Only the important guests were invited to the birthday party of Caroline Bisconsley, the wife of the late Benedict Bisconsley who loved her wife so much he gave his entire property to her. Naturally, all of her children and relatives very much sucked up to her at every possible moment.
While Caroline greeted everyone equally, her eyes caught sight of two handsome men in the crowd. She showed them to her granddaughter, Laurel, from a distance.
“The orange-haired one is Marlon Myers. The only son of Gregory Myers,” Caroline said. “From what I know, he’s definitely going to inherit at least half of Myers’ assets.”
“He’s good-looking, for sure,” Laurel said and glanced at the second man. “What about the other guy?”
“Ah, he’s more of a rogue with a vague background. Don’t know if it’s his real name or not, but he calls himself Charles Wallace. He’s a gambler who’s got hundreds of millions sitting in his bank account.”
“Charles Wallace?” Laurel was a little surprised. “Isn’t he the one who won during the charity event last month.”
“Yes, he’s undefeated in poker, at least in official tournaments.”
“Wow. He’s cool. What about Marlon Myers? What’s he good at?”
“Well… nothing. He’s just a waste who’s neither good at studies nor at playing with people, but… that makes it easy for you to control him.”
“So, I should go for him then?” Laurel didn’t seem too interested despite what she said.
“No, my little darling,” Caroline pulled her granddaughter’s cheek. “I want you to get close to both of them. Know them, and then decide in a way you don’t ever regret your decision.”
“Mm. Thanks, Grandma, for letting me choose.” As she was walking toward Charles first, a gorgeous orange-haired woman walked over to Charles first, stopping her in her tracks.
“Hi, I’m Sofia,” she introduced herself to Charles as many eyes were on them. “Do you remember me? From the store?”
“Of course,” Charles shook her hand. “How can I forget a beautiful woman’s face?”
“Haha,” Sofia chuckled a little.
She was indeed a perfect beauty, both in terms of facial structure and bodily proportions. Her angelic eyes and fairy-like nose made her an ethereal beauty who would get an instant positive impression from others with just how wonderful she looked. However, Charles knew her far better than most did. He wouldn’t fall for her looks twice!
He appeared formal and didn’t ogle at her like most other men did. He couldn’t blame them though because her cleavage was the center of attraction among both male and female circles, regardless of their age. And she seemed to be enjoying it, though she didn’t outright show it on her face.
“You haven’t told me your name yet,” she let out a charming smile.
“Ah, I’m Charles. Charles Wallace,” he replied, keeping his eyes focused at her eyes and not at the things he used to gape at in the past.
“Wallace?” she frowned a little.
“Is something wrong with my family name?”
“Ah, nothing,” she sipped on the club soda. “Just reminded me of an old friend of mine who shared the same family name.”
“Oh…” he purposely stretched his voice a little bit before putting his hands in his pockets. “From the looks of it, that friend isn’t your friend anymore.”
Her lips stretched into a thin smile. “So, what do you do, Mr. Charles?”
“You can just call me Charles,” he said, swiftly grabbing a glass of wine as a waiter passed by. He also put a hundred dollar bill on the plate at the same time, slightly impressing Sofia. “As for what I do, it’s no secret. I’m a professional gambler.” One of his hands was still in his pockets, and it made him look stylish as he sipped the wine.
“So you play casino games.”
“Poker, especially.”
“I can play poker, too,” she spoke calmly but with just a little bit of fake excitement in her tone. “You need to win more than you lose to earn some profits. It’s a tough game. Since you’re a professional poker gambler, you must be winning handsomely.”
He casually nodded in return.
“Anyway, it was nice meeting you. Can I have your number?” she asked without hesitation because he wasn’t asking for her number. “Maybe we can play poker some time.”
“Haha, I would love to,” he politely grinned and gave her number, but as expected, she didn’t give him her number and walked away, leaving him a little bit speechless. Then again, he knew that she was that type of a woman—someone who always looked to have the upper hand in everything.
After she left, Laurel stopped talking with Marlon and came over to Charles. “Hi,” her smile was a breath of fresh air. She was tall, curvy, and stunning enough to call herself a model. Her hairstyle was also neat unlike Sofia who’s got a wild hairstyle.
“You are… Laurel Bisconsley. It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you,” he raised his glass, and they cheered the wine glasses. “Many men at this party can’t help but keep looking at you, and if you come to me, I’m afraid I’ll be making them all my enemies.”
“Haha,” she liked that he was being friendly but not overly friendly. She was only in her early thirties while Charles looked like he was at least five years older than her. Nevertheless, his charm as a mature man with broad shoulders was undeniable. All needed to do was just stand in order to stand out among the crowd of dozens in that party.
Unlike Charles who spoke without restraint, Marlon seemed more of a shy guy in his early thirties. She could tell he didn’t have much experience talking ‘normally’ with women as he had asked her out within the first minute she had introduced herself to him. Naturally, she already began to lean toward Charles who had a unique flair in the way he carried himself. His dressing sense for one thing was exceptional, not to mention the way he held the wine glass between his fingers while putting the other hand in his pockets and looking confident throughout. This man was an alpha without a shred of a doubt, she thought.
Controlling him wouldn’t be easy, but she felt it was worth trying.
“What gift did you bring for my grandmother?” she asked, her voice laced with expectation. “She’s quite picky. If she doesn’t like your gift, she’ll throw it away without a second thought.”
“I gave her a gift she won’t refuse.”
“Oh. I wonder what it is.”
“A premium tooth set.”
Laurel blinked twice. “Pardon?”
“Just kidding,” Charles cackled a little. “I gave her a classic diamond necklace.”
“Oh…” she smiled a little and was leaning closer to ask for his number. Someone nudged past her, making the wine spill on her dress.
“Who dares to—” she raised her hand to slap whoever had collided with her, but after seeing that person in velvet maroon dress, her hand stopped midway. It was Narika Myers, the second daughter of the Myers’ family. A slender, short-haired beauty with cute looks and a bubbly smile, but she put her big and ugly glasses on most of the time, she wasn’t able to attract even one percent of men that her sister generally did.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Narika quickly apologized.
“You think a half-hearted apology would suffice?” Laurel went for a slap, but her hand stopped midway because someone else interfered. Of all people, it had to be Charles.
“Why did you stop me?” Laurel’s tone was serious, and her gaze was piercing sharp. “She apologized, didn’t she?” Charles’ sent daggers back at her. “That’s…” Laurel bit her lower lip for a second before yanking her hand out of his grip. Quarreling with Charles at such a party wouldn’t do any good for her, she thought. Still, she coldly peered at Narika and said, “Watch where you’re going, woman, or what’s the use of having eyes and big-freaking glasses?” Saying that, she hurried upstairs to get her dress changed. Charles turned and looked at Narika. Their eyes briefly met, and she turned around and hurriedly left. “Not even a thanks, huh…” Charles muttered under his breath. “Not that I expected it, but… she does look a lot different in short hair. Sofia’s shy sister. She’s become quite lean as well. I almost couldn’t recognize her.” Charles had no idea that the Myers family had put Narika in a dog cage and starved her for almost two months, giving her food every few days so she wo
Charles just won another poker competition and pocketed 3.5 million dollars. The press interviewed him afterward and asked for the secret of his success. “Focus and determination. Those two things will help get results.” That was all he said. “What about luck?” a random reporter asked back. “There’s no such thing as luck,” replied Charles. “Everything in this world is ordained by God. He once stripped me of everything, and then he decided to make me sit here and talk with you guys.” “Haha, you mean you’ve become successful because God wished for it and not because of your own hard work?” “Well, I always work hard, but my effort ends with picking the next poker card on the table. I can’t control the cards every other player picks, can I? The picture I see is very little compared to what a bird in the sky can see, let alone the guy sitting up above the sky, don’t you think? So, the answer to your question is… will you live for a thousand years just because you breathe harder?” His
“Sofia, can we have dinner together today?” “I’m not feeling like going outside, so I can’t.” “Sofia, how about lunch in your favorite restaurant tomorrow?” “I have some important work, no.” “Sofia, do you hate me? Why do you avoid eating with me?” “I don’t hate you, Carlos. Why would I hate you, my husband? I know I hit you sometimes, but that’s because I care for you. You meant the world to me.” “Then, let’s have dinner together tonight.” “That’s… I’m afraid I have a party to attend.” “Then, take me along.” “It’s a women only party, so…” Charles kept thinking back on the times he had asked his wife to spare some time for him only to get refused time and again. Now that he was wearing a new suit, tie, and face, she suddenly had the time to not only call and ask him for dinner but to also pick the dinner spot. And he didn’t find it funny. “I was ignorant back then. She looked beautiful, and I took the bait. I had no idea she had a long list of ex-lovers, and she even met th
“There are hundreds of Sofias in this city,” Charles stated, “and I’m sure people can recognize the difference between Sofia Myers and Sofia Becic even though both are in the acting profession.” His words not only restored Sofia’s face but also greatly boosted her confidence. “I don’t use my grandfather’s name before every little thing I do like someone else,” Sofia said, smiling. Laurel’s eyebrow jerked a little, but she did well controlling herself. “Mr. Charles,” she peered at him with intense green eyes. “When are we going to have dinner together?” Charles’ heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t prepared for this question. He had not expected for Laurel to be here, after all. Laurel seemed to be much more of a bold and straightforward woman than Sofia, he thought. And this wasn't good news for him. But what should he answer now? What response would satisfy both the prideful women sitting at the same table and staring at him with inquiring eyes. “Aren’t we already having one?” Charl
The moment they entered the mansion, Victoria came to receive him. The timing was too perfect. He guessed that Sofia must have texted her mom and told her to be ready. He couldn’t help but be a little scared by how fast-thinking they were. They already had so much wealth, and they could sit idly without doing anything, but, no, they were always in search of doubling and tripling their wealth at any cost. No wonder they say, the more money you have, the more they try to look busy and good. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Charles,” Victoria shook hands with him and liked the firmness in his grip. “Please take a seat.” Charles sat comfortably on the couch. In fact, he put one leg on the other, which slightly discomforted Victoria. However, her handshake had rattled him a lot more. The maids brought snacks and drinks. Charles, however, didn’t touch the food until Victoria insisted. “So, Mr. Charles, I heard you are a professional gambler,” Victoria sounded curious, and she had this
Charles was staring at two scent bottles. One was the strawberry flavor, which Sofia loved. The other was the banana flavor, which she hated. There was even a time when she vomited at a ceremony because the banana scent was used on every guest at the entrance. He kept staring at the banana scent bottle. “It’s still too early to put this on.” He picked up the strawberry flavor. He sprayed just enough of it, then put on the mask and the wig and stared at the mirror for a little while. “Should do.” He drove to the cocktail party thrown by the governor of the state, Langdon Campbell. Why was he throwing a party? Charles didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He was invited, and since Myers would likely be invited, he had to attend. The party was much simpler and classier than he expected with a popular band playing soothing music in the background. Langdon was too prideful to talk to every guest attending the party, but his son Arlo was different. He came up to Charles and asked, “Is everyt
When Sofia made her way over, Charles hated that he had to smile and get up from his chair to receive her. In doing so, he brought out an amused smile on her face. “For someone who makes a living by playing poker, you’re really such a gentleman,” she voiced her mind in a soft, tickling tone. “You must have been a knight in your past life.” “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he slightly tilted his head toward her, “though I don’t believe in past lives or future lives for that matter.” “Oh, so you’re one of those types who only believes what he sees.” “Not really. I see what I see, and I believe what I believe.” “Haha. Funny,” Sofia looked around and noticed a particular woman who could rival her in terms of body proportions. Moreover, this woman’s attire all seemed to be made of special editions. She wanted to test him, and so she said, “Do you see her? The one in the shiny blue dress?” “Mm?” Charles took a look. “Yeah. What about her?” “She’s Elizabeth Sterling,” Sofia whispered.
Charles came to his room after the party, carefully removed his wig and mask, and had a long bath before getting back to bed. There was a burger and a pizza waiting for him to eat. Seeing them, he remembered how he used to work in the stores when he was young, and he used to buy a pizza and eat it for three nights. He would buy a burger once every month because a burger couldn’t be eaten for three nights like with a pizza, even though both cost 1 dollar back then. He used to drink a lot of water to control or kill his hunger. Those days were quite tough. Now, he ate both the burger and pizza and still felt hungry. He drank water to fill the rest of his stomach and dilute the gastric juices. He started reading the book titled ‘Vampires for Dummies.’ After reading a few pages, it wasn’t what he expected, so he threw it away. “There’s false information everywhere. While walking in the sun might hurt, it’s not to the point it gets unbearable. The more I walk in the sun, the more I get u