On the next turn, I drew luckier cards, but timidly, I just checked and waited for everyone to bet and call. This waiting process, players need to guess the psychology of the opponents, guess whether they have good or bad cards.
"Raise."
Dominic whispered to me, a raise is an extra bet, which means I'll pay more when I'm confident my cards are better than my opponent's. But what makes Dominic so confident?
I looked at him with doubtful eyes, but he only smiled to encourage me, his hand was still gently stroking my hair, so I decided to give it a try.
"Raise." I put a sheet on the table and put it face down.
The people sitting on the opposite side looked at me in surprise, they watched me broodingly, which made me a little nervous.
"Fold."
"Fold."
"Fold."
One by one, many people dropped their cards and did not continue to bet. When the turn is over and the cards are flipped, I am the winner. Among the people who folded, there were a few people with better cards than me, but they didn't choose to continue to bet.
Perhaps, they guessed that I had a better song than them, so they confidently said "raise". After my first win, my confidence increased, and I looked at Dominic with bright eyes. After a few games in a row, I won and got a lot of money back.
"Hey, Dominic, your girlfriend is scary. She's won a lot, why is she so lucky?" Rory laments, his luck has run out and he has lost a lot of money.
"What did I say? We don't know who the real bully is yet."
Dominic put all his trust in me, that's what made me so confident.
"Come on guys, it's not fun for guys to be around a girl like that. How about letting us play cards with her?"
Pretty girls stood up, they gave their opinions and then sat down next to the men. Men's nature always likes to pamper women, if women want to play cards, men will spend money.
When the game is left to all women, the competition changes completely. The rivalry of women is much more frightening than that of men, because men can yield to women but women certainly will not yield to each other.
I can no longer win as many as I used to, but thanks to my playing experience and Dominic's reminders, I don't lose much.
We kept playing until late at night, but I didn't know it was so late. Of course, gambling is a drug that makes people crazy.
The party ended happily and everyone left. Some of the girls still looked at Dominic with regret, but when they saw him hug me and sit in the car, they gave up hope. Perhaps, they have already guessed that I am his fiancée. And Dominic's favor for me also partly answered their questions.
"Your father just called me this morning."
"What did he say?" I frowned when Dominic mentioned Mr. Curtis.
"He asked us to come over to Joan's mansion this weekend for dinner."
...
My relationship with Dominic is not considered great progress, but two months together, we also understand and care for each other. Dominic no longer treats me coldly and indifferently like the first day I came to live in his villa. This made me feel happy, but at the same time I was nervous about the month left.
I underestimated my love for him, it grew bigger and bigger, I even began to hope Dominic would return my love.
This is not a good sign.
Suddenly, my neck felt a little heavy and warm. It turned out that Dominic had put his woolen scarf on for me.
"Thank you." I say.
He didn't answer, just took my hand and walked into Joan's mansion.
I still can't forget the time he and I met here. At that time, my father wanted Kaylin to be Dominic's fiancée, while he was planning to investigate something about Joan's family and needed my help. After all, the 'three-month' agreement was born like that, Dominic was very secretive, he did not reveal anything related to his investigation of Joan's house to me.
Perhaps his plan is nearing completion.
"Dominic Arnold, you are such a punctual man. Come and enjoy dinner with us."
Mr. Curtis was standing at the door to greet us, or rather, to pick up Dominic Arnold. He didn't even look at me, like I was invisible.
I don't mind my father's attitude, but Dominic does.
"Yes, good evening Mr. Curtis. You seem to have forgotten that there is another person beside me."
"Ah, hahaha. That's right, Esther Joan. Let's have dinner together. Tonight we have roast chicken and special salad."
Mr. Curtis smiled wryly, glanced at me, then pretended to be welcoming. In any case, he is also my father, but there is no love for me. Even to him, I wasn't worth as much attention as someone who was not related by blood, Dominic.
Tonight's dinner was only five people, except for me, Dominic and Mr. Curtis, there were Mrs. Ernesta and Kaylin Joan. As Kaylin and her mother sat close together, I noticed that they actually had similar looks, their slightly slanted eyes, thin lips, and distinctive tan skin.
Speaking of Kaylin, I just remembered one thing. She has temporarily taken a week off from Malibu Academy due to health reasons. The real reason, not only me but everyone knows, is because she was too humiliated to want to run away. Baldric is house arrest by his father, I don't know what's going on, but I've heard he's in more trouble than Kaylin.
Baldric had been in a lot of trouble before, his father must have gone mad with his naughty son.
Joan's maid brought the food. I find it a bit difficult to understand why other members of Joan's family did not join this dinner. Fortunately, Mr. Curtis explained it right away.
Aunt Juliet Joan and her husband took Joan's children and grandchildren on a trip to Arabia.