Chapter 26 What’s the Bet?

Phantom led Monster and Nicole to take a bow after the performance. Nicole smiled brightly and got off the stage with poise. ‘Luckily, I still remember the basics! This performance is still quite satisfactory.‘ Nicole thought. Phantom and Monster followed Nicole off the stage. Monster went over and patted her shoulder. “Lil Nicole, why don’t you just join our band? We’re willing to kick Demon out for you!” Nicole lowered her head and laughed. “If Demon hears this, he’d probably get up from his hospital bed right now and fight you!’ Monster was in great spirits. “l’m so thrilled to perform with you today. You’re the composer of this song anyway, so except for Demon, only you can perform s o flawlessly with us. Lil Nicole, you seem just like you were three years ago!” Nicole felt a trace of bitterness in her heart. She seemed to have missed out on an inordinate amount of life’s excitement i n these three years. Fortunately, it was still not too late to get back on track. Monster refused to give up and kept persuading Nicole to join their band. “Lil Nicole, if you join us, we’ll surely shock the music world!” Nicole was just about to reject his offer when Julie walked over with a smile. “Forget about it, you two…Nikki’s gonna start her career all over again!’ As soon as Julie pulled Nicole out from backstage, Yvette gave her a bear hug. ‘ Nikki baby, that was fantastic! You’re my goddess! Do you know how excited everyone was? Your violin is simply amazing!” Nicole helplessly pried Yvette off of her body. lt was all thanks to Ian’s arrangement that Nicole got to have such a memorable night. The three ladies thought that Eric and Keith should have already left, so they went back up to the second floor. Unexpectedly, Eric and Keith were sitting next to the Carter brothers as they stared at Nicole weirdly the moment she showed up. Yvette snorted in dissatisfaction and pulled Nicole to sit by Ian. “lan, let’s play something. lt’s boring having to sit with such eyesores.” lan shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, the night’s still young!” Everyone downstairs was shouting for The Lunatics to have an encore. “I didn’t think that Nicole could play the violin. Why didn’t I hear about it before?” Keith could not help his curiosity. He was genuinely shocked. The moment Nicole went on stage, she was so cool and confident like a queen that was in control of the whole audience “Why should we tell you? Who the hell are you even?” Yvette scowled at him and retorted. Keith felt attacked, but he indifferently shrugged his shoulders. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to play something? How about poker dice?“ “Who wants lo play with you'”” Yvette scoffed and was holding a grudge against them for Nicole. ‘Stupid bastard!’ Eric Ferguson, who had not spoken. suddenly said in a deep voice, “Nicole, are you afraid to playjust one game with us°” Since Nicole came upstairs, Eric’s eyes had not moved away from her. Nicole swirled the wine glass in her hand and looked down seemingly disinterested and treated them as if they were invisible. Eric suppressed his shock. The Nicole sitting in front of him seemed familiar yet strange to him. At that moment, the emotions surging in his heart were incomparably complicated. When Nicole was named, she nonchalantly lifted her head and swept a glance at Eric with a faint smile on her face. “What should I be afraid of?” Although Nicole felt that Eric’s words were unexpected, she was not afraid of him. They were like strangers now, so playing a gambling game was not a big deal. Yvette objected discontentedly. ”Nikki, why do you wanna play with him? He’s clearly just trying to provoke you!” Julie pulled Yvette aside and looked at the ex-couple. “Don’t worry, Nikki knows what she’s doing.“ ~ Eric Ferguson grew up as a member of the gentry, so taking part in these social events was like second nature to him. Poker dice was the easiest game and a sure win for Eric. Keith, who was sitting o n the side, could not hide his smug smile. The waiter set the table with two players against each other. Nicole did not make a move. Instead, she looked down and said, “What’s the bet?”