1 On our wedding eve, Austin casually mentioned he’d married Natalie after losing a dice game at a bar. “A month-long joke,” he shrugged. “Not worth mentioning.” That night, he hosted a VIP party to “win back his divorce papers.” I entered to find him kissing Natalie before the crowd. Laughing, they pulled me onto the sofa. “Napkin pass,” someone explained. “Pass paper by lips. Drop it, we all get a demand.” Austin kissed Natalie for three minutes before turning, a damp scrap clinging to his lips. “Your turn, Vivian,” he slurred. “Catch it or forfeit.” I stared, arms folded. “I forfeit.” Natalie smirked against his shoulder. “My demand: lend me Austin for a year.” Austin patted her hand, silent. I nodded, expressionless. “Fake marriage’s dull. Let’s raise the stakes.” … The laughter in the room died down instantly. Austin frowned, his gaze narrowing. “Vivian, what are you planning now?” I didn’t answer him. I kept my eyes locked on Natalie. “Are we playing or not?” I saw a flash of excitement in Natalie’s eyes: the unmistakable thrill of a predator watching its prey step into a trap. But she hid it quickly, leaning back against Austin and casually twirling his fingers. “I already have Austin as my husband for a year,” she said, looking at me with amusement. “As a woman, I’ve already won. Why should I risk playing you unless you put up a stake that actually interests me?” “You name the stake,” I said. She smiled maliciously, her eyes sparkling under the dim lounge lights. “Tomorrow is your ten-million-dollar wedding, isn’t it? If I win, tomorrow’s wedding night belongs to me.” Several people in the room gasped. I looked over at Austin. “That depends on what Austin wants.” Austin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Vivian, if you’re too scared to play, just say so. Don’t use me as an excuse to back out!” I nodded. “Fine. Let’s play.” Natalie sat up, her interest fully piqued. “And what’s your demand if you win?” “My demand is simple. You both delete that relationship app from your phones.” Austin let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Vivian, you’ve been snooping through my phone? Just because Natalie and I logged in for thirty consecutive days to get the ‘Honeymoon Couple’ digital badge? It’s a game, Vivian. You’re seriously throwing a tantrum over a virtual badge?” To the crowd, I looked pathetic. Betting my actual wedding night just to force them to delete a silly app: it was the ultimate, desperate humiliation of a woman blinded by love. The whispers in the room started immediately. People muttered about how Vivian Jiang, the ruthless CEO of the Jiang Group, could be so weak and submissive when it came to Austin. I ignored them. I knew exactly what they were saying. During our junior year of college, Austin had gotten into a bloody brawl over Natalie, smashing a beer bottle over a man’s head. I was the one who showed up at the police station at 4:00 AM with a team of lawyers, paid the victim’s massive medical bills, and kept his name out of the press. He had never apologized. He kept getting into fights for Natalie, and I kept cleaning up his messes. My own father had threatened to disinherit me because he hated Austin, and I had nearly severed ties with my family just to secure tomorrow’s wedding. To everyone here, I was just a rich fool who would tolerate any abuse to keep her man. Natalie picked up the silver dice cup. “How are we playing?” I picked up my cup clumsily, my hand shaking slightly. As I did, one of my dice slipped out, rolling across the carpet. A wave of snickers ran through the room. Austin picked up the die, tossing it back to me with an irritated sigh. “Why do you have to embarrass yourself like this? You never step foot in clubs, and you can’t beat her. Are you trying to lose me completely before you’re satisfied?” I began to shake the cup slowly. “There isn’t much left to lose anyway.” Austin’s breath hitched, but my public defiance clearly bruised his ego. He sneered, leaning back. “Fine! If you lose, I’m sleeping in her bed tomorrow night. Don’t come crying to me!” Natalie gave her cup a professional, elegant shake and slammed it onto the glass table. She lifted it. Double sixes: a perfect twelve. The room erupted into cheers. Unless I rolled a twelve as well, I was finished. Austin leaned in, playfully biting Natalie’s cheek. “Good job, babe.” I reached for my cup. “Wait,” Austin interrupted, holding my hand down. “I’m raising the stakes. If you lose, you have to personally book the room for us tomorrow night. I want the penthouse suite at your luxury hotel: the most expensive one you own.” They were dragging my pride through the mud, and they wanted me to pay for it. I nodded. “Deal.” I lifted my cup. A two and a three: five points. “Hahaha!” Natalie burst into laughter, wrapping her arms tightly around Austin’s waist. She looked at me with mock pity. “Come on, Vivian. Women shouldn’t be so cruel to each other. If you beg me right now, we can call the whole bet off.” It was a classic psychological trap. I had used that exact negotiation tactic in boardrooms when she was still using it to flirt with college boys. “No need,” I said, my voice dry. “A bet is a bet.” Natalie’s eyes gleamed with greed. “Want to keep going? Let’s raise the stakes again.” “Yes,” I replied without hesitation. Natalie leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. “If I win this time, I want your wedding ring. And tomorrow’s wedding? I want to be the bride standing at the altar with Austin.” The room fell into a shocked, suffocating silence. I looked at Austin, my voice slightly raspy. “Do you agree to this?” Austin didn’t even hesitate. He looked at me with utter contempt. “Vivian, do you really think you can use me to back out of this?” “Natalie is gorgeous, and I don’t lose either way. If you lose, just wait a year. I’ll divorce her and marry you then. You’ve spent your whole life waiting for me anyway, haven’t you?” The very last drop of my affection for him evaporated into the cold air of the lounge. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s play.” This time, she rolled an eleven. I rolled an eight. I lost again. Natalie poured two glasses of champagne, locking her arm with Austin’s for a celebratory toast. “To our early wedding!” Austin drank it down, looking at me with a smirk. “See, Vivian? That’s what a real woman looks like.” Without a word, I pulled out my phone and quickly sent a message to my family group, my business partners, and my social media accounts. Tomorrow’s wedding is canceled. Please do not attend. Then, I dialed my PR director. “Transfer tomorrow’s wedding venue, catering, and floral arrangements to Ms. Natalie Shen, free of charge. Draft a press release: ‘The Jiang Group congratulates Natalie Shen on her sudden marriage.’” Austin’s glass nearly slipped from his hand. “Vivian, are you insane? That wedding cost tens of millions!” Natalie froze for three seconds, then let out a nervous laugh. “Vivian… you’re incredibly generous! But I don’t want to steal your man forever. Let him be my husband for just a year. That’s a fair compromise, right?” She was trying to act magnanimous, believing I had lost my mind over Austin and wanting to keep me hooked in the game so she could extract more from me. “If that’s what you want…” I said, my hands trembling slightly. Natalie’s smile grew wider. “Let’s bet on something else then. I’ll put up my family’s entire company assets.” A murmur of surprise ran through the room. The Shen Group was a medical supply business that had made a quick fortune during a recent supply shortage, but they were heavily leveraged and on the verge of bankruptcy without cash flow. My H Luxury Hotel Group, on the other hand, was a stable, massively profitable empire with prime real estate across the country. She thought she was a financial genius. She didn’t realize she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Seeing me hesitate, she offered: “If you think the stakes are too high, I can give you tomorrow’s wedding back… though the groom still belongs to me for the year.” “No need,” I interrupted. I stared at my dice cup with the desperate, bloodshot eyes of a ruined gambler. “H Hotels it is. Let’s roll.” Natalie shook her cup with excitement. Before I could lift mine, she stopped me. “Wait, Vivian. Since this involves corporate assets, shouldn’t we have lawyers and media witness it?” “Sure,” I said. A man in a sharp suit stood up from the corner. “What a coincidence, I’m a senior partner at a top law firm. I have a digital contract template ready.” Two elegantly dressed women stood up beside him. “We’re journalists. We can document this live on our platforms.” I smiled. “Perfect.” The lawyer handed me the tablet. I signed my name without even reading the clauses. “No need to review. Your firm’s founder is my company’s independent director and personal advisor. If there’s a loophole, I’m sure he’ll handle it.” The lawyer’s face went pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “Y-yes, absolutely no issues, Ms. Jiang.” We both signed the digital agreement. Natalie shook her cup one last time and lifted it. Double sixes: twelve points again. I lifted mine. A five and a six: eleven points. I lost. The crowd groaned in disappointment. “So close. What a shame.” I let out a heavy sigh, slamming my cup onto the table. “Alright, H Hotels is yours. Want to keep going?” Natalie’s eyes were filled with pure, unadulterated greed. “Anytime, Vivian.” I ruffled my hair in simulated frustration. “Let’s make it quick. All-in. If I lose, you get the entire Jiang Corporation. If you lose, I get your family assets, H Hotels back, Austin back, and tomorrow’s wedding.” Austin grabbed my wrist. “Stop! You’re going to lose everything!” He glared at me, his breathing ragged. “If you do this, even if you win, I’ll never choose you. And if you lose and become a pauper, I definitely won’t want you. Stop this now!” I shoved his hand away and began to shake my cup. “We’ve been playing high rolls. This time, lowest roll wins.” Natalie laughed. “Sure, whatever you want.” “Reveal!” She lifted her cup. Two ones: a total of two points. The lowest possible roll under normal circumstances. Everyone looked at me as if I were a dead woman walking. I calmly lifted my cup. A collective gasp rattled the room. Natalie leaned forward, her face turning from triumph to absolute, paralyzing horror. “How… how is this possible?”
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