She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 101

But no one expected what happened later.

Rhys looked at Shera; the wind caught her hair, and a hint of melancholy touched her features.

The servers brought out the food, and everyone chatted over dinner, exchanging the latest gossip.

When they had mostly finished eating, Leo suggested playing a card game.

Shera wasn't much of a drinker, but not wanting to be a wet blanket, she happily joined in.

Leo grabbed a deck of cards, explained the rules, and started dealing.

The first person got three cards, the rest two, and the dealer one.

They had to pass the cards they didn't want to the next player, and after everyone placed their bets, the dealer chose the game.

It was either Poker or Blackjack.

With thirteen people present, the dealer had to challenge at least five players.

If the dealer's hand was higher than the selected players, they passed; otherwise, they stayed the dealer.

Since it was Leo's idea, he went first.

Rhys subtly glanced at the cards in Shera's hand, picked one out, and handed it to her. Then, when no one was looking, he gave her a pointed look.

"Hey, hey, hey, no colluding."

Leo pointed at the two of them. Shera shrank back a little as she handed her card over, laughing.

She remembered they used to do this all the time in school, always teaming up to bend the rules.

Swapping cards under the table, or one of them getting up to peek at the others' hands and signaling the other.

When they got caught, they'd deny it to the death, often ending up with a silly caricature drawn on their faces as a penalty.

But Rhys usually took the punishment for both of them; if they won, it was her victory, and if they lost, it was his fault.

She still remembered that one time they played a high-stakes game and the neighbor's kid played a prank, using a permanent marker to draw a silly caricature on Rhys's face that wouldn't wash off no matter what.

Rhys had to go to school with that ridiculous drawing for three whole days, enduring endless teasing.

After losing twice, Leo passed the dealer button, and the game went smoothly for the next few people.

Shera learned quickly and soon got the hang of it.

He always did this—secretly rigging things in her favor and then claiming it was just her good luck.

When it was Shera's turn to deal, the control was clearly no longer in Rhys's hands, and her luck noticeably plummeted.

After losing four rounds in a row, Shera looked at the glasses of alcohol lined up in front of her and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Shera, you've only had one drink all night. As the boss, you can't back out now."

Everyone's eyes darted between the two of them, eager to watch the drama unfold.

Rhys offered a faint smile and reached out to take the glasses. "I'll drink them for her."

"Ooh, 'for her'? How sweet, Mr. Jewell."

Shera waved her hands, telling them to stop teasing.

"If you drink for someone else, the penalty doubles. Mr. Jewell, that's eight glasses. Are you sure?"

Looking at the rather large glasses in front of her, Shera quickly said, "I'll just do it myself."

Zena chimed in to smooth things over. "How about you split it? That seems fair."