?Chapter 1636:


    For amateur yers, simplypleting a par 5 hole in five strokes was considered impressive — a hole-in-one was virtually unthinkable. Among their group, Bain stood in a league of his own, having once scored an eagle on a par 5. Jaxen’s best was a birdie in four strokes, heavily reliant on luck. Gerry was generally just a step ahead of La, though an off day could tip the bnce. Jordy, despite his steady surgical hands, was the weakest golfer of the group; his best on a par 5 was eleven strokes. As for Christina, she had likely never held a golf club. A team of those two, in La’s estimation, had no realistic chance — they were almost guaranteed to finishst. Whether Bain’s team yed seriously or held back, Christina’s hopes seemed destined to be crushed.


    “Who’s going first?” La asked, her smile sweet.


    The thought of humiliating Christinater filled her with cold satisfaction. She despised anyone who got close to Bain — and that now included his own sister. If she couldn’t have his heart, she would im the man himself. The role of Bain’s wife, she was convinced, was hers alone.


    “Bonnie, why don’t you and Jordy start?” Gerry suggested, ncing in her direction. He wanted to gauge her skill and adjust his strategy ordingly.


    “You and Bain go first and set the tone. I’d rather gost,” Christina replied.


    Gerry looked at Bain, who gave a small nod. “Alright,” Gerry said. “Bain and I will start. Bonnie’s our secret weapon — she deserves to make an entrance.” He affectionately ruffled her hair.


    “Don’t hold back. I’m actually pretty good, you know,” Christina said with a grin.


    Her three brothers exchanged indulgent smiles at that, their faces glowing with pride as though she were already the champion.


    “My sister is absolutely the best out here,” Gerry bragged.


    “Bain, Gerry, you’ve got this!” Christina called out, her voice bright with encouragement.


    La stepped closer and, at just the right moment, slipped her arm through Christina’s in a show of camaraderie. “Bonnie, I’ll go easy on youter.”


    The smile never left Christina’s face as her eyes settled on La, her expression unreadable. “If you want to win, you’d better not.”


    La’s smile twitched, turning faintly stiff. She recovered quickly with a lightugh. “Wow, you sound really confident.”


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    “Of course. It’s just golf — nothing serious,” Christina said, deliberately wearing a smug look.


    La sneered inwardly, convinced that Christina was unbearably arrogant. She could hardly wait to see her lose and break down in tears.


    “Bonnie, if you loseter, don’t try to wriggle out of it,” La teased.


    “Bonnie wouldn’t wriggle out of it,” Jaxen said, stepping forward. “But if she loses, I’ll take the punishment for her.” He fixed his gaze on Christina, a sharp resolve burning in his eyes.


    Whether it was the Jones family fortune or Christina herself, he intended to make it all his. He believed she had grown up starved of affection and must crave it — if hevished her with enough care and attention, she would eventually fall for him. He knew it wouldn’t happen overnight, but he had more than enough patience to wait.


    It didn’t take long for Bain and Gerry’s scores to be announced. Neither of them had yed particrly well — Bain took four strokes, and Gerry stumbled through ten, for abined total of fourteen.


    “You’re not deliberately going easy, are you?” La asked, her tone light and teasing.


    They ignored her and turned their attention to Christina.


    “Bonnie, we honestly weren’t holding back. We just didn’t y our best,” Gerry exined earnestly. It was true — Bain had only slipped slightly, but Gerry’s performance was far below his usual standard. Ten strokes was nowhere near his norm.


    “You both did really well,” Christina said,forting them. Then she turned toward the Wade siblings. “It’s your turn now. Good luck.”


    La felt a surge of irritation but kept her smile firmly in ce. “Thank you, Bonnie. I’ll try my best.”


    Before stepping up, Jaxen moved closer to Christina and lowered his voice. “Bonnie, don’t worry. I won’t let anything unfair happen to you.” With that, he turned and walked onto the course. If Christina ended up losing, he nned to step forward and take the punishment for her — he was certain such a gesture would leave a deep impression on her.


    Jordy, meanwhile, was a knot of nerves, his heart pounding wildly. Even though Bain and Gerry hadn’t done well, Gerry’s poor score was still better than Jordy’s personal best. The pressure weighed heavily on him, the air feeling thick and difficult to breathe.


    Sensing his unease, Christina reached out and gently took his hand. They looked at each other, and she broke into a warm, reassuring smile.


    “Jordy, rx. Just take it easy and treat it like a game. The oue doesn’t matter — let’s just enjoy ourselves,” she said softly.


    Jordy felt a quiet amazement as his anxiety slowly dissolved, reced by an unexpected calm. Her bright, confident smile was infectious, filling him with a steadiness he hadn’t felt moments before.


    “Bonnie’s right. Just think of it as a game — don’t put pressure on yourself,” Bain added, patting Jordy lightly on the shoulder.


    “Jordy, give it your best. I’m cheering for you,” Gerry encouraged.


    “Okay,” Jordy said, nodding. His confidence was steadily returning — though a flicker of unease surfaced when Jaxen finished the hole in just four strokes, marking a personal best.


    “Jaxen, that was amazing! You just beat your own record!” La eximed, beaming.


    She was still convinced she could surpass the previous group. Both yers before her had underperformed, and with Gerry doing especially poorly, the math seemed to favor her. She stepped up full of confidence — and ended up sorely disappointed. She had aimed to finish in no more than ten strokes, nine would have guaranteed first ce, but an unexpected mistake slowed her down and she finished in eleven. Theirbined total came to fifteen strokes, one more than the previous group.


    The more La thought about it, the more frustrated she became. “Sorry, Jaxen,” she said, her mood sinking.


    “It’s fine. We won’t best,” Jaxen replied calmly.


    La felt a small measure of relief at that. They were still in second ce, at least. Christina’s team was sure toe inst, and all they had to do was wait for them to get drenched. It was a shame they hadn’t won — they wouldn’t get to pour the water on the losers themselves.


    “Bonnie, it’s your turn,” La said, approaching her with a warm smile.


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