The room fell silent once again. Eric could only sit there quietly while Laura confidently held his arm and stared down her uncle, making it crystal clear that she was not open to negotiation. Joe leaned back, stretching both of his arms across the top of the sofa as he stared up at the ceiling, remaining completely still and looking thoroughly exhausted.

After a moment, he stood up, walked over to his desk, and picked up his cigar. He relit the dead ember, took a puff, and blew out a cloud of smoke. He then walked back and sat on the couch directly opposite Eric and Laura.

"No matter what I say, you aren’t going to listen anyway, because once you set your mind on something, you have to get your way... so let us just do this: I will give you my permission, but I need you to promise me two things, you little brat," Joe said, breaking the silence.

"What are they, Uncle?" Laura asked.

"First... take your studies seriously. I heard you have been getting terrible grades. If you end up failing, I am shipping you right back to your father... and second, every three days, you call and check in with me, because I have to keep reporting to my older brother—your dad. If you dare break these rules, I will personally come get you and drag you back to your father myself. Do you understand me, you little brat?" Joe demanded firmly, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.

Eric noticed Laura biting her lip, her eyes still locked on her uncle. Laura started to open her mouth, but suddenly Eric covered Laura’s mouth with his hand, causing her to snap her head around and look at him in surprise.

"Wait a second, Uncle, are you really okay with her living with me?" Eric asked, just to be absolutely sure.

"It is not a problem. She is old enough, and in another year she will be out on her own anyway. I am asking you to please keep an eye on her, and if she acts up, give her a good scolding. You have my full permission," Joe replied.

"Oh... I see... all right then, Uncle," Eric said, unable to refuse. As he spoke, he gently pried his arm away from Laura, whose face had suddenly turned bright red. "What is wrong with parents these days? Why are they so quick to entrust their daughters to a guy who is practically the same age," Eric thought in utter frustration.

"Okay Uncle, I promise. I will call every three days to check in," Laura said cheerfully, clinging even tighter to Eric’s arm.

"Don’t just talk about it, I want to see results, understand?" Joe said, staring her down.

"Understood, Uncle," Laura replied.

"All right then. Since you two are already here, feel free to enjoy the hotel... Laura, take Eric out and show him around. I still have a lot of work to do," Joe countered.

"Okay Uncle, thanks a lot! I love you, Uncle, haha," Laura shot back.

"Hah... cut the sweet talk. Just remember your promise, you little brat," Joe replied.

With that, they said their goodbyes to Joe and left the office. It turned out the two men who had escorted them earlier were standing on either side of the door like bodyguards. The moment Eric and Laura stepped out, the men closed the door and followed them toward the elevator. Laura turned to look at the two men behind her.

"Are my friends in their rooms already?" Laura asked.

"They have left their rooms, young miss. Right now, they are down in the casino," one of the men answered.

"Hah... what the hell are they doing in a casino?" Eric asked, completely bewildered as he turned to look at Laura.

"Playing... we do it all the time. Come on, let’s go catch up with them," Laura answered casually.

Laura pulled Eric toward the elevator while Eric kept reflecting. He couldn’t comprehend what a bunch of seventeen-year-olds were doing in a casino. Once the elevator hit the ground floor, Laura immediately dragged Eric toward another section of the hotel, guiding him through a rather long hallway lined with plush, soft carpeting.

When they reached the end of the hall and stepped inside the massive space that made up the casino, Eric’s eyes widened. After passing the coin exchange counter and walking inside, he could see a vast, luxurious room filled with grand pillars.

Rows of diverse slot machines were lined up across the center hall, stretching from one pillar to the next in three long rows.

"Ding... ding... ding," "whiiir," "click... click... click."

The sounds of slot machine tilts, spinning reels, and wheels grinding to a halt echoed through the air. Beyond that, there were plenty of tables for roulette, blackjack, craps, poker, and various other games.

At the far end of the room, a cage filled with bouncing balls for bingo stood near a few ATM machines inside a glass room. The entire floor was covered in a gorgeous, plush carpet.

"Wow... this is the first time I’ve ever set foot inside a casino," Eric thought to himself as he looked around.

"There they are," Laura said, pointing toward the rows of slot machines.

Sure enough, when Eric looked in the direction Laura was pointing, he spotted Emma, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, and Priya sitting at the slot machines, chatting away happily. They were all holding bags filled with casino’s coins in their hands. Laura then pulled Eric along to join the group.

When the five girls spotted Eric and Laura walking over, they immediately raised their glasses to call them over. They all looked refreshed, holding prepaid cards and drinks.

"Everything sorted out?" Emma asked.

"Of course it is... I’m officially allowed to live with Eric," Laura answered happily.

"Awesome, that means we are all good," Chloe replied.

"You aren’t cleared yet, are you?" Priya asked Chloe.

"Still in progress, but it’s under control," Chloe answered.

"Ugh... no jackpot," Monica said, visibly annoyed.

"Be patient... try again," Heidi replied, sitting right next to her. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Eric watched the six girls casually hanging around the slot machines, continuously swiping their cards and hitting the glowing buttons on the console to spin the reels.

"Are you guys using actual money?" Eric asked, putting forward a completely stupid question.

The six girls turned to look at Eric, their facial expressions basically saying, "What planet is this guy from." Even if none of them actually said it out loud.

"Of course we are using real money," Emma said casually.

"Oh... I see, but don’t carry away, okay?" Eric replied.

"Huh?" the six girls asked, completely confused.

"I mean, don’t go throwing all your money away in here," Eric added, trying to explain.

The six girls instantly exchanged looks, then stood up and dragged Eric over to sit in front of one of the machines. Heidi swiped her card, and Laura grabbed Eric’s hand to force his finger onto the button.

Eric watched the four reels spin right in front of him until finally, "tilt... tilt," the machine blared loudly. He hit a jackpot that immediately raked in a massive score. Naturally, the six girls started jumping up and down behind him.

"Oh... so this is what winning feels like," Eric said blankly, clearly starting to feel the temptation.

By the time they finally left the casino, Eric was walking out completely drained, while the six girls tried to comfort him by rubbing his back.

"$3000 down the drain, just like that," Eric said, his head hanging low in defeat.

"Come on, forget about it... you’re lucky it was only $3000. You just got greedy, haha," Emma said, hugging Eric’s arm.

"Yeah... plenty of people go completely broke in casinos, haha," Priya chimed in, grabbing his other arm.

"Drop it already, don’t think about it. It is not healthy to obsess over money that is never coming back," Chloe said, rubbing Eric’s back.

"Yeah, exactly. Hey, how about we stay the night here? There is a pool party tonight, right?" Heidi asked.

"Perfect... I’ll let my uncle know we are staying," Laura said.

"A pool party... that’s a great idea, I’m in," Monica replied.

"Awesome... okay, tonight we party, hehehe," Emma said enthusiastically.

"What do you think, Eric? You down?" Chloe asked.

Eric could only nod. He was still miserable because it was his first time gambling and he had lost immediately. They went straight to the reception desk and booked a presidential suite large enough to accommodate everyone.

Eric just went along with it, completely resigned. Deep down, he felt a wave of relief because his issues with the girls’ parents were finally behind him.

***

Meanwhile, at that very moment, inside an office building back in the city where Eric used to live. "Ding." A notification pinged on Jason’s smartphone. He immediately snatched it up and unlocked the screen. His face twisted instantly, the veins on his forehead practically bulging. It was a text message from an unknown number, and the message read:

"Hey... you pathetic idiot. I know exactly where your little brother is. Tell that pregnant mistress of yours that the guy she betrayed is doing just fine now. He is sleeping with the CEO of the company where I work, and the CEO happens to be a gorgeous girl who is in his band... hahaha... it brings me so much joy to watch you and that homewrecking girl suffer. I don’t give a damn if your dad sues me, as long as I get to enjoy this satisfaction."

Jason slammed his smartphone onto the desk so hard that his coworker sitting next to him snapped their head around to stare. His face was a mask of pure rage. He dug both of his elbows into the desk, rubbing his head before covering his face entirely.

"Dammit... Melissa is still messing with me... Eric is hooking up with a CEO? Hah... I know the girls in his band are drop-dead gorgeous... is it still not enough for you to humiliate me, Eric? Jade and Ruby left to chase after you, and now even Vivian wants to break up and abort my baby all for your sake... are you happy now, Eric? You have taken everything from me, even though you are nothing but a bastard," Jason thought in his head, completely overwhelmed by stress.

***

Meanwhile, somewhere else, inside a hotel room, Melissa was lounging in nothing but a bathrobe, staring at her smartphone with a cynical smirk. Her thumb swiped across the screen, blocking Jason’s number.

She then opened up her social media app, snapped a quick selfie, and posted it to her account with the caption "living my best life." But as she stared at her own face in the shared photo, a wave of resentment washed over her, and her mind began to wander.

"If you hadn’t cheated on me first, I never would have hatched that plan with Blake. Eric is honestly way better off away from your godforsaken family, Jason," Melissa thought in her head.

Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open. Mason, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, stepped out and sat down next to Melissa, who instantly flipped her smartphone face down on the bed. Without missing a beat, Melissa turned to wrap her arms around Mason, locking the heavy-set, middle-aged man in a passionate, heated kiss.