What was the old expression; he who hesitates is lost? Except that Chanyeol was the one hesitating here. It was her who’d lost.

From his pause, she realized he wasn’t ever going to be interested in marrying her. She had to face facts, she’d got carried away in the romance of it all — there was no longer any point in carrying on this charade.

With her heart lying like a sick shadow on the floor, she grinned up at him. "Just kidding, Chanyeol. You’ve really been a great sport through all this. The best!"

She rose up on tiptoes once more and pecked his cheek. "With that kiss, I release you from . You can go back to being free."

The baffled look on his face helped her to believe she might just pull off this deception without having a nervous breakdown in front of him.

"The moment your secretary mentioned the auction, I couldn’t resisting urging her to get you to sign up for it. I thought it would be a lot of fun to attend, but I didn’t expect to outbid everyone else. After all, I knew you’d be the most gorgeous bachelor up there. I figured some woman CEO with a lot of bucks would double my top offer."

His black brows knit together ominously. "Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money for anyone to throw away just for the hell of it."

Ouch- He sounded angry, but she wasn’t worried. She’d wounded his pride, not his heart, which had been buried when he’d lost his fiancée.

"Agreed, but it was for a worthy cause. Besides, I have a little confession to make. Before grandpa died, he taught me how to win at craps. I got really good at it and won some money. But I never felt right about it. The charity auction seemed the perfect time to repent my sins."

She lifted her softly rounded chin. "I can honestly tell you I’ve given up gambling forever." Her voice wobbled, adding credibility to her declaration which was only the truth.

She’d taken her last gamble on him, knowing that if it didn’t turn out the way she wanted, she would suffer the emotional consequences forever. If her parents could talk to her right now, they’d tell her it served her right.

"You look worn out, Chanyeol. Go home and get a good sleep. Don’t forget your cell phone." She walked to the foyer and opened the door while she waited for him.

"See you in the morning at your office," she said in a bright voice when he appeared in the small entry hall. "And don’t worry-" She winked at him. "I’ll be on time."

His face looked like an avenging warrior’s before he disappeared outside without saying anything. She closed the door to a crack so she could watch until he got in his car and sped away as if the BMW were a missile.

On the of nine the next morning, Nayoung entered his office. The outer door was unlocked, but his secretary was nowhere in sight.

"Hello?" she called out.

"Come all the way in, Nayoung."

She jumped. Now that she was here, she was afraid. What was she going to do? After crying all night, her eyelids were so puffy they lo