An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Crystal frowned as she met Miles's intense gaze. "Miles, you should call it quits. If you continue to gamble, it'll only lead you deeper into trouble."

Gamblers often found themselves trapped in a cycle of addiction, and they were never content with their winnings.

Their insatiable desire for more drove them to risk everything. Hence, it often led them to stray from the right path.

At that moment, he appeared to be showing signs of addiction. If left unchecked, it could lead to disaster.

"Just one more bet, Crystal. I promise. If I win this time, I'll quit for good," Miles pleaded earnestly.

"Yes, I'm with him. I've even wagered my sword. I need to win it back," Ruby chimed in.

Their hopeful eyes bore into Crystal's.

"Have you considered the consequences if you lose?" she countered.

"It won't happen, I swear. I'll be cautious this time and only bet when I'm confident. I won't lose again," Miles assured.

"Yeah, we were led astray before. If we had trusted our instincts, we'd be winning by now," Ruby added.

"Don't you get it? Gambling never ends well. If you keep going, it'll only end badly," Crystal said sternly.

"Crystal, just one more try. If we break even, we'll quit for good! I promise," Miles pleaded.

celestial stones. Just lend us some.

so stubborn? Can't you see what's

What happened earlier was just bad luck. If you lend us some celestial stones, I'm sure

just want to get our swords back. Please, give

swords back, but I won't lend you

hearing that, Miles and Ruby exchanged a helpless glance. They knew Crystal's resolve and that lending celestial stones was

up. They still hoped to recover the celestial stones they

the betting table and

swords. No more gambling." She tossed the swords back to

them as they looked at their swords. It

reality was that the celestial stones lost in their bets

Crystal is right. If you keep gambling, you'll only dig yourselves into a deeper

can afford to walk away. But we

You win once, and suddenly, you're hungry for more. How do you expect

and Ruby exchanged a glance and opted

With her enthusiastic urging, another batch of

the cycle

Then, she would let them savor success and gradually get addicted. Then, by manipulating the outcomes,

stones, while the remaining ended

on their side. One defeat didn't dampen their optimism. They remained determined to keep going, fueled by the chance