Is this destiny?

As the game progressed, Sarah remembered events from the last year…

That was a unique game where she earned a lot of money and other prizes. Other than Jarred, there was a Chinese man with a name Shing. He gave her his number and said that he would do a favor for her in return for a Ming dynasty vase, which Sarah gave him.

In the last round of that game, it was Sarah against Akmal, and he was not happy that he lost. She was confident that he is a self-absorbed man and that his pride is hurt because he lost, and only later she found out that his hatred toward women, in general, is unprecedented.

After the game ended, it was eventful: the house refused to give to Sarah her winnings, and then Jarred and his men showed up to the rescue. She gave Jarred a blue diamond, and at that time, she found out that the precious stone is related to Jarred's nephew. The next scene in Sarah's memory is Akmal showing up with his bodyguards, and at that time, Sarah found out that he is a misogynist.

It was a lively evening, which ended with Sarah depositing a hefty check on her account, and Shing's men escorting her and Aiden (and a statue of a cat) to their hotel. That cat is now at the Cliffside villa in their living room.

Sarah smiled. It was only a year ago, yet so many things happened since then.

She glanced toward Aiden and saw that he is rejecting the third girl who came to offer him a shoulder massage. Sarah gritted her teeth. How dare those women to covet her husband? It would not be so obvious is not for the fact that this is the third woman approaching Aiden, while Sarah didn't get a single massage offer. And they know that he is taken because in places like this, everything is monitored, and all the staff should know that Aiden arrived in the room with her. Shameless! 

Akmal could not stop himself from occasionally glancing at Sarah. In his opinion, women should not be permitted to gamble or do anything. Women should stay home and serve their men, and when their services are not needed, women should be obedient and diminish their presence. He can see that Sarah's expression is changing, and she seems to be thinking about something. He snorted. How can she be distracted, and continue winning?

Akmal's snort made Sarah snap out of her daze. Right! She is in Vegas, gambling. Why is she spacing out? If she is confident in one thing, that would be that Aiden will not respond favorably to any of those women who are not aware that their life will be in danger if they don't know when to stop. But Aiden can take care of the annoying flies, and she should focus on her thing. After all, this is a competition between the two of them: who can earn more money.

Now that Sarah remembered who Akmal is and the details from last year, a fire ignited inside Sarah. If this man does not see women as people, then she will teach him a lesson on what a woman can do. And tonight's lesson will be on how easily he can lose his money.

Sarah looked at Akmal and smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

Akmal frowned. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For reminding me to focus on the game. I can see that you care about me."

Akmal's insides churned, and he looked like he is nauseated. "I do not care about you."

Sarah let out a giggle. "That is what you say, but your actions say otherwise."

Akmal's face contorted. "I don't care about ANY woman.", he growled.

"Oh. I apologize for my ignorant assumptions." She leaned closer to him and whispered: "I didn't realize that you are gay."

Akmal banged his fist on the table, making some of his gambling tokens roll on the floor.

Other players at the table were startled by this, and everyone looked at Akmal while wondering what is going on.

A moment later, Akmal was on his feet, furiously glaring at Sarah. "What did you say, woman!?"

Sarah put her hand over her chest dramatically, and her face was full of distress when she answered: "Did I say something to offend you? I only apologized…"

Before Sarah finished her startled-scared act, Aiden was between her and Akmal, forcing Akmal to take a step back. "Is there a problem?"

"Sir, you need to calm down…" A person from security was right next to them and he spoke to both Aiden and Akmal. "Violence is not tolerated."

Akmal glared at Sarah, lifted his chin defiantly, and walked to the side. He grabbed a drink from the tray server was holding and downed it in one go before taking another one and slumping on the couch while his eyes didn't leave Sarah.

Aiden turned to Sarah. "Are you OK?"

His voice was full of concern, but his eyes were asking: 'why are you causing trouble?'

"I am OK. Thank you for your concern and for saving me from that bully. Husband.", Sarah responded sweetly.

Aiden's lips stretched into a smile. She called him 'husband'! Sounds nice. "Did you get your invitation?"

Sarah grinned in response. "You?"

He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Let's grab some snacks and drinks. There is time until the real game starts.", Aiden suggested while gesturing toward the sofa on the opposite side of the room from the one where Akmal is.

…

"What motivated you to provoke that man?", Aiden asked Sarah while munching on southwestern spring rolls.

"Last year. The game where we met Jarred. Do you remember the final round?"

Aiden chewed for a few seconds while putting Sarah's clues together and sifting through his memories. His face lit up. "How can I forget? Bugatti Divo. It's amazing, but I prefer McLaren."

Sarah laughed. "Not the prize, the player."

Aiden paused, and his eyes darted to Akmal, who was fiddling with his phone.

"Oh…That guy?"

Sarah nodded. "I checked his info. His primary residence is a villa here in Vegas."

"A local? These rooms are usually for people who come to Vegas to let out some steam. Locals don't last long because games are set for the house to win. And if a regular player wins too much, the house will prohibit him from coming again. If he is a local and has access here, he is not a simple man."

Sarah agrees with Aiden. The house will not allow someone who wins to stick around for long, and if he is losing... there must be a significant source of money to support such a lifestyle. Sarah is not concerned about how simple Akmal is. All players in this room are multi-millionaires. So, they are second-generation heirs, or they are involved in something shady. Who made riches by working hard and playing by the rules?

"Do you think that he will join us for the game at five?", Sarah asked with a grin.

"You want to punish him?", Aiden asked, but Sarah's expression already provided him an answer.

Aiden sighed and shook his head. "You know that I have your back, no matter how crazy your idea is."

Sarah felt that her insides are melting from all the sweetness. "Thank you."

Sarah perked up when she saw that Akmal stood up, and he is leaving.

When Aiden faced Sarah's expectant gaze, he guessed: "You want to follow him?"

"Yes."

"What about our game at five?", Aiden reminded him.

"The invitations don't expire. We can return tomorrow." Sarah saw that Aiden does not approve, and she reminded him: "You just declared that you have my back..."

Aiden sighed helplessly. "Are you sure about this? This is our honeymoon. We should enjoy and have fun and not chase after some shady guys…"

"I know that this is our honeymoon. And teaching Akmal a lesson will be fun. Besides… if he left this place, there is a good chance that he is heading somewhere better."

Aiden closed his eyes and exhaled in defeat. He agrees with Sarah: if there is no 'better' place, Akmal would not leave. And he can't make himself say 'no' to Sarah. "OK."

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