"What did she say?"


    "She said she lost."


    "No way—she lost? How is that possible? She''s always been a genius, always first in everything she does!"


    "She''s a killer at poker, and her mentor is a legend. There''s no way she could lose to someone like Calliope—a total nobody!"


    Blythe could hear all the whispers swirling around her.


    She could feel everyone''s eyes on her judging, curious, hungry for drama.


    Her cheeks burned hot with embarrassment.


    Lose? Her? How could she lose? How could she let herself be humiliated like this? She wasn''t supposed to lose. She wasn''t supposed to be theughingstock.


    She was Blythe-Blythe White, the pride of the White family. Everyone said she was the golden girl, the top debutante, the one with the world at her feet.


    And Calliope? Just a country bumpkin who''d probably never seen a roulette wheel before. How was this even a fair match?


    But Blythe felt herpetitive streak snap into ce.


    She wasn''t about to let herself be the subject of every cocktail party joke in Manhattan. Especially not with her parents standing right there. She could see them, trying to mask their concern with politeness, but she knew what they wanted: for her to shine, to prove herself worthy of the family name.


    Everyone knew she wasn''t their biological daughter. Even so, they''d say otherwise, for her sake and theirs. Whenever someonemented on how she''d inherited their best qualities, her parents looked so proud.


    Blythe knew they loved her, but deep down, she always felt like she had to earn it. If she could just be perfect-be the best—maybe then she''d really belong.


    She took a shaky breath, steadying herself.


    She nced at Calliope, a sly smile curling on her lips. "Oh,e on, I was just going easy on you. How about another round? Or are you nning to run off with your lucky streak?"


    Calliope grinned back. "Ms. White, you were letting me win? Funny, I thought it was the other way around."


    She shrugged. "Fine by me. My only question is-do you still have any chips left?"


    "Of course," Blythe replied coolly, forcing a smile. "Don''t worry, I''m not short on cash."


    "Alright then," Calliope said, nodding.


    "If this games too tough, wee


    always switch it up. I''ll y,


    anything."  V


    "No need," Blythe said, her jaw set. "Let''s stick with this."


    If she stumbled here, she was determined to get back up in the same ce. Her eyes narrowed, fixed on Calliope. She wouldn''t lose again, not this time.


    She couldn''t bring herself to look at Jett and the others. Instead, she just


    glenefied her fists so tightly he exist


    knuckles went white.


    Calliope, meanwhile, just looked amused. For her, it was all just game


    chance to win a little


    money.


    And so, the next round began.


    On the sidelines, a flurry of side bets broke out again-everyone picking their favorite to win.


    With the shock of thest round still fresh, more people were backing Calliope this time.


    But there were still those loyal to Blythe, and the debate grew heated.


    "It''s gotta be Ms. White. She was holding backst time, wasn''t she?"


    "Holding back? Or just not as good as everyone says?"


    "I thought Blythe looked totally out of her depth. She couldn''t keep up with Calliope


    at all."


    "Better go with Calliope!"


    "I think Blythe was just testing the waters, ying nice for the first round."


    "No way. She gave it everything she had, and her hand was garbage." "Don''t forget, Ms. White was trained by the King of Cards himself!" "Well, Calliope must be something else then. Who is she, anyway?" "She''s Ss''s wife. You really think Ss would marry just anyone?"