Bumpkin’s Rich Handsome Husband novel Chapter 273

Veronica beamed as she showed her hand.

She had been on a roll since the beginning of the last few rounds, and she was working her way into a winning streak.

Matthew, on the other hand, had on the ideal poker face as he sat stoically next to her. Little did he know that Ruka, who was perched on the seat behind him, was aware of the basic rules of poker even if she hardly ever played. She had watched in grim disbelief as he discarded cards that would have given him a good hand and feigned bad luck by folding during bets. He was pulling back to let Veronica win.

With her newly-boosted confidence, Veronica got her head in the game and began to slay. As a result, her bank account with a meager sum of seventeen thousand had an additional amount of hundred and fifty thousand dollars!

In fact, she wasn’t the only winner; Xavier and Matthew had won several rounds as well, leaving Yvonne as the odd one out who somehow managed to lose over four hundred thousand dollars during the game.

"Oh, man, talk about sore luck," she moaned ruefully. She turned to look at Conrad in despair. "Conrad, you said you were gonna sponsor me, right? We're splitting this fifty-fifty."

"She has a point, Uncle Conrad," Veronica sang, so happy that she was oblivious to how Matthew had let her win most of the rounds. "I told you to sponsor me and you refused to. Bet you're licking your wounds now."

Conrad shook his head in mock exasperation. "Oh, I should have listened to you, Veronica," he said melodramatically.

Meanwhile, Matthew leaned into his seat and stared at the cards he was holding: three Kings and two Aces. He had a full house, and if he had shown his hand, he would have won the pot for sure. There was at least twenty grand worth of winnings after the bet was raised, but at the last minute, he\ decided to let Veronica win. Folding, he tossed his cards into the center pile and pointed out nonchalantly, "Someone's on a roll."

"Of course. I've never lost a game of poker," Veronica said proudly, unaware that her poker skills were no match for Matthew's even though she was admittedly better than average players.

"Winner buys everyone a meal," Yvonne piped up, wiggling her brows at Veronica as if to remind the latter that lunch and dinner would be on her.

Veronica nodded. "I’m more than happy to."

"Luck was on your side as well, Young Master Xavier," Conrad remarked.

Xavier smiled. "It loved Roni a little more though."

Leaving the men to their conversation, Veronica rose from her seat and made a beeline for the restroom. She had been so focused on winning the pot that she refused to relieve herself.

Not long after, she came out of the restroom stall and headed for the communal sink area to wash her hands, only to see Matthew standing there with a cigarette in hand.

She gave him a cursory glance and said nothing. For a moment, neither of them exchanged a word, and she started to powder her nose while staring into the mirror.

Just then, her phone rang. She quickly capped her lipstick and wiped her hands with a tissue, then fished out her phone from her purse. When she saw Daniella's name flashing on the screen, she picked up the call. "Hey, Mom."

"Oh, thank goodness the call got through. Where are you right now, Veronica? Your master was coming down from the mountain this afternoon when he slipped and fell. He bumped his head on a rock and is currently in a coma."

"What? How did that happen?" Veronica's voice rose by a pitch when she heard the shocking information. Next to her, Matthew stiffened and paused from taking a drag, then glanced over at her worriedly.

"Crayson isn't young anymore, and besides, he did take a pretty bad fall. The roads were all coated in ice and snow."

"Okay, I'll go back right now."

With that, Veronica hung up the phone hurriedly. She stood in front of the sink and took a deep breath, but that was when she saw Matthew staring at her in the large mirror. She met his gaze in the reflective glass, but just as he parted his lips to say something, she turned and walked away before he could speak.

He followed her out of the restroom area closely from behind.