Betrayed at the Table, I Cleaned Out My Fiancé

On the night before I'm set to officially marry Shawn Ford, he keeps losing to his godsister, Tiffany Lynch, at the poker table on purpose.

"We're just playing for fun. Aren't we a family? Everyone here knows that Tiffany and I are as thick as thieves since young."

Tiffany plays with a poker card absent-mindedly.

"Surely you don't mind, right? Shawn told me that if I were to win this round, he'd give me the funds meant to renovate your marital home so that I can buy myself some bags."

The other players begin to cheer on Tiffany at that moment.

"Hell yeah! Tiffany is really lucky when it comes to poker! Joanna, there's no use saving that meager salary of yours. Why don't you just bet everything on the table to spice things up?"

I don't bother speaking afterward. All I do is pull out a chair and sit across from Shawn. Then, I dig out a property deed from my bag.

"You wanted to spice things up, right? I just bought this property at full price. Do you have the guts to put everything you have on the stake?"

The room fell dead silent.

Shawn Ford's hand trembled visibly as he held his cigarette, sending gray ash flying onto his designer trousers.

Tiffany Lynch's eyes gleamed with naked greed as they locked onto the deed.

"Joanna, have you lost your mind? That's a 20-million-dollar property," she gasped.

I smiled and pushed the deed toward the center of the table. "Why? Are you scared to accept the bet?"

Shawn's expression darkened. He stubbed out his cigarette hard in the ashtray.

"Joanna, why are you making a scene? Put that away right now. Don't embarrass yourself here."

"I'm not making a scene."

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. "Since you keep saying that we're all family and shouldn't stand on ceremony, then as your fiancee, do I still need permission play a few hands?"

Tiffany immediately grabbed Shawn's sleeve, giving it a playful tug.

"Shawn, since Joanna wants to play, let's humor her. It's just moving money from one pocket to another. It all stays in the family anyway."

Her scheme was plain on her face.

Shawn looked at Tiffany, then back at the deed. The initial hesitation in his eyes quickly sharpened into a cold, ruthless glint.

"Fine," he snapped. "If you're so eager to throw your money away, I won't stop you. But let's get one thing straight. There are no couples at this Rummy table. If you lose, don't come crying to me."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

"Then let's deal."

The rhythmic snap-snap-snap of the deck being shuffled filled the room. I arranged my cards with clumsy fingers, and I was so uncoordinated that one slipped and fluttered to the floor.

Tiffany let out a mocking giggle. "Joanna, do you even know the rules? Need me to give you a quick lesson?"

"I'm good," I said, bending down to retrieve the card. My expression