were 8, 8, K and K. Stephen folded his cards during the second street, his cards were 8 and K.
“Ten thousand dollars,” Frederick said.
Jasper folded his cards immediately.
Natalie glanced at Jasper.
Jasper also looked back at her, and his eyes were dark and deep.
She felt that Jasper was conceding to her deliberately. Whenever she was in, he would be out. When she was out, she saw that he was playing with a full deck.
“One million dollars,” Natalie said.
Frederick frowned, “Are you serious?”
Natalie smiled and said, “For you, you are betting your own money. For me, losing the bet has nothing to do with me. But if I win, it’s mine. Do you think I’m serious?”
A look of disgust flashed across Frederick’s eyes, and he looked at Allen.
Allen shrugged, “The woman I fancy is really smart.”
Frederick smirked, “One million dollars, I am in.”
Natalie opened her hole card, which was an eight. She got 8, 9, 10, J, Q straight, while Frederick only had a pair, so he lost.
Frederick smiled, “You won beautifully. I will transfer the money to you directly. You may send your account number to my mobile phone. My phone number is…”
Frederick put a series of numbers down on the table with the cards.
Natalie sent Eli’s account details to him without hesitation.
When Frederick transferred the money, he noticed that it was under Eli’s name. He frowned and looked at her.
“It’s the same if you transferred the money to her. We are very close to each other,” Natalie explained.
Frederick pursed his lips. He then transferred the money and showed Natalie the text message.
“I don’t want to play anymore, Allen. I’m feeling a little sleepy,” Natalie turned to Allen and said.
Allen kissed her forehead and said, “You should get some rest then. Good night.”
Natalie also kissed Allen on the forehead, “Good night, dear.”
Frederick frowned even more. The more he got to know Natalie, the more he felt that she was not Stella.
He turned to look at Jasper.
Jasper lowered his eyes, his expression unchanging, as if the surrounding had nothing to do with him. He was cold and indifferent.
Frederick’s heart sank gradually.
He probed again and again, but the answers were always not what he wanted.
When Natalie returned to the room, Eli looked at the text message on her mobile phone in surprise, “Natalie, it’s so strange. A million dollars was transferred to my bank account all of a sudden. What should I do? Should I go to the bank and give it back to the owner?”
“I’ve just won that one million dollar. It’s a gift from me to you. In the future, you’ll need to spend a lot of money when you go to D Country.”
“But you were the one who won the bet. The money is yours, you don’t have to transfer it to me. Sean just gave me ten million dollars, so I’m not short of money. You should keep it for yourself. You can’t be a doctor, let alone a psychologist. Your income is low and you can’t use the money that you had before.” The more Eli talked, the more worried she became.
“I’ll be a tutor for Jasper’s children in the future and I don’t have much to pay.”
“Forget it. Jasper is an unpredictable person. You wouldn’t know if you’d get fired again soon. I had initially planned to leave you with two million dollars when I leave.”
Natalie held Eli’s hand and said with certainty, “I won’t be fired this time, I guarantee it.”
All of a sudden, there was a loud bang outside.
Natalie and Eli were startled.
“What’s the matter? Is Stephen setting off firecrackers?” Eli asked in confusion.
Natalie had a bad feeling. She was just playing cards with Stephen a minute ago, it didn’t seem likely that he was setting off firecrackers.
She opened the door and looked downstairs.
The door was kicked open. A group of people in black and wearing ski masks piled in from the entrance with submachine guns in their hands. They aimed at the people in the room skillfully…