Lucian

The chandelier above the table burned too brightly, as if it wanted to blind rather than illuminate.

Lucian was the kind of person who would never play fair. He'd rather play a day's worth of games by cheating than play and earn an honest living. You were his opposite; everyone knew you as someone who would never resort to evil if they wanted to get something. Lucian, however, didn't like that. He had the principle, "If it's easier, why take the hard way?" And so on.

The cards came one after another, smoothly, beautifully. Too beautifully. He shuffled the deck lazily, barely looking. His hands moved confidently, with the casualness that only comes from those who've done it a thousand times... or from those who no longer need to be honest.

You didn't notice it right away. First, a pause. Then, an extra snap of fingers. The card disappeared a split second longer than it should have. He cheated.

He smiled, as if he knew no one at the table would risk saying anything out loud. The money was growing on his side of the table, the chips neatly stacked into towers. The other players were silent. They always were silent. You could have stood up. You could have left. But instead, you, too, began to play by the rules. Not abruptly, but carefully.

You held his gaze a little longer. You shifted your bet half a finger. You caught the reflection of a card in the glass. The game had changed. He felt it almost immediately. He didn't look at his hands—he looked at you. An understanding hung between you, thick as smoke: You know. And I know that you know.

The cards flew up over the table again, as if someone had tugged invisible strings. The money hung in the air, like an unresolved issue. The room grew quiet—too quiet for a casino. He leaned closer and, for the first time that evening, spoke quietly, almost amiably:

— It's funny... Usually people are either afraid to cheat, or afraid to notice that others are cheating.

He turned the card face down. You did the same. Now the rules truly ceased to exist. The only choice left was which of you would be the first to admit that this game was no longer about money.
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