I fell silent. There was no way I could come up with that much money.

Owen saw through me instantly. He burst out laughing and gave my shoulder a slap. "There are things you just can't afford to play with. Truth is, I'm picking on you because your stack's small.

"And what are you going to do about it? I can come up with this kind of money easily, but even if you put your life on the line, you couldn't scrape together that amount."

Kylie sneered. "So, are you in or out? If you're not showing your hand, we'll take that as a fold."

That was the gap between the rich and the poor. The wealthy could casually toss in what a poorer man couldn't scrape together, even if he risked everything. Every call became heavier and more suffocating.

Just like Owen said, he was pushing me around because I had no money.

I glanced nervously at Amelia and Dad.

At that point, Dad's face had gone pale. He couldn't understand how a simple game had spiraled this far out of control.

Right then, Amelia spoke up. "My parents left me a house. It's not in the city, but it's still worth 500 thousand dollars."

I grabbed her hand at once, my voice shaking with urgency. "No! I bought our house and the gold jewelry. If I lose it all, we'll break up.

"You won't get dragged into it. But if you stake your family's assets on my hand and I lose, I'll bankrupt them!"

Amelia replied coldly, "We're not backing down. If we do, we'll never stand tall again. I trust that you wouldn't do this unless you were sure."

I trembled uncontrollably, but with joy. I knew I was going to win. All of this was just an act meant to make Owen think I was nervous, too.

But from Amelia's side, it was different. She had no idea what I was holding, and still, she was willing to stake everything on me.

"Not all houses are equal," Owen said, his tone dripping with mockery. "You're still one million dollars short. How do you plan to make that up?

"If you can't, then get the hell away from the table. Stop whining like sore losers!"

I took a deep breath before saying, "The neighborhood back home is getting redeveloped. There are four of us—my parents, Amelia, and me. Every dollar of our payout is yours."

At that, Kylie covered her mouth and chuckled.

"What, you think this is some booming city? This is just a rundown rural area. Four of you would only get 600 thousand dollars, so you're still 400 thousand dollars short."

Then, she turned to Owen and added, "I'm not trying to insult your relatives, but look at him—scraping and clawing together every last dollar. Is he even going to come up with it?"

"The way you're scrambling to piece together this bet is pathetic and embarrassing. Sometimes, respect is given to you. Other times, you're the one who loses it yourself. If you can't cover the bet, just fold," Owen said flatly.

Seeing that I couldn't come up with the money, Uncle Peter let out a breath of relief.

A beat later, he turned to Dad and snapped, "Your son doesn't know his place! Now look. He can't even keep up. Everything he's already put in is gone!"

Dad stood rooted to the spot, his face ashen. He swallowed hard and turned to me. "What were you thinking? What else are you going to put up? You've gambled away everything our family has!"

Yet, I said nothing and tapped away on my phone, taking out every online loan I could get.

Once I was done, I set the phone down in front of Owen. The available funds shown on the screen were 400 thousand dollars.

He froze for a second. "How do you have that kind of credit?"

"I borrowed from eight different lenders and used my car as collateral for all of them."

Initially, I'd planned to take out loans for my wedding. I had applied everywhere to compare the interest rates, building up credit lines with each one.

I hadn't expected it to come in handy like this.

Owen let out an exasperated laugh. Then, he pulled out a cigarette and held it between his teeth. "You've really outdone yourself. Taking out online loans just to gamble with me. You know that if you can't pay that back, it's over for you, right?"

"I know. But it doesn't matter. I'm seeing this through with you to the end," I replied.

Owen asked, "You really want to take this until we both go down, huh?"

"When my dad lit your cigarette, you couldn't even be bothered to cup the flame," I shot back.

At that, Dad panicked. He rushed over and grabbed my arm. "Owen's a big-time businessman now! He doesn't sweat the small stuff. Stop this! There's no need to push the stakes this high. He didn't mean it!"

"I meant it!" Owen roared.

The color drained from Dad's face at once. He urged, "There are so many people here. Please, don't embarrass me, okay?"

But Owen's patience snapped. He jabbed a finger in Dad's face and spat, "Your son started this! You don't have any dignity to embarrass!

"If my dad weren't your brother, you think I'd even bother with relatives like you? Yeah, I didn't cup the flame on purpose. You should be grateful I let you light it at all. Bunch of broke losers!"

The insults kept piling on, and Dad's expression grew darker by the second.

Nearby, Uncle Peter let out a sigh, putting on a show as he said, "Owen, how can you talk to your elders like that?

"Don't mind him, everyone. He's had too much to drink. He's always like this in public, throwing his weight around just because he's made some money."

I shot Uncle Peter a glance. He sounded like he was scolding Owen, but in reality, he was propping up his son.

Owen slammed his hand down on the table, teeth clenched as he snarled, "You jerk! You really bet everything just to force a showdown with me, huh? Fine! Let's see your cards."

Just as he was about to flip his cards over, I asked, "When did I say I was going to show my hand?"

Owen froze, along with everyone else. He stared at me blankly. "You're not revealing them now?"

I shook my head.

That was the most terrifying part of the game. The first one to break and call for a showdown had to put in an extra stake.

But in this game, the stakes only escalated. We were already this deep, so anyone who wanted to force a reveal had to put up another one and a half million dollars.

I shrugged. "If you can't take it anymore, go ahead and show your hand. But put up the extra stake first."

Owen glared at me, fury blazing in his eyes. "You're just trying to push me into another bet. Even if I match you now, you won't be able to keep up in the next round. You just want to force me so I fold!"

"Think whatever you want. I'm just telling you I'm not revealing my cards. If you don't match, you're folding," I said flatly.

Kylie panicked and snapped at me, "You jerk! Just show your hand already! Why are you trying to force us into another round?"

I glanced at her but said nothing. With everyone watching, the more she lashed out in panic, the more she humiliated herself.

Owen's breathing grew ragged with anger.

"Fine! I'll put my factory up as collateral. It's worth one and a half million dollars, isn't it?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Kylie shoved him at once, her voice rose as she asked, "Why are you still betting with him? He's playing dirty! He's just trying to drag you into another round!"

"If I fold now, everything I've already put in is gone!" Owen barked.

By then, Kylie had completely lost it. She slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "What if he's got three kings or three aces? What then?"

"And what if I fold now and it turns out he was bluffing?" Owen shot back.

"Do you really think someone would risk their entire fortune just to bluff you?" Kylie cried out.

Owen shook his head. "Keep your mouth shut! You don't understand this game."

I looked at him. The truth was, he wasn't wrong. That was how this game worked. People with nothing in their hand would still go all in, just to scare their opponent into folding. It was truly a game of nerve.

But he had overlooked one thing. I hadn't been bluffing at all.

Owen was the one who had put his car keys on the table, and the one who decided to raise the stakes this high.

The more he bet, the harder it became to walk away. He'd tossed his BMW keys just to flex, only to dig his own grave.

"Are you going to show your hand now?" I asked Owen.

He fell silent. The smug confidence he had shown earlier finally cracked, and worry and tension crept onto his face.

"If I don't show my hand, are you going to show yours on the next move?" he asked. "Or are you planning to drag your whole family into debt just to keep playing and force me into another round?"

I answered calmly, "I'm not telling you. Just decide if you're showing or not."

Owen glanced at Uncle Peter and Kylie, clearly uneasy. He hesitated as he asked them whether he should show his hand.

It was obvious that Uncle Peter wanted to take a swing at me, but his son had started all of this. So, he held back his anger.

"Show your hand. If you don't, he'll find a way to come up with the money and force you into another round. Once he does, you'll have to borrow money too just to keep up before you can finally show."

At that, Owen drew in a deep breath and nodded. "I know you don't have three of a kind. You're bluffing. But remember, there's a reason I'm the one who made it in life.

"First, I've got the guts. Second, once I make a decision, I follow through. So, I'm not showing my hand. If you want to, you'll need to put up another one and a half million dollars."

I sucked in a breath. In fact, he made the right move. He was far wealthier than I was, after all.

I was already in debt, but he wasn't. He could keep pushing until I simply couldn't match the bet.

I knew it was time to show my hand. I had to raise another one and a half million dollars. There was no dragging this out any longer.

If Owen chose not to show his hand in the next round, I'd be finished. There was no way I could raise that kind of money again, even if it cost me everything.

Just as that realization settled in, Owen let out a cold laugh. "Oh, and I'm adding another one and a half million dollars. You'll need three million dollars to stay in."