"Mom just called me to say that someone spotted Terrence having a meal at Saffron Restaurant. She's heading over with Aunt Florence and wants us to come along to catch the swindler too!" Julie told Dahlia."Terrence Stone? How dare that cheat show his face in public again?" Dahlia was furious. He had nearly made her family go bankrupt because of the issue with the abandoned building. In the end, it was Dustin who took one for the family and bought it over. Hence, she had nothing good to say about Terrence."Stop being idle, Dustin! Go, get a car! We need to make Terrence give back all the money he ripped us off!" Julie said resentfully."I've bought over the abandoned building, so neither of you made any losses. Why are you both so worked up?" Dustin couldn't comprehend their anger."Hey! What do you mean? A con man like Terrence needs to be taught a lesson! We should act for justice!" Julie declared righteously."Is that so?" Dustin smiled. He knew very well what was going on in Julie
"You swindler! Give me back my money!" Florence began shouting aggressively the moment she entered. She had even gotten several stout and burly women to come along with her to back her up."Why are you here?" A sudden feeling of guilt came over Terrence, and his expression changed. He had not expected them to barge in while he was having a meal."How are we going to catch the swindler if we didn't come here personally?" Victoria shot him a glare."That's right! How dare you enjoy dining in such a luxurious place after cheating us of our money? You're utterly shameless!" Florence demanded with her hands on her hips."Who are these shrews, Terrence? Should we throw them out?" Terrence's friends asked meanly. Terrence was about to be the wealthiest one among them, so they were all dying to suck up to him."No, that won't be necessary. I know them." An idea came to Terrence, and he quickly told his friends, "You guys head on back for now. I've got some personal matters to deal with. I'll b
Florence and Victoria came for Terrence to get their money back. In fact, they were prepared to resort to violence to get things done, ready to teach him a lesson the moment Terrence tried to pull anything funny. However, they had not foreseen that he would readily admit his mistakes and even humbly tell them that he would pay them for their loss. For a moment, both of them were unsure if he really was a swindler. Could it be possible that Terrence was indeed innocent?"If you truly are a victim too, Terrence, where would you get the money to pay us back?" Florence was doubtful."Indeed, I do not have the money right now, but I can borrow some from people around me." Terrence sighed before he continued, "I've got some connections here in Millsburg, and I have plenty of friends. Did you see those people who were here with me earlier on? I invited them here for a meal so that I could borrow some money from them to pay you your loss."Florence and Victoria were moved by his words. They we
"Speak of the devil! The simpleton is here!" Florence had barely finished her sentence when a group of three came in through the doors of Saffron Restaurant. It was none other than Dustin, Dahlia, and Julie."Terrence Stone!" Julie's eyes swept the place once she entered. She quickly spotted Terrence in the private room and stormed over angrily."Julie, hear me out!" Terrence was just about to explain himself with an awkward smile on his face when, without any prior warning, Julie slapped him across the face. Caught off guard, he cupped his cheek with his hand, unable to react."Why are you being so aggressive, Julie?" Victoria reprimanded her immediately."Why are you defending him, Mom? Did he not deserve that?" Beside herself with anger, Julie saw nothing wrong with her actions. He deserved that slap very much for cheating her money and taking advantage of her feelings for him. "You're mistaken! Terrence isn't a swindler!" Victoria swiftly pulled Julie aside."He's not a swindler?
That was the mannerism of a true gentleman! At that moment, Terrence appeared heroic."You're in luck, Dustin! What are you waiting for? Why aren't you thanking Terrence? He decided to buy that rubbish off your hands!" Julie announced proudly."There's no need for that. We're all friends. I can't bear to see you suffer such a loss. Just give me the ownership of that piece of land, and we've got a deal," Terrence said with an amiable smile."When did I agree to the deal?" Dustin asked."What?" Terrence thought that he had heard Dustin wrong. He never thought that he would be rejected. Julie and the rest of them were astonished too. Unable to comprehend what was going on in Dustin's head, they assumed that he had lost his marbles. After all, who would turn down money and choose to hold on to a piece of trash?"Dustin, did you not hear what I said? The abandoned construction site is worth nothing, and you have no use for it! Why don't you just sell it to me?" Terrence tried to talk some s
On the way back, Dustin could tell that Dahlia had questions for him but was battling herself against questioning him. He smiled to himself at her curiosity and decided to give her an opening. "Shoot away if you've got any questions. There's no need to hold them in.""I do not understand why you turned down Terrence's offer to purchase the site of the abandoned building!" Dahlia blurted out. "Everyone knows that it's worthless now, so there's no point holding onto it. You would have been better off selling it and recovering your loss!" Though she had promised and was determined to not concern herself with Dustin's business anymore, she still could not help but feel bad that he had missed out on a good opportunity to make up for the loss he had made."Well, why would Terrence want to buy that piece of land when everyone knows that it's worthless?" Dustin asked."Didn't he just say that he doesn't want to take advantage of you because you're friends?" Dahlia retorted."Haha! Do you real
"That's alright; I can move into a smaller house. You, youngsters, are way too stressed out these days. As an elder, it's only right for me to help you out however I can.""I'm not stressed out. Life is as breezy as it can get for me." Dustin and Florence bantered back and forth through the phone, neither of them coming clean with the truth. Since Florence took him as an idiot, Dustin gladly went along with the act and pretended to not know any better. It was Dahlia, however, who found the conversation unbearable. She now fully believed what Dustin had told her. Her mother would not be so nice to Dustin otherwise. What she said about atoning for her wrongdoings and relieving Dustin of his burdens was all bullshit! Florence had been grinning from ear to ear when she managed to scam Dustin into buying that piece of land! Now that she knew she had made a loss by selling it, she chose to put on a righteous and upright facade to buy it back instead of being honest with Dustin. She was de
James was happily engrossed in a game of Taxus Poker at an illegal casino that evening. Beside him sat a young lady with short hair who was dressed in revealing attire. Judging from the casino chips on the table, it looked like they had been winning a lot."I have a pair of Queens. Show your hand!" A man with a hooked nose who sat opposite James revealed his hand."You dare challenge me with just a pair of Queens? Keep your eyes open, buddy. I've got Three of a Kind!" James grinned, flipping his cards over to show a pair of sixes. Since there was a six in one of the five community cards, they made a set of three sixes, also known as three of a kind.The rules of Taxus Poker are simple. There were five community cards, and each player was dealt two hole cards. These can then be combined in any way to form the best five-card hand. The highest-ranking hand is a Royal Flush, followed by Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and finally, a High Card."James