Chapter 58

.Emilia tilted her head and wagged her finger with a sly smile. "Not enough now."

"You're just too scared to take the bet!" Sebastian snapped, frustration burning in his eyes.

"That's not the problem. I was willing to put down thirty million earlier, but now the pot's up to forty,"Emilia replied, her grin never fading.

Sebastian's chest tightened with anger. The urge to lash out was written all over his face. "You..."

"Fifty million now." With sunglasses in place, Emilia raised her hand, showing five fingers and flashing a.daring grin.

Grinding his teeth, Sebastian could only accept."Fine, fifty million. You've got a deal."

He knew if he hesitated, Emilia would just keep pushing the amount higher until she talked herself out of the wager.

"Let's cut to the chase. One round, winner takes all,"Emilia suggested.

"That works for mne," Sebastian growled, glaring at her.

She could talk big for now, but he planned to humiliate her during the game.

Sloane tugged on Emilia's arm and pointed in a direction. "Hey, isn't that Mr. Dixon? Why not have him be the witness? Then nobody can back out if they lose."

Looking in the direction Sloane indicated, Emilia spotted Wilbur wheeling Elias toward them.

Her heart skipped as she met Elias's cold,penetrating stare, memories of her holding him flickering through her mind. She quickly dropped her gaze.

Sebastian noticed Elias's arrival and felt a wave of dread. He had thought about backing out if things took a turn for the worse, but Elias's presence ruined any chance of that. Then again, why was Elias here in this part of town?

His attention drifted to Elias's legs. He remembered Emilia saying she had an opportunity for treatment by Asclepius. Was Elias here for that reason? If the Dixons and Emilia teamed up, she would have powerful allies. Sebastian knew he couldn't let that happen.

Sloane gave Emilia a nudge forward and called out,"Mr. Dixon, do you have a moment? Would you mind being the witness for our bet?"

Elias fixed his cool gaze on Emilia, showing no emotion. "What's going on?"

"Sebastian's made a bet with Emilia. If he loses, he pays fifty million, but if we lose, he gets a Pagani."Sloane jumped in with the details.

A flicker of irritation crossed Elias's face; he seemed more interested in hearing from Emilia herself. Mistaking his irritation for unwillingness, Emilia quickly spoke up. "If you're busy, don't worry about it."

"I'm available." For a split second, Elias's expression softened. "So, what's the wager?"

Wilbur piped up, eager to guess. "I bet it's another car race!"

Emilia shook her head. "Not this time. It's a one-on-one match, just one round in a game."

Wilbur's curiosity spiked. "Wait, you play games too?What kind? I never took you for a gamer."

The talk about games made Wilbur think of his idol,the legendary Cloudstrider.

Ever since that player disappeared, he'd never seen him online or heard any updates.

With a curious glint in his eyes, Wilbur gave Emilia a slow once-over. "I never took you for someone who plays games. Are you any good at it? I'm into gaming too. We should play together sometime. I could teach you a few things. I mean, I'm decent. Not on Elias's

level or anything. But then again, he's not really into

it. All he cares about is business and chasing money."

Elias's mouth tightened, his mood turning frosty

again.

"I'm honestly not much of a gamer," Emilia answered,

her tone light. She had rarely played before, and after

quitting,she had giyen up games altogether.

Hearing this, Elias relaxed, a faint smile tugging at his

lips.

Sebastian grew restless and asked, "Can we get on

with this? Emilia, are you stalling because you're

scared to go through with the bet?"