Bury All the Regrets Under the City Lights
My family built its empire on these tables, he'd sneer to the crowd. And Eleanor Larkin? She's a pretty face who can't even tell a spade from a club.
"Marrying her? I'd get more of a reaction out of a goddamn inflatable doll!"
But thanks to an ironclad marriage contract between our families, and the unfortunate fact that his precious little imposter is barren, he found a different way to use me. He dragged me to the poker table.
"If you lose," he declared, his voice cold as ice, "I'm taking your womb. You will carry my heir."
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a vicious whisper. "And it will be a C-section. No anesthesia."
I had taken enough of his torment. A slow, cold smile spread across my face.
"Fine," I said, my voice dangerously sweet. "And if I win, I'm taking your goddamn manhood."
The crowd roared with laughter. They thought I was a fool, completely out of my league. After all, everyone in Vegas knew the name Sebastian Thorne. They called him the Phantom.
I just lowered my eyes, silent.
The Phantom, indeed.
Because five years ago, on a rain-lashed night in this very city, I was the one who took that Phantom's hands in mine and taught him how to cheat just to stay alive.
1
The roar of laughter in the grand ballroom was a familiar soundtrack to my humiliation. I took my seat at the poker table, my expression a carefully constructed mask of calm.
My composure seemed to pique Sebastian Thornes interest. He raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Well, well. I'll give you this, you've got guts." His voice dripped with condescension. "Then again, guts are all you have left when you're this stupid. Miss Larkin, I hear you can't even tell a spade from a club. Shall I walk you through the rules of Five-Card Stud?"
My eyes scanned the green felt, and a jolt of nostalgia, sharp and fierce, shot through me. I shook my head, raising a hand to cut him off. "Thank you, Mr. Thorne, but I know the basics. Five cards, one face down, four face up. Best hand wins. I can manage."
"Good. Since Miss Larkin is so confident, let's begin!" Sebastians smirk widened. He gestured for the dealer to approach.
"Wait!"
A sweet, cloying voice cut through the crowd. "Big brother Seb, poker is so much more fun with more players."
Lila, the familys darling "adopted" daughter, emerged from the sea of onlookers. Dressed in something scandalously flimsy, she sashayed over and draped herself across Sebastian's lap. Coiling her arms around his neck, she shot me a venomous, triumphant look. "You don't mind, do you, sister?"
In front of me, his actual fiance, this display was a slap in the face.
Sebastian, far from being annoyed, simply stroked her cheek. "Lila, darling, don't be a brat," he chided playfully. "Your sister is a novice. Are you trying to bully her on her first time at the table?"
Lila pouted, about to launch into a practiced whimper.
I narrowed my eyes. From the side, I had to admit, the little imposter really did look a bit like me.
Before she could speak, I cut in, my voice cool and even. "It's fine. Whatever makes my little sister happy. Its just one more player." I turned to the dealer. "You may deal the cards."
Sebastian flinched, my unnatural calm clearly unsettling him. Still, he couldn't imagine I was anything but a fool bluffing. He suppressed his flicker of doubt and patted Lilas hip. "Alright, stop messing around. If you're going to play, go sit properly."
Lila pouted but slid off his lap, taking the seat beside him. A waiter moved silently to our table, stacking thirty million dollars' worth of chips in front of each of us. Lilas eyes went wide, gleaming with greed.
The dealer unwrapped a fresh deck of cards. He fanned them, separated the twenty-eight needed for the game, and began to shuffle with a mesmerizing, fluid motion.
The soft shuffling sound stopped.
The game had begun.
The dealer's fingers danced, sliding the first face-down card to each of us. Then came the first face-up card: Sebastian received a Six of Hearts, Lila a Jack of Diamonds, and I, an Ace of Spades.
The dealer glanced at the table. "By the rules of Stud, the Ace of Spades is the highest card showing. Miss Larkin, you may bet or fold."
"Of course," I said, my fingers tracing the edge of an ivory chip. I didn't push it forward. Instead, I let out a long, theatrical sigh.
"Mr. Thorne, you went to all this trouble to get me to play one hand. It seems a shame to just play for money. It's so boring." I looked him straight in the eye.
"Why don't we raise the stakes?"
2
Sebastian stared at me, then let out a short, sharp laugh. He looked at me like I was an idiot whod gotten one lucky card and thought she owned the world.
"By all means. Since Miss Larkin is so eager, tell us. What do you have in mind?"
I met his mocking gaze, my finger tapping the Ace of Spades in front of me. "The New Port development project. Thorne Industries holds a five percent stake, and Larkin Holdings has three percent."
"I'll wager my family's three percent against your five." I smiled sweetly. "What do you say, Sebastian?"
The ballroom erupted.
"Is Eleanor Larkin insane? That's the New Port! The Thornes, the Larkins, and half a dozen other families have bled themselves dry fighting over that project for years. And she's just throwing it on a poker table?"
"No wonder Sebastian can't stand her! How could the Larkin family produce such a moron?"
"Tsk, tsk. Her grandfather nearly died to build that company, and shes gambling it away like it's pocket change. If I were him, I'd crawl out of my grave to strangle the little beast!"
...
Sebastian clapped his hands, the sharp sounds cutting through the noise.
"Excellent! Truly excellent! With Miss Larkin showing such 'courage,' how could I possibly refuse?"
"I'm in!"
I nodded, satisfied, then slowly turned my gaze to Lila.
"Sister dear, Sebastian has matched the bet." My voice was silk and poison. "Now what about you?"
Lila bit her lip. She was a fraud, with no claim to the Larkin fortune. Her father was a weak man who had married into my mother's money. What could she possibly wager? The thirty million in chips before her was more cash than shed ever seen in her life.
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She looked desperately at Sebastian.
He, of course, couldn't bear to see his little pet suffer. "Lila, say whatever you want," he declared. "Whatever stake you name, I'll"
"I wouldn't finish that sentence, Mr. Thorne!" My voice rose, sharp as cracking ice, cutting him off. "This is a wager between the two of us women. I suggest you stay out of it."
I looked down, slowly twisting the ornate ring on my middle fingerthe symbol of my engagement to the Thorne heir. "Don't you worry, little sister," I continued, my voice softening deceptively. "I know you don't have the resources to match such a bet."
I paused, then slid the ring off my finger. It landed in the center of the table with a sharp click.
"How about this? I'll add my position as the future Mrs. Thorne to the pot."
"And I'll bet it against you publicly admitting the truth. That you're not some 'adopted daughter' my father took in. You're the illegitimate child he had with the maid while my mother was pregnant with me."
The room gasped.
Lila's face went sheet-white. She slammed her hands on the table and shot to her feet, screaming, "You're lying!"
"I am my father's adopted daughter! You're just jealous that he loves me more, so you're making up these disgusting lies!" She turned to Sebastian, tears already welling in her eyes. "Seb, don't believe her! She's just trying to slander me!"
Everyone present knew Sebastian's deepest wound: his loathing for illegitimate children. Years ago, a bastard half-brother had appeared out of nowhere, forcing him into a five-year exile to prove his worth. Hed nearly died overseas, saved only by a mysterious mentor who taught him everything before he could return and reclaim his birthright.
Sebastian's face was unreadable. He simply barked at the hysterical Lila, "Sit down."
Then, his eyes, cold and sharp with warning, fixed on me. "I will get to the bottom of this."
I met his gaze without flinching, as if his threat was nothing more than a summer breeze. I tilted my head. "It's just a bet, sister. No need to get so worked up. If you're scared, you can always fold. Why lose your composure so spectacularly?"
My casual tone enraged her.
"Bet? Of course I'll bet!" she shrieked. "I'm in!"
3
With all three of us in, the dealer dealt the third card.
The cards were turned.
Lila got a Jack of Spades, giving her a pair of Jacks face-upthe strongest hand on the table.
Sebastian received an Eight of Hearts, which, combined with his Ten of Hearts, gave him a strong potential for a flush.
I, however, received a worthless Three of Diamonds. Paired with my Ace of Spades, my hand was a mess. Despite the high Ace, my hand's potential looked pitiful compared to theirs.
The tables had turned in an instant.
The dealer gestured to Lila. "The pair of Jacks is the high hand. Miss Hayes, the bet is to you."
The color rushed back into Lila's face. She glanced at the pathetic Three on my side of the table and nearly laughed out loud.
"An idiot is an idiot," she sneered. "You get one Ace and think you've already won? No wonder Father can't stand you."
She leaned forward, her eyes glittering with malice. "Eleanor, since you love raising the stakes, let's play for something more direct."
"I'll bet all the clothes on my body against all the clothes on yours. Whoever loses strips naked. Right here. And then crawls around the entire ballroom. Let's let everyone see what the great Eleanor Larkin looks like with nothing left to hide!"
"Do you dare?"
Under the intense gaze of the entire room, I lowered my head, remaining silent. My shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly, as if I were too humiliated to speak, too terrified to move. My face was pale.
Sebastian had been watching my impending breakdown with cold detachment. But as the light from the chandelier above caught my downcast eyes, a flicker of somethingfamiliarity?stirred in his mind.
He spoke, his voice a low warning. "Eleanor, if you fold now, I will honor your grandfather's memory and forget about the three percent stake in the New Port."
"However, this engagement is over. And you will kneel before me and Lila, right here, and beg for our forgiveness. Then, and only then, will this be settled."
He leaned back in his chair, his tone magnanimous, as if offering a scrap to a beggar. "Think carefully before you answer, Eleanor."
The ballroom fell silent. Everyone expected me to take the lifeline he'd thrown.
But they were wrong.
My shoulders weren't trembling from fear or shame.
They were trembling with excitement.
It had been years since I'd encountered a fool as perfect as Lila, one who would so willingly hand me the knife to slit her own throat.
I slowly lifted my head. I had already run through every possible outcome of this hand in my mind, confirming the one inevitable result. Everything was perfectly in place.
"I'm in."
The words hung in the air, solid and unyielding. Not just the crowd, but even Sebastian and Lila stared at me in stunned disbelief.
Sebastian was the first to recover, his shock morphing into pure scorn. "You're asking for it."
I ignored him, my eyes locked on his darkening expression. "The bet is made, Sebastian," I said, my voice dangerously playful. "And since you want me to kneel and beg, let's add that to the pot. If I win, you will stop this pathetic charade of looking for your long-lost 'mentor' and parading around trash like Lila as her stand-in. It's insulting."
"You're not honoring a memory. You're desecrating it."
The moment I questioned his devotion to his "mentor," Sebastian's composure shattered. His eyes blazed with fury.
"Shut your mouth! What do you know?" he snarled, his chest heaving. "You have no idea what she means to me. You have no right to speak her name!"
He was beyond reason now, his face a mask of rage. He glared at me, his voice a low, menacing hiss.
"Fine. Just fine. You want to play rough, Eleanor? Then don't blame me for what comes next."
He whipped his head toward the dealer, his words bitten out through clenched teeth. "I'm in!"
"Deal the fourth card!"
4
The dealer, startled by his outburst, dealt the fourth card with trembling hands.
The cards were revealed.
Sebastian got an Ace of Hearts. Not a flush, but with his Ten and Eight of Hearts, it created a formidable four-card flush draw. Combined with his hidden card, his hand was incredibly strong.
I received an Ace of Diamonds. Suddenly, my face-up cards were a pair of Aces.
"No impossible! How could it be a Four of Spades!"
Before the dealer could even announce the new high hand, Lila shrieked. Her body went limp, and she slid from her chair, collapsing onto the carpet in a heap, all pretense of elegance gone.
In her fall, her hand accidentally flipped over her face-down card.
A Queen of Hearts.
Her four revealed cards were a pair of Jacks, a Queen, and a Four. Her hand was dead. No matter what the final card was, she could never beat my pair of Aces.
Lila was guaranteed to lose.
The silence in the ballroom shattered, replaced by a storm of gasps and whispers.
Lila was frantic. Scrambling on her hands and knees, she crawled to Sebastian, clutching at his legs, her face a mess of tears and snot. "Seb, you have to save me! Please!" she wailed. "I can't crawl around naked I'll be ruined! I'll have to kill myself!"
Sebastian's face was thunderous, but as he looked down at Lilas facea face that bore a four- or five-tenths resemblance to his mentor'shis resolve softened.
He took a deep breath, trying to rein in his fury. "Get up. Stop crying. The game isn't over yet." He promised, "I'll handle this."
He turned to me. "Eleanor, I'm warning you. Stop this now. Fold your hand. You can take the thirty million in chips, and I'll even give Larkin Holdings another one percent of the New Port shares. Your bet with Lila will be wiped clean. If this goes to the last card, neither of us will walk away clean."
He leaned forward, his voice low and intense. "You've heard the stories about me. They call me the Phantom. You cannot win."
I shook my head, a slow, deep laugh bubbling up from my chest. My gaze swept over the pathetic, sniveling creature on the floor. "Tsk, tsk. Sebastian, you really do have a soft spot for my dear little sister, don't you?"
"In that case, I'll just have to"
My laughter stopped abruptly. I slammed my hands forward, shoving my entire mountain of chips into the pot.
"All in."
The clatter of the chips echoed through the silent hall.
"I'm raising you, Sebastian. All in!"
My eyes burned into his. "Since you're so determined to protect her, then you can take her place. All of her bets are now on you. You lose, you pay her debts. If you win, everything is wiped clean. But if I win" I let the words hang in the air, each one a drop of ice.
"Don't forget what we agreed on at the beginning."
"I want your goddamn manhood."
Sebastian stared at my audacity, his rage twisting into a bitter, incredulous smile.
"Ha! Hahaha! Well, Eleanor. I truly underestimated you. You've got venom."
"You're willing to bet your womb. Why shouldn't I bet my balls? Let me tell you something. Unless my mentor herself walked through that door right now, there is no one in this room who can beat me!"
He turned away from me, his voice a roar. "Dealer! Lila folds. Deal the final card!"
The last card flew across the table.
Sebastian received a King of Hearts. I got a Three of Spades.
He rose to his feet, his eyes sweeping over my cards with cruel triumph before he slowly, dramatically, turned over his final, face-down card. A Seven of Hearts.
His full hand was revealed: 8, 10, A, K, 7 of Hearts. A flush.
He looked at me, his eyes cold and empty of any pity. "A pair of Threes and an Ace. Your down card must be garbage. Two pair? You think that can beat my flush?"
"Don't blame me, Eleanor."
"You did this to yourself."
Lila, her terror replaced by vicious, ecstatic glee, scrambled to her feet. "That's right, you bitch! Let's see you act so high and mighty now!" she shrieked. "Don't you worry, I'll make sure every media outlet in the country gets a copy of the video of you crawling on the floor like the naked animal you are!"
The ballroom exploded with noisejeers, laughter, the thrill of bloodsport.
Everyone knew it was over.
I was finished.
But my expression remained placid, almost bored. I didn't even spare Lila a glance. My eyes cut through the chaos and landed squarely on Sebastian's smug, victorious face.
I slowly rose from my chair, and my voice, though quiet, carried across the entire room.
"Sebastian, is this what I taught you in that back alley in Vegas all those years ago?"
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