Mrs. Taylor didn’t mind; she had long guessed her nephew’s intentions. How could she not let him try to please his future fiancée?

But Emma, with her past experience, grew increasingly convinced that William Wilson was deliberately going easy on Laura Jones.

To Emma, this silent cheating was just another way of flaunting his affection.

How could she tolerate this?

By the end, not only did she fail to catch William’s attention, but she also lost a considerable amount of money.

When Mrs. Taylor played cards, the stakes were undoubtedly high.

Originally, Emma wanted to see Laura ruined, unable to pay her debts. But in the end, under William’s "assistance," Laura left with her hands full of money.

Emma wasn’t angry about the money; she was envious to death of William’s favoritism toward Laura.

To outsiders, he spoiled Laura too much.

"Not playing anymore, you useless player."

Mrs. Taylor feigned anger, glaring at William while handing the money to Laura.

Laura felt a bit embarrassed to take it, scratching her head awkwardly and saying:

"Auntie, I’m just playing for fun, no need to give me money."

"A bet is a bet, the money must be given. But this useless player can forget about joining my card table again."

Mrs. Taylor gave William a sharp glare.

William displayed a modest look of accepting criticism, rubbed the tip of his nose, and said:

"It’s all my fault, my card-playing skills are just too bad."

Mrs. Taylor couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

Now his card skills are bad? But when he was behind his wife "giving directions," it wasn’t quite like that.

Even the Gambling King was no match for him.

Emma’s jealousy was burning through her eyes, and her words became increasingly cynical.

"Laura, just take it. Playing cards means there are wins and losses, and Auntie and I don’t lack this bit of money."

As she handed Laura the money one bill at a time from her bag, she couldn’t resist mocking:

"You’ve won so much today, it could cover a month’s living expenses for you."

Everyone present could hear Emma’s sarcastic tone. Although she wore a smile, seemingly joking, every word danced on everyone’s nerves.

Especially William, who couldn’t stand anyone ridiculing his girl.

Instantly, the smile that hung on his face disappeared.

Emma saw William’s expression change suddenly, and her heart skipped a beat. She regretted her obvious mockery toward Laura just then.

But she just couldn’t bear losing to Laura.

Why?

If she lost to Adam Jones’s daughter, to Harry Hall’s daughter, or even to Hannah Taylor, she would concede.

But losing to Laura, she couldn’t accept it, she just couldn’t.

William was about to speak when he noticed Laura smilingly accept the money from Emma, saying:

"Thank you and Auntie, I won’t be polite then."

She calmly collected the cash and put it into her own bag, saying:

"However, you were wrong. I actually don’t need this much for a month’s living expenses."

Emma wanted to retort, here is over twenty thousand dollars, for someone from a working-class family, a month’s expenses surely wouldn’t need this much.

She couldn’t tell whether Laura genuinely didn’t catch her sarcasm or if she did and just pretended not to care.

In any case, seeing Laura smile like that gave Emma the frustrated feeling of punching a pillow, powerless.