Don, I'm Not Your Bet

At my pre-wedding blowout, my sister Julia Gallo suddenly challenged my fiancé Lorenzo, heir to the next Don of the Bianchi family, to a "big bet." "Let me guess how many candies you've got in your hand." "Guess right, and whatever my forfeit is, you do it." "Guess wrong, and you're covering all the leftover booze." "I'm guessing... five." She said. Lorenzo opened his right hand. Three. Julia tipped her head back to down the rest of the wine. But then— "You win." Lorenzo pulled his left hand from his pocket. "There are two more. Right here." Julia smiled at him. But tears shimmered in her eyes. She unfolded the note she'd written in advance. "Then I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd actually guess it right off the top of my head." "Your wedding is postponed. Three years." The room went dead silent. Lorenzo just kept smiling. "We've been betting since the day we first touched family business. When have we ever backed out?" "A bet's a bet." This wasn't the first time Lorenzo used me as collateral. I looked up at the clock—past midnight. My phone buzzed. A message from a familiar number. "Happy birthday." "You're not married at twenty-seven, you marry me. Still on?" I replied: "A bet's a bet. Three days, and I'll honor our deal." Chapter 1 After a brief, dead silence, the living room erupted. "Betting on a wedding? And losing?" "The Bianchi and Gallo engagement? That's not something you joke about!" "Do you have any idea how exhausting it was for Seraphina to handwrite five hundred invitations? All of New York knows they're getting married. Now it's off, and how are we supposed to clean this up?" A few of them crowded in, talking over each other. The more they talked, the more heated they got, until finally they all turned to Julia: "You're Seraphina's own sister. Say something. It was just a joke, not a real bet." Julia sat in the corner, a wine glass in her hand. Avoiding everyone's eyes, she swirled the red wine slowly. "I wasn't joking. You all know I never joke about bets." The air in the living room froze solid. Everyone realized, this wedding was truly dead. And for one simple reason. Every friend at this pre-wedding blowout had met through betting on horses. Our family had been in the "gambling" business for generations. Horse race betting. Every month, we traveled across the country to bet on races. A bet made is a bet honored. That was our iron rule. No one said another word. I lowered my eyes and poured myself a drink. "Lorenzo, what do you say?" Lorenzo looked at me, a trace of alcohol softening his gaze. He reached out and pinched my cheek, the way he always did. "Seraphina, the wedding can still happen in three years. We've got plenty of time." "We all came together because of horse racing. If we ruin everyone's luck over a wedding date, it's just not worth it." "You understand, don't you?" The answer I expected. I could lower my head and swallow the bitterness. When I looked up again, the smile was back in place. "I don't understand. But I agree." Lorenzo let out a breath, laughing softly as he looked at me. "You seem to be in a good mood." The mood plummeted. For a moment, no one spoke. Then the living room door was pushed open. A waiter stood at the entrance, wheeling in a three-tier cake. Candles on top, spelling out "Happy 27th Birthday, Seraphina." "Happy birthday!" Lorenzo startled first, then, as if waking from a dream, began clapping first. The pre-wedding blowout had absurdly turned into my birthday party. A few rounds of drinks later, the private room was filled with the clatter of dice cups and singing. I stood up and walked over to Lorenzo. I reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a handful of candy. "Why?" Lorenzo smiled. "Knew I couldn't hide it from you." He stretched out an arm and pulled me into his chest, his voice a little slurred with drink: "Julia would've had to drink all the wine if she lost. Her liver's bad. If it were you, you'd have done the same." I turned my head and stared at him. I wanted so badly to ask if he'd known all along what the bet was. If that's why he came prepared. But the words reached my lips and felt meaningless. I threw my head back and took a long gulp of wine. Suddenly, everything before me felt so damn ridiculous. And so laughable. Chapter 2 I stood up and called out to Julia: "Julia, I want to make a bet with you too." The music in the private room seemed to stutter for a second. Everyone froze. The two friends I was closest to reacted first, immediately egging me on: "Yeah! Lorenzo, you lost the wedding bet, Seraphina can win it back!" "Exactly, my groomsman suit is way too sharp to waste. Come on, one more bet!" But Lorenzo's face darkened instantly. "Seraphina, don't be ridiculous." "I already said a bet's a bet. That means the wedding is in three years." Julia timely covered her mouth and let out a dry heave. Lorenzo immediately steadied her, then turned to me with a cold voice: "She's had too much to drink. Stop betting with her. If you really want to gamble, pick someone else." Watching Lorenzo shield Julia, the last bit of hope in my heart began to shrivel. "Fine." I picked up the dice cup and shook it hard. "Then I'll bet with you. Big or small?" I locked eyes with Lorenzo, a desperate, all-or-nothing feeling rising in my chest. There were no dice in the cup. I asked only to test his attitude. If he was willing to bet with me, if he would just give me a fair shot. I was ready to wager every ounce of luck I had left to destroy that bet with the other man. To wait three years for him. In love, who isn't a gambler? But Lorenzo's expression turned even darker. He looked at me coldly, his eyes full of disappointment and disgust: "Losing and then clinging on until you win. Seraphina, do you have no gambling etiquette left?" I understood. An endless bitterness welled up inside me. "You won't even dare to bet with me?" "You think I'd force you to marry me?" The last bit of warmth in my heart cooled, degree by degree. I opened the dice cup slowly, right in front of him. It was empty. Everyone stared at the empty cup in shock. After a few seconds of silence, Dante murmured: "An empty bet... that's a guaranteed loss." I forced a smile and looked at Lorenzo: "I never planned to win. Why are you acting like I'm such a threat?" Lorenzo choked on his words. He stared at the empty cup, as if realizing something. He reached out, trying to pull me toward him. "I just didn't want you to lose..." "But you already made me lose. Completely." I dodged his hand. Lorenzo's hand froze midair, then he laughed: "I know you've always wanted to get married. It's just three years. Do you really have so little faith in us?" "You don't think you'll fall out of love in three years, do you? I won't change in ten." I laughed out of pure anger. In just a few words, he'd twisted it so that I was the one who wasn't committed. Seeing the mood spiral further off track, someone finally stood up to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, it's past three. Let's call it a night." A few people, visibly relieved, rose to their feet. Lorenzo helped Julia up and said to me: "I'll take her home first, then drop you off. It's on the way anyway." I smiled. "No need. Someone's picking me up." He wanted to say more. I was already walking quickly into the elevator. Chapter 3 Through my hangover, I was jolted awake by one phone call after another. "Seraphina, what's the final word from the upscale wedding venue?" "Seraphina, Father is furious. He says this reckless decision has cost the Gallo family a fortune." "Seraphina, get home right now and explain yourself!" My head was splitting. I lay in bed for a long moment before it sank in that last night wasn't a dream. The wedding I'd waited seven years for was really gone, all because of a candy-guessing game. I rubbed my temples and opened my phone. 99+ unread messages. I tapped on Julia's voice message. "Seraphina... what I said last night, I'm not taking it back. Be ready." And Lorenzo's chat? Spotless. Empty. Someone had posted a group photo on Instagram last night, captioned "Happy birthday, never apart." The filter was warm-toned. Everyone was smiling. I stood in front of the cake, candlelight flickering on my face, looking like I was genuinely happy. Someone commented below, "So when's the wedding?" The poster replied, "Haha, hit a little snag." I took a deep breath and dialed Lorenzo's number. "Seraphina?" In the background, Julia's voice drifted through: "Lorenzo, my head hurts so bad..." Without waiting for me to speak, Lorenzo said urgently: "Handle your parents, and take care of the hotel cancellation too. I'll cover the penalty fee." "I can't get away right now. Julia's thrown up a few times and her stomach's still off. I need to take her to the hospital." Not a single apology. He took it for granted that I would, just like every time in the past seven years. Support and accommodate his every decision unconditionally. How laughable. The truth was, our time... had less than three days left. "Okay." I answered softly and hung up. I pulled out an empty cardboard box and started packing away everything related to Lorenzo. The love journal he'd stayed up hand-writing for me the year we met at twenty. Dried rose petals he'd given me a year later were still tucked inside. One light touch, and they crumbled into red powder. The first pair of couple mugs we'd made ourselves. His crooked "S&L" was carved into the bottom. Now it had faded too. And an amethyst worth a small fortune. Four years ago, when this group of boys first left home and stepped into the horse betting world, they placed their first bet. He'd overruled everyone, insisting on the dark horse nobody believed in, the one with the bleak record. I emptied every last bit of my savings and gave it to him. The moment the race ended and the results came in, he'd scooped me up in his arms and kissed me, ecstatic. "Seraphina, I'm using the winnings to buy you the most special amethyst." "People bet on odds, on wins and losses, but I bet on forever. You're my priceless treasure." Seven years. Over two thousand five hundred days and nights. I thought we'd already won. Never imagined he'd gamble away our future. I tossed each item into the cardboard box, one by one. Then dragged it downstairs. The housekeeper gasped when she saw it: "Miss, are you sure you're throwing the right things out? These are all treasures!" I smiled calmly. "Nothing's wrong." "I don't want any of it anymore. If you want it, it's yours." She thanked me profusely and took the box. I slid the engagement ring off my finger and dropped it in. "Oh, and this too. It's yours." She stood frozen, disbelief all over her face. I hailed a cab and went to the hotel. The manager looked up as I walked in alone. "Miss Seraphina, are you here by yourself?" I answered: "Oh... my fiancé is busy notifying everyone about the reschedule." The manager's face lit up with understanding, nodding eagerly: "So it's a reschedule! I thought it was canceled. When's the new date? I'll take care of it right away." "The day after tomorrow. Thank you." Walking out of the hotel, the sunlight stung my eyes. I lifted my head and looked at the vast blue sky. Something that had been hanging inside me finally settled, completely. This seven-year dream. I was finally awake. Chapter 4 That night, Lorenzo was sitting on the couch waiting for me when I got home. I froze for a second. "Why are you here?" His brows were locked tight, barely contained anger in every word. "The hotel told me you didn't cancel the wedding. You just postponed it to the day after tomorrow?" So that's what this was about. I looked down and changed my shoes. "Yeah. But I already transferred the hotel deposit to your account." He wore an expression of strained patience. Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore and said something harsh. "You can't wait three more years?" "Seraphina, is marrying me the only thing in your life?" He stood up and walked over to me. "We've been betting on horses so long. Dante and the others really believe in luck." "Right now the family hasn't hit any trouble, but if we do, they'll definitely hold it against us for going back on the wedding." "I've protected you too well all this time. Do you think this is how the Bianchi family got where it is? Sweetheart, can't you be a little more understanding?" Then he strode toward the door. "I won't answer any more calls from the hotel. Cancel the wedding yourself. Otherwise, when there's no groom, you'll be the one humiliated." "Tomorrow I'm going to Saratoga with Julia and the others for the races. I'll be gone about a week. Take some time to cool off." The door slammed shut. I stood there, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway. I walked to the keypad lock. Changed the code from the date we got together to my own birthday. The next morning, Lorenzo called. "Seraphina, I'm at the airport. Still an hour before security. Do you want to come... see me off?" Every time he traveled before, I'd picked him up and dropped him off, rain or shine. "No. I've got things to do today." There was a pause on the other end, then his voice softened further: "I was a little emotional yesterday. Don't take what I said to heart. I promise, by the time you're thirty, I'll be Don, and you'll be the Donna of the Bianchi family." "And if that day, Julia wants to bet with you again?" The line went noticeably still. Then his voice tinged with displeasure: "Seraphina, you're still hung up on this." "I'm not hung up. I'm just saying, if a bet means more to you than a promise, then don't make promises so easily." Another long silence. I called his name softly: "Lorenzo." "Hmm?" Then the roar of plane engines came through the line. I smiled and said quietly: "Thank you. For these seven years." Through the roar, he asked, dazed: "What did you say?" "Nothing." I spoke into the phone. "Have a safe trip." "Okay." He paused, as if sensing something, his tone carrying a hint of reassurance. "Seraphina, don't worry. I won't—" Before he could finish, Julia's soft, sweet voice came through: "Lorenzo, come get the tickets!" I pressed the hang-up button. Then I opened my phone, went into Lorenzo's family group chat, and tapped "Delete and Leave." Tomorrow was the last of the three days. The day I'd leave Lorenzo for good. Then I got a call. "I'm downstairs." The voice on the other end was low and gentle. "Tomorrow's the wedding. I'm here to take you to your dress fitting." "Okay." I grabbed my bag and walked out briskly. That night, at an upscale hotel in Saratoga. Dante sprawled on the lobby couch, scrolling his phone, then suddenly shot upright. "Oh my God!" He shoved his phone toward Lorenzo. "Lorenzo! Seraphina posted on Instagram! She's getting married tomorrow!" Lorenzo rubbed his brow wearily. "Tell her to stop." "How's she going to get married if I'm not there?" Dante stammered, cold sweat breaking out. "B-but the guy she's marrying is..." "You know what, just look yourself." He didn't dare say it, so he shoved the phone straight into Lorenzo's hand. Lorenzo's gaze drifted over lazily, then stopped dead. His pupils contracted sharply.