Mystery Bride's Revenge (Selina)

"Alright, Manuel, if you kneel, Ill tell you all about my relationship with Angel. What do you say?"

Caleb could hardly contain his anger at those words, "Selina, minil your manners! After all, Manuel is your brother! Are you seriously asking your flesh and blood to get on his knees and beg you?"

But before Caleb could finish, Selina cut him off, "Manuel. Since when did you ask for the opinion of this lapdog? You want to appeal to me, and that's the attitude you bring

"Who are you calling a lapdog!!" As Caleb was about to have it out with Selina, Lydia suddenly kicked him in the stomach, making him feel like his eyes were about to pop out from the pain. And then, Lydia dragged him away. "Caleb Manuel cried out, concerned for his friend, but Selina didn't skip a beat. "Or how about you and your lapdog just disappear from my sight? Save me from the disgrace of looking at you two losers." "Selina, you're asking too much"

"Am I Well, if you knew you'd be humiliated like this and still came crawling back to me, Manuel, doesn't that make you kind of a masochist? You enjoy me walking all over you, don't you?"

Manuel knew arguing further with Selina was futile. He couldn't kneel, but he couldn't just walk away either... If he left, he'd lose any chance of seeing Angel again. What was he supposed to do!

Just then, Manuel caught sight of dice on Selina's desk. His lips tightened, and he steeled himself for the gamble. "Fine, Selina. I'll bet with you. If you guess the dice roll correctly. I'll kneel. But if I win, you tell me everything you know about Angel!" Selina let out a cold laugh. "Manuel, have you lost your mind? You want to bet with me? You better have something worth my time. I couldn't care less about your kneeling."

"What do you want then?!"

"If you lose, not only do you kneel, but you'll also drink a glass of this. Selina gestured towards the untouched cocktail she had called Night Shimmer.

That's it? Manuel had a hunch Selina wouldn't let him off that easily, but he had no other option. With a hard swallow, he took the bet, "Who shakes? You or me?"

Selina drawled lazily, "Gentlemen first."

That was what Manuel wanted to hear. He grabbed the three dice, shaking them in his hand.

Selina watched him with her arms crossed, the sea breeze tousling her hair. Moonlight from the bar lamps illuminated her flawless complexion, and when Manuel made a certain move, a glint flashed in her eyes.

Finally, Manuel slammed the dice cup on the table, eyes locked on Selina. "High or low?"

Without much thought, Selina placed a hand on the wobbly table and confidently said. "Low"

Relief washed over Manuel for a brief second before he lifted the cup.

The dice revealed. 6, 2, 1. Low

Manuel's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could this be?

"When you put the dice in the cup, you fidgeted with their positions on purpose, and your shaking certain angles and forces can help roll the desired number. It's a 50/50 gamble since the house calls the number first. It's a neat trick since you can

anticipate the roll without giving yourself away."

Manuel abruptly awoke from his thoughts, a realization dawning on him. "You knew from the start... So, when you casually rested your hand on the table, you were secretly manipulating the dice?

Such a subtle vibration? How could that be? Was Selina's gambling skill so much superior to Manuel's?

Manuel had learned this technique during a trip to Silverpeak, taught to him by a friend who was a dealer. He had found it interesting back then and had taken a month to master it!

Manuel felt he couldn't understand Selina... She displayed a level of skill that was totally unlike the reports he had gathered. about her within the Harvey family

The naive Mr. Harvey, thinking of such a gambling trick as a prized possession. No backwater joint would even spare it at glance, and yet here you are, flaunting it before me. So, all bets are final. Kneel before me, Manuel."Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Manuel's lips quivered uncontrollably, facing the humiliating prospect of kneeling to Selina, his dignity thoroughly trampled. Could he bring himself to do it?

"If you're looking for an excuse to weasel out, let me give you a heads-up...." Selina pressed her phone screen, and the recording of Selina and Manuel's previous bet played clearly.

""You recorded it? Manuel was stunned.

To deal with the shamelessly thick-skinned the Harvey family. I had to take precautions, much like how you're still not kneeling despite clearly losing. Isn't that the very definition of thick-skinned?" With the lessons of her past life guiding her, Selina wasn't going to make the same mistakes. Manuel felt an unprecedented sense of defeat, one that had been dealt with by Selina he had always looked down upon. The game was up. Clenching his teeth, Manuel reluctantly dropped to one knee.

"Shouldn't a proper kneel be on both knees? What is this half-kneeling?

"Tagreed to kneel, but I never specified how. Selina, you weren't clear about it initially, so you can't blame me for that! Now, can you tell me about your relationship with Angel, right?"

Even if it meant stooping to play dirty, Manuel admitted it, kneeling on both knees to Selina would mean he could never lift his head in pride again for the rest of his life.

Selina barely concealed the contempt in her eyes as she witnessed yet another shameless display from the Harveys, refreshing her view of their lowest point time and again. Selina couldn't help but wonder if she shared blood with the Harvey family or if she had lost some essential trait at birth that kept her from becoming like them. If the latter, she owed her thanks to it.

"You shouldn't forget my second condition."

Selina picked up a bottle of Night Shimmer from the table and poured it over Manuel's head in a whooshing cascade. The icy chill of the liquid gave Manuel a jolt, vividly recalling the last time at Starlight Club, an immense humiliation engulfing her. "Selina, you.... you said I had to drink this!" Manuel protested

"I told you to drink, but I never specified how. I haven't broken any rules.

Selina looked down at the pitiful, soaking figure of Manuel and said, "Now, let me tell you about my relationship with Angel. It's quite simple really, I can create such works because I am Angel."