Chapter Summaries

After losing her winnings, the woman accepted a tissue from Draco but decided he had brought her bad luck and moved to another slot machine. When she won a small prize there, she took it as proof that distancing herself from him had restored her luck.

• The woman lost her remaining coins, broke down in tears, and accepted a tissue from Draco.
• She blamed her losses on Draco and hurried to a slot machine two seats away.
• Draco stayed where he was and watched to see whether her luck changed.
• The woman won a small prize at the new machine and smugly concluded that Draco had been bad luck.
• Draco smiled at her satisfaction and thought, “As long as you're happy.”

A woman continued losing at slot machines despite moving farther from Draco, who teased her about blaming him for her bad luck. A pushy man then cornered her and grabbed her wrist while she tried to leave.

• The woman lost several rounds at a new machine, and Draco asked whether the losses were still his fault.
• The woman defended herself, moved farther away from Draco, and continued losing.
• A well-dressed man approached the woman, ignored her refusal, and offered to cover her losses.
• The woman tried to get away and look for her husband, but the man grabbed her wrist before she could stand.

Draco rescued the woman from a man who was gripping her wrist, then teased her about blaming him for her bad luck. She insisted she had won money after her husband left, and challenged Draco to try gambling for himself.

• The woman pleaded with Draco for help, and he grabbed the man’s wrist and pulled her behind him.
• The man recognized Draco’s status, let go of the woman, and hurried away.
• The woman thanked Draco, and he joked that he could protect her from perverts despite supposedly bringing her bad luck.
• The woman showed Draco the coins she had won and blamed her losses on his arrival, then quickly apologized when he took offense.
• The woman insisted she had profited in more than ten rounds after her husband left, and Draco began to doubt his own luck.
• Draco said he did not believe her, so the woman offered him her slot-machine seat and challenged him to try.

Draco lost five consecutive rounds at the slot machine, then introduced himself to Diana after their shared frustration turned into laughter. Diana explained that she and her husband had lost their jobs and turned to gambling as a last attempt to save the unfinished house they had built with their savings and a bank loan.

• Draco challenged Diana’s belief in his bad luck, played five rounds, and lost each time.
• Diana tried to comfort Draco and urged him to stop, but he kicked and slapped the slot machine in frustration.
• Draco and Diana laughed together, introduced themselves, and began talking.
• Draco asked why Diana had come to gamble, and she told him that she and her husband had lost their jobs while struggling to repay the loan on their unfinished house.
• Diana said her husband had brought her to the casino for one last gamble in hopes of saving their home.

Draco warned Diana that gambling on the ship could leave her and her husband with ruinous debts, persuading her to stop and take their winnings. He led her to her husband at a dice table, where she found him celebrating a win with a large pile of chips.

• Draco warned Diana that the casino and its loan sharks could leave her with debts she could never repay.
• Diana reconsidered and asked Draco to help her find her husband.
• Draco led Diana through the casino to the dice area, then stopped so he would not bring his bad luck to her husband.
• Diana went to her husband and found him celebrating a win beside a thick stack of chips.

Diana reunited with David at the casino, where he had won twelve thousand chips and aimed to win enough to redeem their house. Although she repeated Draco’s warning about the casino and debt, David refused to stop, and Diana chose to stay with him as his winnings rose to fifteen thousand.

• Diana found David at the gaming table after Draco guided her through the casino and left.
• David showed Diana his winnings, introduced her to Bellatrix and the other gamblers, and won another round after Diana kissed the dice.
• Diana warned David that Draco had said most gamblers lost and cautioned him about debt, but David dismissed the warning and insisted they needed fifty thousand chips for their house.
• Diana struggled between Draco’s advice and her hope of owning a home, then fell silent and chose to trust David.
• David’s chips reached fifteen thousand, and his excitement gave way to feverish dissatisfaction.

David took Diana from the dice tables to roulette, where an early win encouraged him to place increasingly risky bets. After betting five thousand chips on red, he left Diana worried as the next round began.

• David urged Diana to play roulette for higher payouts, while Bellatrix refused to leave the dice tables.
• David persuaded Diana with promises of wealth and hurried her to roulette, where he put fifteen thousand chips on the table.
• David cautiously bet five hundred on red, then placed a thousand on red for the next spin and won when the ball landed on red sixteen.
• Encouraged by the win and praise from nearby gamblers, David pushed five thousand chips onto red.
• Diana pressed down on David's hand and begged him to bet more cautiously.

David ignored Diana’s warnings at the roulette table, lost most of their winnings, and then slowly rebuilt their chips to the amount needed to redeem their house. Though Diana urged him to stop, David kept gambling and provoked the other gamblers, leaving another confrontation about to erupt.

• David won another bet on red, doubled his stake, and then risked most of his chips on red again, losing more than half when the wheel landed on black seven.
• David argued with gamblers who blamed him for their losses, but Diana and the dealer intervened and calmed the confrontation.
• David switched to small bets and gradually rebuilt his chips until they reached fifty thousand, enough to redeem their house.
• Diana urged David to leave, but he wanted to keep playing for the 1:35 payout and won another bet on red.
• David mocked the gamblers who had lost betting on black, and they clenched their fists and moved toward him as the crowd scattered.

David ignored Diana’s pleas and gambled away their remaining chips after a string of wins, leaving both of them devastated. The couple ended the chapter on the cruise ship with their last hope gone and their financial future in ruin.

• After other gamblers cursed David and left, Diana feared he would lose their money, but he pushed all fifty thousand in chips toward red.
• David softened when Diana begged him to stop and bet forty thousand on red, keeping ten thousand aside as a cushion.
• The wheel landed on black twenty-one, and David lost the forty thousand while Diana broke down in fear.
• David ignored Diana’s pleas and bet the remaining ten thousand on red, convinced he would win back his losses.
• The wheel landed on black thirteen, and the staff collected David’s last chips.
• Diana collapsed in tears, and David held her as guilt replaced his frenzy.

David returned to the dice table after losing everything at roulette, convinced he could recover his money by following Bellatrix’s bets. His imagined betting pattern led him to wager all his remaining chips and lose them, leaving him furious at the casino and Diana weeping.

• David urged Diana to exchange their last cash for chips and returned to the dice table, where Bellatrix had been winning.
• Diana brought David a little over two hundred in chips, and Bellatrix cautioned him to bet carefully before he followed her small wager and won.
• David’s chips fluctuated through alternating wins and losses until he devised a betting pattern that seemed to produce small gains.
• Impatient with his slow progress, David bet all his chips on a round he believed was guaranteed to win, but the dice came up differently and he lost everything.
• David accused the casino of cheating, but the dealer denied any manipulation as security approached; Diana wept, and Bellatrix warned David that the most frightening thing about gambling was thinking he had won.

After losing all their chips, David begged Diana to find Collard for help delaying the bank’s repossession of their home, then asked Bellatrix for a loan. Bellatrix agreed to lend him chips without interest, leaving David with renewed hope and an opportunity to gamble again.

• David pleaded with Diana to find Collard and ask for money, and she reluctantly agreed after he promised not to approach loan sharks.
• Diana warned David to wait for her in the casino, and he promised he would.
• After Diana left, David noticed Bellatrix’s chips and asked her to lend him some so he could keep gambling.
• Bellatrix initially refused, warning that lending him money would deepen his losses.
• David explained that he and Diana might lose their home, and Bellatrix relented, lending him chips without interest.

David broke his promise to Bellatrix and took her borrowed chips to a blackjack table, while Diana searched for Collard and found Draco nearing a hundred consecutive slot-machine losses. Diana called out to him as the crowd gathered, and the chapter left them facing one another amid onlookers expecting a family confrontation.

• David lied to Bellatrix that he was going to the restroom, then went to blackjack to try to win back his losses with her chips.
• Diana returned to the slot machines hoping to find Collard and thank him, but discovered Draco surrounded by a crowd after ninety-five consecutive losses.
• Draco lost his ninety-ninth round, prompting gamblers to urge him to play once more and reach a hundred straight losses.
• Diana pushed through the crowd and called to Draco, drawing every onlooker's attention.
• Draco told the crowd to clear off, and most scattered nearby while continuing to watch Diana approach him.

Draco comforted Diana after she broke down over David’s gambling losses, then refused to lend her money and offered her a paid job as his gambling assistant. Diana doubted the offer because Draco kept losing, and he asked what else could help someone win.

• Draco noticed Diana’s red eyes and gently coaxed her into explaining that David had lost everything.
• Diana calmed down as Draco joked about his hundred-loss challenge, while nearby spectators praised him for soothing her.
• Draco refused Diana’s request to borrow money, warning that David would lose whatever she gave him.
• Draco offered Diana a salary to assist him with gambling and promised to give her half of any winnings.
• Diana questioned how working with Draco could help her earn money when his luck was so bad, and Draco asked what else mattered besides luck.

Draco offered Diana a bet on the next spin of a slot machine, intending to give her a thousand if he lost and help her through her financial troubles. Diana accepted an onlooker’s suggested kiss as the stake, but Draco rejected it and pulled the lever, expecting to lose and give her the money.

• Draco asked Diana to be his assistant and offered to bet that his next slot-machine spin would win, promising her a thousand if he lost.
• An onlooker suggested Diana ask Draco for a kiss if she lost, and Draco angrily rejected the suggestion, reminding him that Diana had a husband.
• Diana interpreted Draco’s offer as a discreet attempt to help her and agreed to the bet, including the suggested stake.
• Draco declared the kiss bet void and pulled the slot-machine lever, expecting to lose and give Diana the money.

Draco won a slot-machine spin despite trying to avoid the bet, and Diana kissed him before declaring herself his assistant. Diana insisted on betting again to repay his help, so Draco secretly made the next spin lose to end the wager.

• Draco and Diana were stunned when the slot machine paid out after a winning spin.
• Draco told Diana she did not have to honor their agreement, but Diana kissed him and said she would be his assistant.
• An onlooker urged Diana to bet again, and Draco drove him away before telling Diana not to risk more money.
• Diana decided to make one last bet, arguing that she did not want to owe Draco too much.
• Draco secretly manipulated the next spin into a losing result, and Diana cheered as the bet ended.

After Diana accidentally kissed Draco and he touched her chest while trying to push her off, the two recovered from their embarrassment and resumed their casino game. Draco made Diana put their last coin into the slot machine, promising she would win, and asked what multiplier she wanted to hit.

• Diana threw herself onto Draco to thank him, and her kiss sent them both crashing to the floor.
• Draco accidentally grabbed Diana's chest while trying to push her away, leaving them both embarrassed.
• Diana teased Draco about being a virgin, and he told her to keep a proper distance if she wanted to remain his assistant.
• Draco handed Diana their last coin and ordered her to put it into the slot machine, guaranteeing she would win.
• Diana inserted the coin and asked Draco what to do next, and he asked which multiplier she wanted.

Draco guided Diana through three consecutive slot-machine wins, each matching the multiplier she chose, and the crowd gathered around them. As Diana blushed over Draco’s claim that he had blessed her lips, he asked what multiplier she wanted for the next round.

• Diana chose a one-times bet, and she and Draco won the payout.
• Draco persuaded Diana to risk two coins by promising her ten thousand if they lost, and they won again.
• Diana chose a three-times multiplier, and the machine paid out after matching the symbols once more.
• Draco joked that he had blessed Diana’s lips, making her blush as they realized nearby gamblers had gathered to watch.
• The crowd debated whether their streak was luck, while Draco asked Diana what multiplier she wanted for the next round.

Diana repeatedly named slot-machine payouts, and every spin Draco encouraged her to make won, drawing a crowd of astonished spectators. After Diana called for and hit the fifty-times jackpot, the onlookers wondered whether the machine could grant wishes.

• Diana bet all three coins on three cherries and won five times, exciting the crowd.
• Diana called for three oranges and won ten times, then hugged Draco's arm in delight.
• Diana bet on three bells and won twenty times, prompting the crowd to press around the machine.
• Diana hugged Draco and kissed his cheek, then blushed as bystanders teased her about getting excited again.
• Diana bet three coins on three sevens and won the fifty-times jackpot, leaving the crowd stunned and asking her to call their bets.

Diana repeatedly won jackpots on the wishing machine and celebrated by embracing and kissing Draco. After accumulating 1,721 coins, she realized her backpack could no longer hold them.

• Diana lunged into Draco after their first win, and he caught her as the crowd cheered.
• Draco asked whether Diana wanted the wishing machine to work on another machine, and she eagerly agreed.
• Diana wished for a hundred-times payout with three BARs, and the machine produced the jackpot.
• Overcome with joy, Diana knocked Draco to the floor and kissed him before announcing she wanted to keep hitting BARs.
• Diana won four more times, raising their total to 1,721 coins, then panicked because her backpack was overflowing.

Draco and Diana exchanged their winnings for chips and continued through the casino, drawing a crowd convinced they would keep winning. Diana hit an extraordinary six-BAR jackpot, then realized she had impulsively clung to Draco in front of everyone.

• Draco helped Diana exchange more than 1,700 coins for three high-value chips after she worried her bag would overflow.
• Diana calculated that they could reach fifty thousand by winning at twenty-seven more machines, and told Draco she trusted his promise that they would keep winning.
• When a gambler teased Diana about kissing Draco, Draco warned him not to pick on his assistant, and the man quickly apologized.
• Diana pulled the lever on a new slot machine and won six BARs, sending a huge pile of coins into the collection tray.
• Diana leapt into Draco's arms in excitement, then blushed and apologized after he reminded her that the crowd was watching.