Novel Full 49 "A Date!"
Day Four…
~~*****~~
Upon reaching the balcony, Aiden called Butler Li for assistance. He told him to prepare the table and cards including the poker chips.
Stephen, Aiden, and Abigail decided to play poker and Butler Li would serve as the dealer.
“Are you sure about this? Do you know how to play poker?” Aiden asked Abigail curiously. It was her who suggested playing this card game but Aiden was doubtful whether she could play or not.
Stephen was also staring at her, waiting for her response. Aiden and Stephen were experts in this kind of game. But Nathan was the unbeatable among the three. The three of them often hang out in the casino to kill some boredom. After that, they would go clubbing.
Abigail flashed a wide grin on her face. Of course, she knew how to play poker. The majority of her previous targets were gambling addicts. When going undercover, she would always stay in the Casino, playing cards with them.
“Remember the movie, The Queen of Gambling? I learned how to play after watching it. The actress is my favorite,” Abigail said as an alibi.
Stephen and Aiden just bobbed their heads. They were thinking of going easy on her. But little did they know, Abigail was the epitome of the Queen of Gambling.
She loved taking risks! This was the reason why she foolishly accepted the mission of messing with the Devil by killing his beloved woman! She challenged the wrong person.
“Playing cards is no fun without a bet! Do you agree?” Aiden blurted out excitedly, eyeing Abigail meaningfully.
“Sure. But as of now, I don’t have money in hand. Can I borrow some?” Abigail shamelessly asked them.
“A bet is not necessarily money! I don’t want cash,” Stephen mumbled.
Butler Li and Aiden just watched Stephen suspiciously. ‘Stephen is acting so weird today.’
“Hmm. What do you want? Name your price,” Abigail asked him confidently. “Or shall I say… Prize?” she added, challenging them.
“A date! I want a date… with you!” Stephen promptly responded without a second thought.
Aiden: “…”
“Cough! Cough!” Butler Li choked at Stephen’s remarks. It was so unlikely of him to mention the word “Date” to a woman. If it came from Aiden, Butler Li wouldn’t be shocked like this.
Meanwhile, Aiden also had a stunned look on his face. Stephen was acting so strange today. ‘What’s wrong with him? Is he trying to flirt with Abigail? Does he like her?’
“You really want to win this bet, don’t you?” Aiden asked Stephen in disbelief.
Stephen just shrugged his shoulders, smiling at them.
Abigail was about to say something when another person interrupted them.
“Do you mind if I join?”
Everyone shifted their gaze in the direction of that voice. Veronica was there, standing along with Ethan. She fetched her nephew at school and decided to send him back home personally.
They were on the way to Sparks Mansion when Veronica received Chef Min’s call. She asked the driver to speed off. Aiden and Stephen were at the mansion. She had to come and entertain them by herself, instead of letting Abigail take care of them.
“Oh, Veronica and my little charming godson are here!” Aiden jumped off his seat to welcome Little Ethan with a big hug.
Stephen also raised his hand, waving at Ethan. But Ethan had a deep frown on his face as he looked at his godfathers.
“Uncle Ai, Uncle Steph, Come with me!” Ethan said in his commanding tone. The little kiddo seemed like he was in a bad mood.
Didn’t want to disobey the young master, Aiden and Stephen followed him, leaving Veronica and Abigail on the balcony.
The two ladies just greeted each other naturally. Without asking for Abigail’s consent, Veronica grabbed a chair and sat down next to her. The two ladies were quiet, just waiting for the guys to come back.
Butler Li was secretly observing the two ladies as he prepared the cards and the poker chips. He could feel the heavy tension building up between them.
‘Why do I feel like a war is about to break out?’
*****
Meanwhile, Little Ethan brought the two men to the garden where no one was around. He wanted to talk to them privately.
“Uncle Steph and Uncle Ai, what are you both doing here? Don’t tell me you are trying to sabotage my plan again?” Little Ethan questioned them, folding his small arms across his chest.
Stephen and Aiden just exchanged glances with one another, skeptical about what the young one was saying. No one answered the little young master who was looking daggers at them.
Little Ethan wasn’t happy to see his two godfathers loitering in their big mansion and hanging around Abigail. He could tell that they were up to something no good.
“Hmmph. If you dare stab me at my back again, Uncle Aiden and Uncle Stephen, even Dad won’t be able to bail you out from my fury. I will ask Powy, Riemc, and GingerAllieAnne to mess with you!” The young boy started to threaten his two godfathers.
Aiden leaned on Stephen and simply asked him in a low voice, “Who are they?”
“His robotic friends… Powy and Riemc are humanoid AI robots while GingerAllieAnne is a humanlike prototype hologram. No one in this house would want to mess with them. And Ethan has the overall command in them. Nathan doesn’t have access to them now.” Stephen explained to the Clueless Aiden.
Aiden just bobbed his head, smiling anxiously. He wouldn’t like to be chased after by those AIs! They were quite troublesome!
“My cute little godson. We are not sabotaging whatever plan you have in mind. We are just here to play poker with Miss Abigail. She was the one who invited us to play.” Stephen ruffled his hair as he chuckled.
Ethan’s expression changed when he heard that. “Sigh. I guess Miss Abi got bored just staying here alone so she wanted to play with both of you.”
Aiden and Stephen nodded frantically, agreeing to Ethan’s claim. Then Aiden raised his thumb up behind his back, telling Stephen ‘Good Job!’ He pacified Ethan easily.
“Now, can we go back now and play with her?” Aiden asked Ethan’s permission.
“Fine. Just behave, especially you, Uncle Aiden. Strictly No flirting!” Ethan warned Aiden, making the gesture of pointing his two V-sign fingers first at his eyes, then at Aiden’s eyes to signify “I’m watching you!”
Aiden: “…”
Aiden put on a pitiful face. ‘Why me? He should warn Stephen, not me. I think he is the one flirting with Abigail!’
Stephen just feigned innocence, laughing at his best friend. Between them, Aiden had a bad reputation on women so Little Ethan specifically warned Aiden, rather than Stephen.
Soon, the three men returned to the balcony, joining Abigail and Veronica. They noticed the silent atmosphere around the two women.
‘Are they ignoring each other’s presence?’ Aiden asked himself.
“Now, we are back! Let’s continue our bet,” Stephen said, breaking the silence.
“May I join you?” Veronica asked again.
“Of course, you can. The more the merrier!” Aiden responded cheerfully.
On the other hand, Little Ethan just moved towards Abigail, wishing her luck.
“So what’s your bet?” Veronica asked them curiously.
“Hmm, if I win, I want Miss Abigail to sing me a song!” Aiden declared.
“Deal!”
“Okay. Now, it’s my turn. If I win… I want her to leave the mansion,” Veronica blurted out.
Aiden and Stephen were taken aback while Little Ethan’s expression darkened when he heard that.
However, Abigail just smiled at Veronica’s remarks. She just declared a war so Abigail wouldn’t back down.
“Fine… but if I win…” Abigail paused for a moment then looked at them, a light glint flashing in her eyes. “the three of you should convince Nathan to have a date with me!”
Aiden: “…”
Veronica: “…”
Stephen: “…”
“That’s a DEAL!” It was Ethan who answered on their behalf.
Butler Li could only chuckle as he watched this amusing scene before his eyes.