Chapter 19: One on One

"I need to step out for a moment..." Luke's face turned sour. He pushed past a few people and stumbled out of the room. "Luke seems off," Diana turned to Maddie. "Maddie, don't you want to go check on him?"

"I...why should I?" Maddie replied nervously.

"Because we're all friends here, what's wrong with checking on him?" Diana asserted. Maddie realized she was overthinking things.

"It's okay, Luke will be fine. Diana, I'll stay with you." Maddie said gently. After all, how could she miss the moment when Diana embarrasses herself?

"Come on, Diana, you wouldn't want to back out at the last minute!" Brandon shook the dice and complained, determined not to let her off the hook after all the effort it took to get her to this point.

"I certainly wouldn't back out, but it's not very fair with just one of me against both of you," I replied.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Brandon, why don't we have a one-on-one match?"

"What?!" Brandon frowned. Did he hear her wrong? Diana actually wanted to challenge him one-on-one? That was exactly what he wanted!

Noah exclaimed in surprise, "Diana, are you crazy? Don't play this game, you're not even Brandon's match!"

Maddie found it suspicious. Diana had lost so many times, why would she make such a request? Could she really win? But Maddie had been with her for so many years and had never seen her play dice before.

"Diana, why do you suddenly want a one-on-one match? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?" Maddie asked curiously.

Diana pouted, "I've been rolling small numbers all day, so I'll win by rolling the smallest number. I don't believe Brandon's luck is better than mine. I want to avenge Luke!"

Maddie couldn't help but find it amusing that Diana thought it was all luck. Diana had done some foolish things for Luke in the past. Without thinking much, Maddie encouraged her, "Good luck then!"

"Alright, but just drinking isn't that fun, Brandon. How about we add some excitement?" Diana rubbed her chin.

"What do you have in mind?" Noah asked.

"The loser, besides having to drink, also has to take off one item of clothing until the loser is completely naked!" The moment Noah heard this, he spewed out his drink.

Brandon was also stunned. "Take off, completely naked?!"

"What, are you scared?" Diana taunted.

"No! I agree!" Brandon's excited eyes sparkled. This was her own saying!

The others couldn't help but revel in Diana's bizarre request. Lily pulled out her phone. "Get ready, we have to capture Diana's embarrassing nakedness. If we upload it online, Diana's reputation will be ruined!"

Maddie furrowed her brow, feeling that something was off. She said slowly, "Brandon is good at rolling dice? Since when?" 

"I'm telling you, Diana is done for this time," Ava said smugly. "Brandon is really good at it, he's never met his match in all these years. He can roll any number he wants, just like that!" 

Hearing this, Maddie was relieved. "This time, Diana, you'll pay for your foolishness!" The first round began quickly, and Brandon rolled three ones. 

"Hah, I told you, Diana is done for!" Ava couldn't help but laugh. Maddie's lips also curled into a smile. Three ones, that's the smallest roll possible. Diana, let's see how you'll handle this! 

"Wow, that's amazing!" Diana exclaimed, looking impressed.

"How about it? Why don't you just give up and take off your clothes here and now?" Brandon smirked, crossing his legs as he looked at her with satisfaction. "Maybe if you show a good attitude, I'll let you keep your underwear!"

"That won't be necessary. If we agreed to strip, then we strip completely," Diana smiled slightly as she picked up the dice. Brandon suddenly felt a sense of unease upon seeing her smile, but quickly brushed it off. She's just acting!

Diana casually shook the dice in her hand and then placed it on the table. Seeing her unprofessional gesture, Brandon became even more convinced that she was a novice.

"Roll!" Diana shouted, then removed the dice cup. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the table. When they saw the dice inside, the ridicule on their faces disappeared in an instant. Each person's expression was like they had swallowed an egg, unable to close their mouths. How could this be?!

"Wow, I'm so lucky! Three dice stacked together and only one point," Diana said with an innocent smile. She then looked up at Brandon and asked, "You lost, so do you want to drink first and then take off your clothes, or the other way around?"

"No, it's impossible!" Brandon snapped out of his daze, exclaiming, "How could this be possible? Diana is a complete novice. How could she roll such a difficult score?"

Maddie also recovered from her shock and leaned in to Diana, asking, "Diana, you're so amazing! Who taught you this?"

"I didn't learn from anyone. It's all just luck," Diana said, looking confused. "Even I was surprised when I saw the result."

The group was skeptical, and their expressions were unnatural. Brandon took a deep breath to calm himself down. It couldn't be true. Diana must have just gotten lucky. There was no way he would lose.

"Ha, if you want me to take my clothes off, I'll just do it!" Brandon finished his drink and then took off his shirt. It was summertime, and he was only wearing a shirt and a vest, so there wasn't much to take off.

"Let's go again!" Brandon said, full of anger. He put all his strength into shaking the dice. When he opened his hand, he saw that he had only rolled three points again.

Diana took the dice and shook them just as before, then put the dice cup down on the table. Brandon instinctively swallowed hard. "I don't believe you can still roll one point!"

Diana didn't say anything. She just slowly moved the dice cup away. Inside, three dice were neatly stacked on top of each other, showing one point!

"Diana, you're cheating!" Before Brandon could speak, Ava jumped up and shouted angrily.

Diana impatiently glanced at her. "Brandon brought the dice. I rolled them right in front of you. Can you use your brain before you speak?"

"You're cheating! You obviously have skills and are pretending not to know how to play!" Ava had already figured out that Diana wasn't relying on luck, and the others understood it even more.

Brandon turned pale. He had been played! He had wanted to tease Diana, but now he had been played by her! But how was it possible? How could she know how to play this thing...

"Alright, Diana, everyone knows your strength. Brandon has surrendered, so let's stop playing," Maddie stepped in to help end the game. At that moment, she felt conflicted. She thought she knew Diana well, but today had surprised her.

"We've only played two rounds, how can it end so soon?" Diana turned to Brandon and smiled, "Isn't that right, Brandon?" Her smile was exceptionally bright, but it made Brandon break into a cold sweat.

Devil! This woman is a devil! Brandon pushed the dice on the table, "I'm done! Diana, can't I just surrender?" He didn't care about his face anymore. He would never take off his clothes. It was too embarrassing.

Diana's eyes showed a hint of disdain as she slowly collected the dice, "Okay, since you surrendered, let's stop playing." Brandon breathed a sigh of relief. But then he saw Diana sitting on the couch and calmly saying, "Take off your clothes."

"What, what?!" Brandon looked at her in shock, thinking he had misheard her.

Diana looked puzzled, "Didn't we agree that the loser would have to take off all clothes? Since you lost, you should stick to the bet."

Ava was furious, "Diana, have you no shame? Would you be able to watch a guy strip in front of you?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm not allergic to peanuts," Diana smirked, showing a sinister grin.

Brandon felt ashamed and angry. Maddie noticed that things were getting out of hand, so she quickly sat next to Diana and said, "Diana, let's just drop it. It's so embarrassing to take off all his clothes. If Mr. Thompson finds out that you're fooling around here, he will definitely be angry!"

"Don't worry, Maddie. It'll be just between us. My dad won't find out as long as you don't say anything," Diana reassured her, patting her hand with an innocent gaze. "You've been so good to me. You wouldn't go and tell on me, would you?"

"No, of course not. It's just..." Maddie trailed off.

"Good. If you're embarrassed, you can turn around," Diana said, turning her head to face Brandon. A mischievous glint shone in her beautiful almond eyes. "Hurry up. Do I have to do it myself?"

"You're shameless!" Brandon's eyes burned with anger.

"What's wrong? Are you going to cheat again? Brandon, you're not even worthy of being a man!" Diana sneered coldly.

"Say that again, you bitch!" Brandon, consumed by rage, lost his temper and grabbed an empty bottle from the table, aiming to smash it over Diana's head.