Chapter 661: Anniversary
John had mastered almost every one of them.
He confidently walked toward the table before taking out six perfectly polished dice along with a heavy black glass cup.
The room gradually fell silent. Even the attendants unconsciously held their breaths.
John picked up the cup and shook it with practiced movements.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he placed the glass with dices on the table.
"Higher than twelve... or lower?"
Aurora didn’t even hesitate. "Higher."
John narrowed his eyes before slowly lifting the glass.
The moment he saw the dice beneath it, his confident smile stiffened.
Three sixes and three fives.
The total was far above twelve. Aurora had guessed correctly.
For the briefest moment, disbelief flashed across John’s face.
Aurora merely chuckled. "It seems I won this round."
She leaned back comfortably before adding, "Fortunately for you, we can still make this a tie."
She gestured toward the dice. "As long as you correctly guess my result."
John calmly nodded. "No problem."
However, while Aurora wasn’t paying attention, or so he believed, he casually gave one of his trusted subordinates an almost imperceptible signal.
The man quietly nodded in response. Aurora noticed everything.
’Just as expected.’
She had already anticipated that John wouldn’t rely purely on luck.
When it became her turn, she picked up the dice cup.
Instead of shaking it with a steady rhythm like ordinary people, she deliberately changed her pace.
At first, she shook it slowly. The dice rolled softly against each other.
Then, without warning, she accelerated. The rapid collisions created an entirely different rhythm.
Just when someone began recognizing the pattern, she slowed down once more before suddenly speeding up again.
The sound continuously changed.
John’s eyes gradually darkened. ’Damn it...’
His original plan had been flawless.
One of his hidden subordinates was secretly using a specially trained artificial intelligence program capable of analyzing the sound frequencies produced by rolling dice.
By comparing thousands of previous recordings, the program could predict the approximate value hidden beneath the cup with astonishing accuracy.
That single piece of technology had earned John an unimaginable amount of money over the years.
Yet Aurora had completely ruined the AI’s calculations. Her constantly changing rhythm introduced too much interference.
The prediction accuracy dropped dramatically. Finally... Bang!
Aurora slammed the cup onto the table. She smiled calmly.
"Higher than thirty-two..."
She looked directly into John’s eyes. "...or lower?"
Silence spread across the room.
John discreetly lowered his gaze toward his phone beneath the table.
A notification immediately appeared. Predicted Total: 10
Seeing that result, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A confident smile returned to his face. "Lower."
Aurora slowly lifted the cup. The instant the dice became visible, every person inside the room froze.
John’s eyes widened in complete disbelief. "Impossible!"
He instinctively pointed toward the table. Every single die showed... Six.
The total was thirty-six. The highest possible score. Aurora laughed softly.
"Looks like your luck wasn’t very good today."
She casually folded her arms. "You’ve lost."
John slowly clenched his fists beneath the table.
The veins on the back of his hands became visible.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally forced himself to calm down.
"I understand, Miss Aurora."
Although his voice remained composed, everyone present could sense the frustration hidden beneath it.
Neither side was willing to give up.
Since the score still wasn’t enough to settle everything, they agreed upon one final competition.
Pool. This time, John absolutely refused to lose.
As everyone walked toward the billiards table, he quietly gestured toward one of his trusted men.
The subordinate immediately understood. His task was simple.
The moment Aurora attempted an important shot, he would subtly interfere with her concentration.
As the game progressed, both sides displayed impressive skill.
Colored balls rolled smoothly across the emerald-green table while the quiet clicking sounds echoed through the hall.
Eventually, Aurora lined up what would likely become the winning shot.
She bent slightly, narrowed one eye, and carefully aligned the cue. Seeing the opportunity, John’s subordinate quietly approached from behind.
Just as Aurora prepared to strike, the man deliberately stretched out his foot, intending to bump into her shoulder.
However... before he could even touch her... his own footing suddenly slipped.
His balance completely disappeared. "Ah!"
He stumbled forward awkwardly before crashing onto the polished marble floor with a loud thud. Bang!
Everyone instinctively turned toward him. John’s pupils contracted.
’How did that happen?’
Aurora didn’t even bother looking back.
Without the slightest interruption, she calmly completed her shot. Click.
The white cue ball struck the red ball perfectly.
The red ball rolled gracefully across the table before dropping cleanly into the pocket.
The winning shot. Silence filled the room once again.
John’s face darkened.
Unable to suppress his anger any longer, he slammed the cue stick onto the edge of the table.
He pointed directly at Aurora. "You planned all of this!"
Aurora smiled innocently. "Of course."
She shrugged lightly.
"Why would I offer a game that isn’t in my favour?"
She looked directly into John’s eyes. "So... Mr. John... Are you planning to honor our agreement?"
John remained silent for several long seconds.
His fists tightened repeatedly before finally relaxing.
He had lost. Fair and square.
"...All right."
Although he spoke only a single word, it felt as though he had forced it out through clenched teeth.
Deep inside, however, he had already begun reevaluating Aurora.
She wasn’t merely intelligent. She was terrifying.
Without saying it directly, she had demonstrated something far more frightening than any threat.
If she truly wished to become his enemy, she could walk into any one of his casinos, expose every trick, defeat every dealer, and destroy the reputation he had spent decades building.
That possibility alone made him wary.
After completing the transfer and settling Jacqueline’s family’s debt, Aurora quietly let out a deep breath.
She finally took out her phone. The moment Spencer answered, she smiled faintly.
"I’ve delivered the money."
She leaned comfortably against the chair. "Now it’s your turn."
Spencer’s cheerful laughter came through the speaker. "All right, baby."
His tone was filled with confidence. "I’ll make sure to recover every single penny on your behalf."
Aurora couldn’t help smiling. "I completely trust my hubby."
After ending the call, she stared quietly at her phone for a few seconds.
A warm feeling slowly spread throughout her heart.
She genuinely missed Spencer.
The longer they stayed apart, the more lovesick she became. "Come back soon..."
She unknowingly whispered those words in her heart.
Meanwhile... she wasn’t the only person suffering from lovesickness.
Adriana was feeling exactly the same.
Recently, Peter had become extremely busy handling company affairs.
Day after day, he buried himself beneath endless stacks of contracts, financial reports, and business meetings.
It wasn’t that he deliberately ignored Adriana.
Whenever he had free time, he still accompanied her.
However, even during those precious moments together, his attention often drifted back toward work.
Sometimes, while Adriana was happily talking, Peter would unconsciously begin checking documents on his tablet.
Although he apologized every time, those repeated incidents gradually filled Adriana with resentment.
The final straw came on their anniversary. That morning, Peter looked apologetic before saying,
"I’m sorry. I have an important meeting today. I’ll make it up to you later."
Hearing those words, Adriana’s expression instantly darkened.
Without saying another word, she grabbed her handbag and returned straight to her apartment.
She had absolutely no intention of speaking to Peter.
Meanwhile, Peter remained completely oblivious.
He had been secretly preparing an extravagant birthday surprise for Adriana, whose birthday was approaching in just a few days.
Because of that, he had completely forgotten their anniversary.
Later that evening, Olivia returned home after finishing her duties.
The moment she entered the apartment, she found Adriana curled up on the sofa, angrily eating an entire tub of ice cream.
The television was playing in the background, yet Adriana wasn’t watching it at all.
Olivia blinked. "What happened?"
Adriana pouted before complaining, "Peter forgot our anniversary."
Olivia immediately fell silent.
After listening to everything, she quietly took out her phone and began typing a message to Peter.
The moment Adriana noticed it, she immediately sat upright. "Olivia!"
She glared at her. "Don’t you dare remind him."
She folded her arms. "I want to see how long it takes before he remembers it himself."
Her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. "He’s become so busy."
She snorted. "Who knows how he’ll behave after we get married?"
She dramatically sighed.
"Honestly... Men simply can’t be trusted."
As Adriana continued grumbling nonstop, Olivia quietly slipped away from the apartment.
"An angry woman is terrifying..."
She rubbed her forehead.
"Especially one who’s probably on her period."
At almost the same moment, Theodore arrived outside the apartment.
Unfortunately... he had heard every single word.
The moment he sensed Adriana’s terrifying mood, he silently turned around.
"Nope. Absolutely not. I’m not walking into that battlefield."
The painful memory from the previous time immediately resurfaced.
Back then, Adriana had been furious as well.
She had forced Theodore to wash every single piece of laundry inside the house.
After finishing that, she made him clean every room from top to bottom.