Chapter 7

Dexter felt a sudden hot flush wash over him at the sound of that calm voice. He wondered if this little brat was intentionally trying to jinx his game; he was so sure the ancestors had spoken, so why was this girl saying something else?

He glanced at the three hundred bucks left, strained his heart to hear his ancestors' opinion on his bet, but all he heard was the frantic beating of his own heart. He grudgingly spared the imp a glance, but she was studying the players at the table like his winning or losing was none of her business.

"I'd play big if I were you," a self-proclaimed pro player silently watching the game with an air of importance calmly told him.

Stuck in a dilemma, he glanced at the faces of his gambling friends peppered around the table, who had been hailing him all night. They also urged him to play big, since the game had been toying with "big" for ten consecutive rounds.

Just when he thought that was all the confirmation he needed, he felt his banknotes gently tugged away by someone.

"Small with bets on three, one, and four," Cara's voice calmly rose in the air before he could react, leaving his and all the mouths of his supporters agape.

"What the...?" Dexter began, but Cara simply spared him a warning glance and nothing more. But that was enough to check him because what if she decided to tell his sister of his rendezvous tonight?

"This is really bad," the self-proclaimed pro player sighed beside him with a shake of his head, sinking Dexter further into the pit of despair.

"That wasn't the choice I made; I choose Big!" Dexter howled, scrambling towards the dealer who smacked his hands away without sparing him a glance.

"Three, one, four, and Small!" the dealer announced in shock as he revealed the dices, just as Dexter was about to scold Cara in rage. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as all eyes turned to Cara and a simultaneous roar of joy rose from the people standing by.

Dexter's facial expression did a sharp ninety-degree turn as he joined in the jubilation, beating his chest and roaring along with the crowd.

He turned to hoist Cara onto his shoulder and met her calm gaze boring into his, dampening his spirit somewhat as guilt crept right in.

"We won," he said sheepishly, staring at everything but her.

"Yes, uncle, you won," she said, stifling a smile.

Dexter couldn't quite believe it; he hadn't won anything since he started gambling. The prospect of winning big someday and changing his as well as Rae's fortune had been the only thing keeping him going.

He felt like he had been doused with cold water as he stared at his niece who was back to studying the dealer and how he rattled the dices, while the excitement of the crowd dimmed somewhat.

"Which one should I choose next?" he asked, surprising her.

"Small, three, one, and four," she softly replied, her lips curled into a small smile.

"Small it is," he replied with a smile of his own and a twinkle in his eyes as he made the bet.

After a few consecutive rounds spent increasing their stakes and winning, Dexter was smiling so much that his face ached and his eyes could not be seen.

He felt great with Cara by his side, telling him which stake to go for; both oblivious to the fact that this scene was being watched from an upper floor by Hendrix.

Intrigued, he slightly leaned forward, exposing the iciness of his facial expression under the dim, yellow lights as he toyed with his blood-red prayer beads, which stood in stark contrast against his pale skin.

"She's absolutely impressive," Owen's voice came from his side.

"I thought you'd recognize her, considering you're a connoisseur of women," Hendrix drawled.

"Do you know her?" Owen asked, studying the girl downstairs as she stood under the bright lights, which teased her porcelain face with a snowy glow. She was as beautiful as Chang'e, the goddess of the moon and the fairy in the clouds.

He was so sure there was no other beauty like hers in the entire city of Beijing, let alone the tiny Yunjing Province.

"That's Cara," Hendrix said with a small smile, stunning Owen.

"That fake daughter of the Smiths?" Owen asked in disbelief, blinking comically at Cara, unable to accept the reality of what his eyes seemed to be telling him.

Hendrix nodded with exaggerated patience.

"Impossible," he said, almost reeling backward in shock; unable to link the young girl in heavy makeup and this exquisite goddess blessing his eyesight.

"Brother Fifth, could she be trying to get your attention?" Owen managed to stutter the first thing that came into his mind as his erratic heart calmed down, missing Hendrix's mocking glance that swept him before turning his attention to Cara again.

"Else how could the well-known good-for-nothing fake daughter of the Smiths be this impressive?" He asked no one in particular, and Hendrix was in no mood to encourage his friend's stupidity.

"Let's go," he almost ordered as he left with a disoriented Owen in tow.

Dexter, on the other hand, was all charged up from their winnings and was ready to win the casino dry.

"Dear niece, what's the next wager?" he asked, unaware his tone and mode of addressing Cara had changed.

"No more tonight," she said thoughtfully, subtly studying the expressions of the other players and finding them sour. Dexter was about to argue but couldn't find her beside him; a quick glance told him she was already on her way out.

He measured the odds of winning in her absence and placed it at zero, so he took their earnings and hastily caught up with her.

But a middle-aged rascal along with his friends blocked Cara's path, just as they left the gambling premises.

Cara lazily sized the man up, thinking how she needed a scapegoat to vent her frustration at how foolish her host had been all these years and found that they passed her test.

Just as she was prepared to exercise her muscles and loosen up her joints, however, a silhouette charged from behind and swung a kick at the leader, deflating all her initial preparations.

"How dare you bully my niece?" Dexter huffed, standing protectively before Cara, who thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

The unfortunate thug was about to curse and react when he saw Dexter staring at him like he was dead meat.

"Brother, I thought you said you weren't acquainted with her?" He stammered.

"And you believed me?" Dexter yelled, sending him another kick that sent him sprawling further away while the eyes of his buddies roamed everywhere else but the dilemma of their boss.

Although a part of them couldn't help but wonder, he had obviously said he wasn't acquainted with this little girl moments ago. So how did their relationship suddenly turn into that of an uncle and his niece? Apparently, this man's mouth wasn't to be trusted, they concluded as they admired the stars.

"When did I even say that?" He yelled again, rushing at the poor guy to beat him up. But his friends finally mustered up the courage and fell on their knees, blocking his path and begging for forgiveness while Cara conveniently stood there, rooted in shock she had no intention of recovering from any time soon.

"This is my niece, Cara, my beloved niece I'm ready to lay my life for!" He hollered at them while they could only nod helplessly in agreement. He glanced at her and saw the shock on her face, his heart breaking at the sight.

"See how frightened you've made her, she can't even talk. Quick apologize," he ordered.