At a holiday family gathering, my cousin, Mark, suddenly pulled out a deck of cards. “Let’s play for serious stakes,” he announced. A collective gasp rippled through the room as he placed his newly acquired stock dividends on the table. “Who’s in?” The relatives, knowing he was just trying to flaunt his wealth, immediately showered him with praise. Just as Mark, basking in his triumph, was about to pocket the cards, I reached out and stopped him. “I’ll play.” His eyes widened in disbelief. He probably expected me to cower in silence, just like before. But he had no idea that playing for keeps, betting everything, was exactly my kind of game. This time, he was going to lose it all. … The moment “I’ll play” left my lips, my mom, Brenda, tugged at my sleeve. “Your cousin is just joking around, Alex! What are you doing?” The other relatives chimed in, trying to talk me out of it. Everyone knew full well Mark was merely showing off his new stock shares. A bet this huge? It was clearly beyond what any of us financially struggling relatives could afford to participate in. Mark was the wealthiest person in our family, and this was his usual game. This yearly charade at our holiday gatherings was nothing more than an elaborate display of his riches. Everyone was expected to play along, offering a few compliments, and that would be the end of it. Why was I taking it so seriously? It was a holiday, and no one wanted a scene, so they all tried to smooth things over. But I stood my ground, my hand firm on the deck of cards Mark had brought out. “Still playing?” The triumphant smirk had vanished from Mark’s face. He stared at me, expressionless, and scoffed. “Alex, you’re getting bold now that it’s vacation. You were so submissive and quiet at the company, but now that you’re back home, you’re throwing your weight around! If I hadn’t covered for you, you’d be out on your ass this year!” Just like always, he loved to humiliate people, no matter the situation. We worked at the same company. He was two years older than me and had joined earlier. He’d climbed the ranks to a junior management position by sucking up to the bosses. When I first joined, he had me transferred to his department. He claimed it was because we were family, and he could look out for me. I didn’t want to go, but he called my dad and convinced him to pressure me into it. My family had no idea then that it was the beginning of my misery. In all the years I worked under Mark, he constantly undermined me. He’d dump the heaviest, most difficult projects on my plate, only to swoop in and steal them just as I was about to finish. Any mistake at work, and I was the first one to face the music. At the end of this year, he earned senior leadership’s praise thanks to a project I’d worked my fingers to the bone on. Not only did he get company stock dividends, but he was also due for a promotion. But he’d been careless after snatching my project and made a mistake on the proposal. Seeing that he was about to be held responsible, he immediately pushed me forward, then played the hero by pretending to defend me. That’s what he called “covering for me.” A cold laugh echoed in my mind as I recalled what he’d told me then. “Cousin, I know you’ve been wronged. I’ll give you a big bonus this year.” When I went home for the holidays, he did give me a bonus. Two one-hundred dollar bills and a fifty. Was he seriously trying to insult me with such a paltry sum, practically calling me a total idiot? My dad, a gentle and honest man, had always told me to keep my head down and avoid conflict. But this time, I couldn’t hold back anymore. Meeting Mark’s condescending gaze, I calmly said, “If you don’t want to play, Mark, that’s fine too.” It was the simplest form of provocation, yet the most effective. He always thought he was hot stuff and expected everyone to worship the ground he walked on. His face instantly flushed crimson. “Fine! My cousin’s getting brave, aren’t we? I’ll play with you today!” He snorted, pulling the stock dividend contract he’d just put back in his bag and slamming it onto the table. “If we’re playing, the stakes need to be equal, right? Can you even afford it?” I glanced at the contract by his hand. Those stock dividends were probably worth around three hundred thousand dollars. My year-end bonus was only eighty thousand. After a moment’s thought, I looked at Sarah. Catching my eye, she didn’t say a word. She simply turned and walked out the door. Half a minute later, she came back in, carrying her purse that had been left outside. She pulled out her Audi A3 car keys from it. She then placed her purse on the table as well. “The LV Alex bought me, new season. We’re putting that up too.”
The hand on my back gave a light pat. Feeling her quiet comfort, my heart ached. All these years, Sarah had silently supported me from behind, the only one who truly understood my grievances and my rage. I pulled out my debit card and placed it on the table. “And another two hundred thousand dollars from here.” This was my hard-earned savings from all these years. Seeing my move, Mark’s face suddenly darkened. “Don’t you dare regret this.” I wouldn’t regret it. Because this game, I was going to win. Ever since I joined Mark’s department, he’d done nothing, dumping every troublesome task on me. When I was out securing projects, trying to charm those clients, I don’t know how many times I’d ended up in the emergency room with severe stomach issues from drinking. Clients loved to play poker after a good meal and a few drinks, and I had to play along with a smile. Playing cards with clients was a skill; you couldn’t win outright, but you also couldn’t make it obvious you were throwing the game. One of the company’s long-term clients particularly loved Five-card stud, so to cater to his preferences, I had dedicated a lot of effort to studying it. Seeing Mark pull out a deck of cards and declare he was going all in, a sudden realization hit me. This might be fate’s intervention, a chance for me to turn the tables. I thought of the recording I’d kept hidden away and took a deep breath. “I won’t regret it.” But you, Mark, are you ready to lose everything? Seeing my firm resolve, Mark gritted his teeth and tossed the deck of cards to Chloe. “Fine, let’s play then!” At this point, his tone was far from his earlier composed demeanor. The pretense of nonchalance had vanished the moment real hundreds of thousands of dollars were on the line. Chloe moved her lips, knowing it was useless to argue, and lowered her head to deal the cards. Both sides were dealt a face-down card, followed by a face-up card. I had a Queen, and Mark had a King. Looking at his card, his earlier tension gradually eased. Chloe quietly asked, “Raise?” Mark hesitated. Five-card stud involved five cards – one face-down, four face-up. We couldn’t see our own face-down cards yet, and his face-up card was currently higher than mine, but it was only the second round. After a moment’s thought, Mark called out to his mother, Patricia. “Mom, take off your bracelet. It’s solid gold, worth over $40,000.” At first, he was relatively cautious, as the remaining cards hadn’t been dealt. I didn’t speak, but followed suit and raised. Sarah opened her phone and transferred forty thousand dollars via PayPal to Chloe as my stake for this round. All eyes were fixed on the next round. Four rounds later. I had a pair of Queens and a Two. He had a pair of Kings and a Ten. Mark smirked triumphantly. “Looks like my luck is much better than yours.” With three consecutive higher cards, his confidence soared, and he raised the stakes even more generously this time. “My Audi A6 parked outside, which I paid over $80,000 for, is on the table!” He looked at me with a challenging glint in his eye. “Cousin, can you still match that? If not, just fold now. You won’t lose too badly if you back out!” I looked at the cards in front of me, my face darkening. I was confident I could beat Mark, but I’d forgotten one thing. In Five-card stud, if one party couldn’t match the bet, they would be considered to have folded, losing all their chips. No wonder Mark had suddenly found his nerve. It wasn’t just because of his strong hand, but because he knew I didn’t have the money to call. Jessica, who had been a bit nervous, also smiled and looked at Sarah, tutting. “Your husband has such a temper. It’s just a holiday game, why did he have to get all bent out of shape? And you, you should have tried to stop him!”
Hearing her words, Sarah hadn’t said anything yet, but I was already seething. Jessica always lorded her family’s better financial situation over us, and with her husband as my junior manager, she hadn’t held back on showing off in front of Sarah. Sarah, for my sake, had endured years of this slight. This year, when we visited Mark’s house, Sarah had barely stepped through the door before Jessica dragged her into the kitchen to help. She’d been so busy she barely had a chance to breathe, let alone drink water, while Jessica lounged leisurely on the couch, chatting with relatives. When another relative suggested Jessica was being too demanding, her face hardened. “I treat Alex’s wife like my own sister, so I don’t stand on ceremony. What are you implying?” The relative, thus rebuffed, said no more. Thinking of Sarah’s past humiliations, I suddenly stood up and looked at my dad, David. “Dad, don’t we still have an old house in a nearby rural town? I’ll write you an IOU. Consider it a loan from me.” At these words, my dad couldn’t stay seated. “It’s just a card game, Alex, why are you playing for such high stakes?” He quickly put on a placating smile, trying to butter up Mark. “Don’t mind him. He’s had a few drinks at the dinner table and doesn’t know what he’s saying. Let’s stop the game, you two go watch TV.” Mark looked at his subservient demeanor and suddenly sneered, speaking smugly. “Uncle David, I’m about to win. What do you mean, stop playing?” “It’s not impossible for me to stop. Make Alex get on his knees and beg for forgiveness in front of everyone. If I’m in a good mood, he can take back these stakes. I don’t even care about this money.” My dad stood rooted to the spot, his body suddenly rigid. He stared directly at Mark, a flush slowly spreading across his face. “Son, I’m lending you the house. Go for it!” The room fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even I couldn’t help but look at my dad. All my life, he had been a content man, always telling me to bow down to Mark. Even this time, I thought he’d side with Mark. I never expected him to actually agree. Holding the property deed my dad handed me, I was momentarily stunned. Sarah was about to say something, but my dad quietly waved her off, pulled up a stool, and sat beside the card table. Seeing the situation, the relatives knew there was no stopping it. They held their breath and gathered around. Chloe’s hands trembled as she dealt the fourth card. I still got a Queen, and he still got a King. Now we each had four cards in our hands. Excluding the one face-down card yet to be revealed, our three face-up cards were: Mine were three Queens and a Two. Mark’s were three Kings and a Ten. He still had a better hand than me. Seeing the cards, my dad’s face turned ashen. Jessica, however, couldn’t help but let out a snicker. “Looks like my husband’s luck is holding up! Not only is he getting promoted and a raise this year, but he’s also on a winning streak at the card table!” “When money comes, you can’t stop it! Nobody leaves tonight; I’m treating everyone to a fancy dinner at a hotel!” Mark was also beaming, his lips practically stretching to his ears as he looked at his cards. “You guys probably haven’t eaten anything good, have you? Honey, book the best hotel in town later. It’ll be an eye-opener for the relatives.” He was always big-mouthed, believing himself to be the most successful among the relatives. Now, on the verge of winning, he was even more unrestrained. Chloe’s face showed a flicker of shame, but she bit her lip and swallowed her words. Before the reveal, there was one final round of betting. As the one with the stronger hand, Mark had to bet first. He glanced around, saw my dad’s ashen face, and sneered. “Since you’re putting up your property deed, I’ll put mine up too.” “My place in the city, worth over two million dollars. I’m putting it all in!”
A collective gasp echoed through the room. Two million dollars. That was no small sum. I quickly calculated my assets. Even with Sarah’s and my house on the line, it would only be a little over a million. It wasn’t enough to cover the shortfall. Mark looked at me, challenging. “Do you still have money to match? Who do you think you are, trying to take my money?” Sarah stood beside me, reaching out and gripping my hand. She spoke softly, “We’ll put up our house, and I’ll borrow some from friends and family.” Mark raised an eyebrow, a look of contempt on his face. “Who are you going to borrow from? Beggars only know beggars. How much could you possibly scrounge up?” The moment I accepted his bet, it signaled a complete break between us. Mark dropped his pretense, scrutinizing me from head to toe. “Don’t say I didn’t give you a way out. Like I said before, if you admit defeat now, and get on your knees and beg for forgiveness in front of everyone, I can stop.” He claimed to be giving me a way out, but in reality, he was trying to push me to the brink. How could I ever face anyone again if I did something like that in front of all our friends and family? Just as I was racking my brain, trying to figure out where else I could get money, Chloe suddenly spoke up. “I’ll lend it. I’ve saved up a hundred and twenty thousand dollars from working all these years. I’ll lend it all to you.” Mark suddenly froze, and Jessica’s teacup clattered to the floor. Uncle Mike quickly pulled Chloe back, rushing, “What nonsense are you talking? This has nothing to do with you!” Chloe pulled away, her voice tinged with long-suppressed anger. “I just can’t stand his arrogant attitude, looking down on everyone!” “Back then, his family couldn’t afford to send him to high school. Everyone pooled their money, emptying their pockets to make sure he could go. And what happened? Does he show any gratitude towards us?” Aunt Sharon, who had been quietly listening, also spoke up. “He had to walk three hours to school, and I felt sorry for the boy, so I let him stay at my house during the week. But then, two years ago, when my son was buying his wedding house, I asked Mark to lend me fifty thousand dollars, and he kept making excuses!” “I want to ask you today, Mark, you’re throwing hundreds of thousands, even millions, around at the poker table, but to me, your Aunt Sharon, you couldn’t even spare fifty thousand dollars?” “I… you, you guys are…” Mark hadn’t expected to suddenly become the enemy of everyone. His face went pale, and he couldn’t string together a complete sentence for a long time. “My family has another two hundred thousand dollars from a settlement!” “You can borrow my car outside!” In that moment, the relatives united, handing over what little assets they had left to me. I tapped away on my calculator, then looked up at Mark. “I have enough money now. Want to show your hand?” Mark’s expression was complex. Facing the room full of cold, hostile stares, he roared, “You’re the ones who decided to go against me first! Don’t come begging me to give your stuff back when you lose!” I smiled faintly. “Are you so confident, Mark, that you’re sure you’ll win?” He glanced at me, a cold smirk. “My face-down card is a Ten. Three Kings and two Tens, a full house! What are you going to beat me with?” At his words, the room suddenly fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Several relatives already had looks of regret on their faces. My heart, however, was calm. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, I slowly flipped over my face-down card. This game, he was going to lose! When he saw my face-down card, Mark looked like he’d been frozen in place. I had four Queens and a Two – a Four of a Kind. He had three Kings and a pair of Tens – a Full House. A Four of a Kind beats a Full House. He lost. “Mark, when you made your final bet, did you ever consider that my face-down card might be a Queen?”
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