Sylvia picked up the smallest cards earlier, but this round she had hit the jackpot. Turning to Gabriel, she asked, "They're all different this time, you still in?"
Gabriel eyed her curiously, "Different how?"
She whispered, "None of the suits match."
Gabriel took a deep breath, leaned in closer, and patiently explained, "You only need to worry about suits when you've got a straight, like a 3-4-5 or 6-7-8. What you have is called a 'set'—all three cards have the same number."
Sylvia listened intently, murmuring, "Why didn't you teach me before?"
Gabriel said casually, "You need a strong mind to gamble, to control yourself. Otherwise, it's easy to lose your grip. You were too young back then, not ready to learn."
"But Nightingale learned," Sylvia whispered.
"Comparing yourself to her? She's single-minded, and you?" Gabriel chided coldly.
"I'm focused when I learn things. When have I ever gotten distracted?" Sylvia retorted, feeling indignant.
"Nightingale never talks back," Gabriel pointed out.
Sylvia fell silent.
Magdalen glanced over, smiling, "What's this secret chat about? Speak up, let us all in on it."
Sylvia looked up, her smile blossoming like spring, "He’s just saying my hand could go another couple of rounds."
She paused for effect before adding, "Could be a winner."
"That's the spirit." Magdalen tossed a chip into the pot, "I'm with you."
This round, nearly everyone followed suit.
After two rounds, Emily folded, Marina raised the stakes, and after exchanging glances, Estelle and Jonathan threw in their cards.
Two more rounds and only Marina, Evelyn, and Sylvia remained.
Carson threw in five chips with a laugh, "With cards this good, why not bet? What are we waiting for?"
"Hmm?" Estelle glanced at him.
Jonathan looked down at her with a smirk, "Just enjoy your cake, sweetheart."
Evelyn held a strong hand indeed, so Timothy had been egging her on to stay in the game.
With only two players left, Timothy was keen to show off, tossing ten chips into the pot without hesitation.
Gabriel matched the ten.
Without missing a beat, Timothy pushed in twenty more, and Sylvia did the same.
Evelyn whispered to Timothy, "Do we keep up?"
Timothy looked across the table. Gabriel and Sylvia were unreadable, making it impossible to tell if their cards were genuinely strong or if they were bluffing like Mr. Foster had earlier.
With the hand Evelyn was holding, calling early felt like leaving money on the table.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Why are the chapters not updated regularly? Admin - please keep updating the novel 😓...
Hi admin, kindly update the novel...
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Last updates were 5/28/25. We haven’t had ANYTHING since. I hope all is well with you. Please continue to update this novel. Thank you....
Kindly update the chapters...
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Yea! Thank you for the ten (10) episodes updates. You made my day. Be blessed in all your endeavors....
Dear author Lucy, I look forward to the updates and appreciate your writing. When logging in, you have 2654 completed updates, yet remain inconsistent with your daily updates to your readers. Due to my illness during my ongoing treatments, I enjoy reading the updates. I know we all have situations in life that we must deal with, BUT please be considerate and consistent to the readers. There has been too many times when there has been days, weeks and/or months without updates....