Scarlet Enchantment

Chapter 17

The private room was the same one Emily had been to before with Damian, but it was even more lively this time. There was a strip dancer performing on a small stage, and a group of men and women playing poker in a corner. Some people were familiar faces from last time, while others were new but seemed to be of higher status. They greeted Damian casually, not as deferentially as before, but more friendly and informal.

A man in his twenties at the poker table waved to Damian and shouted, "Damian, come here and help me. They are ganging up on me!"

The man smoking next to him laughed, "Damian, come and save Jack. If you don't, he'll lose his shirt!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Damian also smiled genuinely, walked over, and sat in Jack's seat. He looked at Emily and instructed, "Come and help me with the cards."

Everyone at the table followed his gaze to Emily, their eyes filled with curiosity, envy, and jealousy. Jack winked at the man with the cigarette and jokingly asked, "Is she the new sister-in-law Damian found for us?"

"Stop talking nonsense," Nathan said lightly, with a hint of sarcasm, "Ms. Carter has a husband, don't say things that aren't true."

"Has a husband?" Jack looked genuinely surprised, glancing at Emily and then at Damian, asking, "Who is he?"

"Why do you need to know? It's not you," the man with the cigarette replied immediately.

Nathan said nothing, just glanced at Emily, smirked sarcastically, and urged her, "Come on, help me with the cards."

Emily stood there listening to their vulgar jokes, almost grinding her teeth in anger. It took all her strength to control her emotions and walk over with a blank expression, sitting down next to Damian. While he was drawing cards, he glanced at her and asked, "Wearing such a thick coat, aren't you hot?"

She was still wearing her coat, which made her look out of place in the room. But she didn't dare to take it off; the dress underneath was completely out of her usual style and would surely arouse Damian's suspicion. So, she had to suppress her inner tension and answer calmly, "No, I'm not hot."

Fortunately, Damian was focused on his cards and didn't pursue the matter further.

The game go quickly. In no time, several rounds was over. Damian's luck wasn't good, not only failing to win back Jack's losses but losing more. Someone joked, "Damian is in a good mood today, here to spread some wealth. Remember the time he played at Sky Haven Restaurant? Won nine rounds in a row, even Mr. Hughes still praises him for that."

Jack laughed, "I think Damian is doing well in his love life."

Damian just smiled lightly, threw out his chips, and patted Emily's shoulder, "You play, I'll watch."

Not just Emily, everyone at the table was stunned. Their gazes at her changed again. Emily wanted to say she couldn't play, but fearing Damian's anger, she hesitated and then switched seats with him. He sat close behind her, one hand on the table and the other on her chair, leaning in to watch her play, "How's it going?"

She took the opportunity to move her body slightly forward, avoiding him, and answered calmly, "I can play."

"Oh? Is that so?" He said nonchalantly, leaning close to her ear and whispering, "Then play well. When you win back Jack's money, I'll let you go."

She was skeptical, but she turned to look at him.

He smirked slightly, placing his hand on her shoulder, his fingers playfully pinching her earlobe. "I keep my promises."

She didn't fully believe him but couldn't resist trying. She turned back, scanned the chips in front of everyone, and began seriously playing. With an excellent memory and strategic skills, saying she 'could play' was an understatement.

Soon, the players realized her skill. By the seventh consecutive win, Jack couldn't contain his excitement, shouting loudly, while the man with the cigarette exclaimed, "This must be a trick by Damian, to make us drop our guard and then take us all down in one go!"

"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!" muttered the plump man across the table, glancing at Emily, then at Damian. "Damian, where did you find this girl?"

Damian didn't answer, just squinted slightly at Emily. She remained calm, focused only on her cards. He noticed the excitement in her eyes and glanced at her hand, surprised to see she was about to win a significant pot.

He was first surprised, then amused, unable to resist teasing, "With skills like that, why be a teacher?"

She said nothing, even when her opponent was about to lose, and Damian himself was tempted. She remained indifferent, drawing her card and finally slamming it onto the table, saying softly, "Full house."

The room fell silent as they saw her winning hand.

Emily couldn't help but feel a thrill of victory, but it lasted only a few seconds. Amid the shocked stares, she stood up and said to Damian, "Mr. Blackwood, I have something urgent to attend to. Sorry, I have to go."

Damian didn't speak or stop her. She hurried out of Eternal Bliss Club, only realizing once in her car that her back was drenched in cold sweat. Whether from the tension, excitement, or fear, her heart raced, but she knew she had to leave quickly.

She drove far, her heartbeat only calming down when she hit the busy streets. Instead of going home, she checked into a motel, cleaned herself thoroughly, and changed back into her own clothes before leaving.

Passing a street-side trash can, she dumped the dress she wore only once.

The next day, she found an old phone to use temporarily, switched her SIM card, and called Johnson to thank her for yesterday and apologize for leaving abruptly. Finally, she gave Johnson an account number, asking her to pass it to Julia, saying, "She knows what it's about."

Johnson was confused and asked, "What happened?"

Emily didn't intend to hide it from Johnson and needed her to convey the reason for the broken phone to Damian. "Nothing major, just a disagreement with Julia. She smashed my phone. But she said she'd compensate, so I gave her my account for the payment."

Johnson agreed and quickly went to confirm with Julia, who admitted it easily, "Yes, I smashed it. She took photos of me and threatened to send them to my family."

Johnson was furious, almost fainting from anger. Looking at Julia's young and fearless face, she felt like slapping her. Normally, she would have, but not wanting to get involved in Damian's affairs, she restrained herself and just scolded, "You i***t! Keep messing around, and one day you'll get yourself killed!"

Julia wasn't afraid of Emily but feared Ms. Johnson, asking timidly, "What's wrong, Ms. Johnson? She's just a university teacher. What can she do to me?"

"You i***t, do you think Mr. Blackwood would personally arrange your leave of absence for no reason? Who do you think you are?" Johnson, even more furious, called Kevin to report everything.

Ever since Emily started looking for Julia, Damian had unconsciously eased his surveillance on her. Kevin only checked the monitors once in the morning and once at night. It wasn't until this morning that Damian learned Emily's phone had disappeared from the GPS, but he had no time to deal with it. His day was packed with important meetings and a business dinner, leaving no time to bother with a woman for amusement.

Yes, Emily's performance at the poker table last night was indeed surprising, even impressive, but it ended there, nothing more.

That evening, slightly tipsy from the business dinner, he suddenly remembered Emily and instructed Kevin, "Call Emily, tell her to come over."

Kevin silently dialed and relayed Damian's message to Emily. After a brief conversation, he hesitated and handed the phone to Damian. Damian took it and heard her low, angry, yet helpless voice, "Damian Blackwood, I'm begging you, have some mercy. Can you let me off tonight? It's my birthday, and I'm having dinner with my parents. How can I leave? What excuse do I use for not coming home?"

He didn't know it was her birthday, paused slightly, then chuckled softly, "Well, knowing that, I can't not celebrate. How about I come to your house and celebrate with you?"

"Damian Blackwood!" She said his name with such hatred that he could almost see her gritting her teeth. "See you soon," he laughed, hanging up. When she called back immediately, he didn't answer, instructing Kevin, "Go to her parents' house."

Having monitored her for so long, he naturally knew where her parents lived. The car soon arrived outside the neighborhood. He called her, "I'm here. Since it's your birthday, I'll give you two choices: come out yourself, or I'll come in."