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 interview was being watched by Victoria on the sports channel, and she was impressed. “His neurons are firing even after the game. I can’t help but like this guy. I can see how he amassed more than 250 million dollars of wealth in a matter of months and took the gambling world by a storm. I heard one casino went bankrupt because of him, and some casinos even banned him. He’s got the looks and the smarts. He’s a perfect son-in-law material. I hope Sofia manages to pull him into the Myers family before others form a queue. She’s a bit on the older side now, but I’m confident that she can charm him with her flirtatious smiles and what not.”
Somewhere else in the city.
Charles was driving his Mercedes and noticed two young children walking, holding each other’s hands. He remembered his childhood. He lived in an orphanage and multiple foster homes but didn’t really have anyone he could call a sibling, including Tom. Everyone lived for themselves as far as he could remember, and he was no exception. He wished he could go back to those times so he could have been more friendly and understanding, but that wasn’t possible now.
He stopped the car at a Myers’ store. He kept tapping the steering wheel. “There’s so much money in the bank I don’t know what to do with it. I can do some charity, but there’s no guarantee that my money will be used well by them.” He glanced at the store, wondering if he should enter and buy a premium suit to wear for dinner. It would definitely impress Sofia, but was it worth it? After pondering, he ended up entering the store and buying a suit and more.
It cost him over a million.
As he walked out, the bags he was carrying had contents worth over a million.
“They say one should look like a million dollars in a suit. I never thought I’d literally make it possible.”
However, he wasn’t as happy as he should be.
After all, he also never thought that at forty years he wouldn’t be without a wife and children.
So what if he had millions in the bank? Could they match up to the warmth he could have shared if he had a good family?
As children passed by, he could only pity himself.
Meanwhile, in the Myers mansion, Sofia just walked out of her private gym. A maid brought her energy drink, but Sofia slapped her and said, “You made me wait a couple of seconds.”
“S-Sorry, ma’am. This won’t happen again.”
“If it happens, you will lose more than just your job,” she warned and walked away, sipping on the drink, and her expression worsened. “Tsk, these things really suck. Maybe I should tell dad about making a Myers energy drink that tastes better on the tongue.” She liked the idea, and so she ended up calling her dad and complained how she felt like crap after drinking the energy drinks. “I want to have a better energy drink after work out, dad. Just create one, and test it out on our company workers first before bringing it to me.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself? You own five companies already, don’t you? A sixth wouldn’t be much.”
“I have to focus on my acting, so I can’t.”
“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”
The call ended. She had a shower and returned. After putting on a lot of makeup, she sat on her bed and thought for a little while before dialing a number.
“Hello,” a soft voice answered.
“Hi, it’s me, Sofia.”
“Sofia who?”
She frowned a little. “Sofia Myers. I met you at the Bisconsleys’ party a few days back, remember?” she didn’t like that she had to explain herself.
“Ah, yeah, I’m sorry. I meet a lot of new faces everyday, so it’s hard to remember the names. I sincerely apologize.”
“It’s okay.” Her ego felt better after receiving the apology. “I was wondering if we could meet for dinner tonight. Are you free?”
“Uh, um, yes.”
“Great. Do you have any place you prefer, or should I text you the location?”
“I’m afraid I’ll trouble you to choose.”
“Haha. I’ll send you the location soon.” She ended the call and exhaled audibly. “Sofia who?” She put the mobile aside. “I remember you praising my beauty, and now you are acting tough, huh. Let’s see if you will forget my name after tonight!”
“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
Four masked men snuck into Charles’ room. He was in a deep sleep. They checked everywhere in the room for hard cash or anything that looked valuable. From suits and watches to rings and lockets, they packed everything in their bags. They didn’t expect Charles would be so rich. “We’ve hit a jackpot! Haha, these items should easily fetch us a few million dollars.” “Yeah, but he might be having a lot more in his bank account. What if we force him to transfer his money?” another one said, taking out a hidden knife. “We can kill him afterward.” Greed flashed in their eyes. “Let’s do it.” They nodded to each other and surrounded the bed. Charles slowly sat up by himself, startling them. “You should have taken what you wanted and left silently, and I would have ignored you,” he said, yawning, but then his gaze sharpened as they attacked him. One of the thieves, the one with the knife, stabbed at Charle’s throat, but his wrist was caught midway. With a vicious pull, Charles brought that
Fuck off. It had been years since someone uttered such words in Langdon’s face. He didn’t see a shred of fear in Charles’ eyes. “Hmph,” Langdon smirked. “I thought you were smart, but it’s alright. Money tends to swell our heads more than our pockets.” He pointed the gun at him. “I won’t ask you the third time. So, will you join me, or join your family in hell?” “How do you know my family is in hell?” asked Charles, fingering his nose. “Did your mom and dad make a call from there?” Langdon’s brows slightly stiffened. He put the finger on the trigger. “Adios.” A Rolls Royce stopped next to their cars, and Laurel got out. Langdon put the gun back inside his coat. “Ms. Bisconsley,” he greeted her with a half-smile. “What brought you to this street?” “Mr. Governor,” she greeted him back and looked toward Charles. “I was looking for him.” “Oh…” Langdon glanced back at Charles and said, “See you later.” Charles waved his hand as if Langdon was a friend. After the governor and his m