Kaze remained calm and composed. “I still have one card face down. Why do you assume that I’ve already lost? We continue.” He showed another amusing smirk. “Though I don’t want people calling me a cheater, so why don’t you open it for me?” Buffy looked at the unrevealed card in front of Kaze and she was left speechless. The table for blackjack was wide. If she had to open the card for Kaze, she would have to bend over. She was wearing a sexy gown for the evening and if she bent over, Kaze would have a full frontal view of her chest. The pervert did not only want to look, he wanted to take advantage of her. “Windy, show the card.” Buffy called her friend from earlier to reveal the card. She was not that dumb to lose her dignity to Kaze. “Alright.” Windy came over and reached out to the face-down card. For some reason, when Buffy saw the amusing gaze in Kaze, her heart sank. Windy flipped the card. Ace of Spades! 21 points! “W-What?!” Windy was stunned. Sh
Due to her pride, Buffy could not go back on her promise. She initially planned to play only one round, yet Kaze suggested the best of three. Yet she refused to hand herself over to him for the night. Luis and the others could not believe what just happened and they all thought Kaze was being ridiculously arrogant. Buffy was the birthday girl and he humiliated her, and that would mean offending the entire upper circle of Riverbank. How could a useless bumpkin from a small city do such an outrageous thing? “Bumpkin! Don’t celebrate too soon. One round isn’t enough to determine the winner. This must be a best of three!” Zenika said, “Ms. Gwake, play two more rounds. With your skills, you will win!” Luis added, “Kaze Lee, play two more rounds. Whether you win or lose, I’ll wipe our bad blood away and I won’t come after you. “If you don’t play, once you step out of Bronze Sparrow, I will destroy you!” He started threatening Kaze. He was smart. He knew if Kaze continue
Kaze appeared rather cocky. Buffy glared at Kaze, her eyes burning with rage. Since Buffy would not let the matter go, Kaze smiled and rose to his feet. He drew close and put his arm around Buffy’s waist. Furious, Buffy exclaimed, “What are you doing, bastard?” “Didn’t you say that you’d be mine tonight? Hasn’t night come yet?” Kaze kept her within his grasp, giving her no chance to wiggle herself out. “You’re my woman. What’s stopping me from holding you? I have not taken things far yet.” “You!” Buffy was livid. However, Kaze had her locked tightly against him. Take things far? He could dream on! Kaze raised a glass without a care. “Today is my woman’s birthday. You are all my guests. Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the drinks. “Let’s raise our glasses!“Hahaha!”Kaze’s manic laugh echoed across the hall. To the crowd, Kaze’s behavior was a textbook example of arrogance, ignorance, and smugness.It looked like Kaze failed to identify his place. He
The socialites were quick to deny these allegations. No one wanted to be associated with a crime. Even a mere suspicion was a social suicide for them. Wesley said grimacingly, “We have seen everybody around. Given our relationship, we can be confident that neither of us will engage in theft.“But one individual is an exception.” Wesley pointed his finger. The crowd followed the direction of his pointed finger to Kaze, who stood next to Buffy. “I’ve never met Kaze Lee in any of our social gatherings before. I don’t even know how he got in.“He headed straight to the buffet table as if he hadn’t eaten for days. I bet he’s poor. “He must be desperate for the seven-million-dollar diamond. “Don’t you think so?” Many nodded, finding that Wesley had a point. First of all, Kaze had not been seen in the prestigious get-together among the upper class before. Even Rose was only on the guest list as Zenika’s plus-one. Luis was Rose’s suitor right now. No one knew much about
“We can’t call the cops, Ms. Gwake.“Yeah, we can handle this on our own. It’s just seven million dollars. There’s no need to get the cops involved,” the socialites said. Buffy furrowed her brows. She was in no position to dismiss the opinion of the majority. Wesley said, “Here’s an idea, Buffy. Since we’re in Bronze Sparrow, we can just go with the place’s rules. “Find the diamond and handle it discreetly.” Buffy gave a nod and pulled out her phone. “Alright. I’ll give them a call.” “I got it.” With Buffy on board with the suggestion. Wesley said with a smile, “I have contacted Eunice. She’s coming here soon with her employees.” He then turned to Kaze and uttered sternly, “If you know any better, you should hand over the diamond now, Kaze. We can implement a lighter punishment since it’s Buffy’s birthday. “No one can save you once we find the diamond on you later. “Please don’t take my words lightly. Ask around. “The punishment for theft at Bronze Sparrow is a br
“I’m pleased that Bronze Sparrow is taking this seriously.” Luis nodded and pointed at Kaze. “I have reason to suspect that he stole my diamond, Ms. Lapel. “I know it’s him. He just looks like bad news.” Eunice nodded, unsurprised by the accusation. At the wave of her arm, several burly men in suits surrounded Kaze. Eunice stood outside the ring of intimidating men and said sternly, “Hand over the diamond, boy. “If you kneel and admit to your mistake, I can consider just cutting your finger off. “If my men find the diamond on you, you’ll be losing an arm.” Kaze replied indifferently, “You don’t even have one shred of evidence to determine that I stole the diamond. “Is this how you do things around here?“Cut my finger? What right do you have? “Do you think the rules of Bronze Sparrow trump the law?” Eunice responded curtly, “Ask anyone here who the owner of Bronze Sparrow is, Kaze. “You’re right on one account. The rules of Bronze Sparrow trump the law!“Even
“What did you call Ms. Gwake, boy?”Eunice gritted her teeth, her eyes flickering menacingly. She was aware of Casius’ feelings for Buffy. Hence, Kaze’s affectionate nickname for Buffy was an insult to the owner of Bronze Sparrow. Luis said, “Don’t take him seriously, Ms. Lapel. The guy won Ms. Gwake in a game of cards, so he got a little cocky.” He turned to Buffy. “Why are you standing up for the guy who hit on you and took advantage of you, Ms. Gwake?“He doesn’t appreciate your help either.“No need to take the bet seriously. He’s just a country bumpkin. He wouldn’t be playing cards with you if you hadn’t been so kind to let him sit at the same table. “Don’t feel obligated to help. It won’t be on you or your family if you don’t fulfill your promise.” Luis was afraid that Buffy would take Kaze’s side. In that case, Kaze might get off scot-free. Luis could not allow his carefully devised plan to fail. With that in mind, Luis waved at Eunice and said annoyedly, “Don
Still holding a wine glass, Kaze spread his arms apart to allow the body search. Luis said grimacingly, “Frisk him! Pat him down! Strip him and put him under a scanner to find if the diamond is hiding in his anus.” Zenika and Wesley were thrilled. Kaze would be humiliated to be stripped naked in public. Eunice waved at her subordinates. “Didn’t you hear Mr. Presley? Strip him!” She hated Kaze’s guts, so she could not pass up on the opportunity to insult Kaze while looking for the diamond. “Yes, ma’am.” Two burly men approached with sinister smiles to remove Kaze’s clothing. “Smack! Smack!” Kaze was quick to retaliate with a couple of slaps, knocking the two men off their feet. The men spat out blood and passed out unconscious. The crowd was dumbstruck by Kaze’s sheer strength. It was no surprise that Kaze could fight, but they did not know he was really good at it. Kaze was supposed to be from a small town. “How dare you fight back, boy!“So you are the thief