“Are you sure about this?” Naomi gave you a worried look as the two of you stepped inside the casino. It was packed with people who were yelling either out of joy or anguish, the sound mixing with the high-pitched chimes of the machines.
You didn’t spare your best friend a glance as you scanned the room, a grin on your lips. “You worry too much, Nao! What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Well, for starters -“
But you had already taken off, weaving your way through throngs of people. She groaned, hurrying to catch up to you. She couldn’t help but wonder how it had come to this but the answer was fairly simple: Daemon Spade. The mist guardian knew how gullible you were and never missed the opportunity to take advantage of that. And this time? You just happened to mention that you had never been gambling before while watching a movie in which the main character won an insane amount of money on a slot machine.
━━━━━━༻one day earlier༺━━━━━━
“Hm, that looks easy enough.”
Daemon had been passing by the living room when he heard those words and he paused, a smirk making his way to his lips as he approached you. “What looks easy?”
You motioned toward the TV. “Gambling. He pulled the handle and won a fortune, it looks easy!”
“Oh, it is quite easy, fufufufu. Would you like to learn how?”
Your eyes sparkled as you looked at him, hugging the small pillow to your chest. “Yes, please!”
“There’s one particular machine where you’re guaranteed to win every single time, but it’s located on the other side of town.”
“Really?” You jumped up, invading his personal space but he held his ground. “Which one?!”
His smirk widened. ‘Like taking a candy from a baby.’
When you had passed this information on to your best friend, asking her to accompany you to the casino, she was sure that Spade was just messing with you again, but you were stubborn as a bull and refused to listen to her warnings. You were determined to find that damned machine and become a millionaire!
And there it was, a machine of pure gold sitting in the center of the casino.
Your eyes lit up as you walked in circles around it, taking in every detail. It was shining brightly, almost as if it had its own spotlight.
Naomi frowned. Why was no one at this machine? Every other machine in the casino was taken with a line of people impatiently waiting for their turn and yet… there wasn’t a single person at this one. In fact, everyone seemed to be actively avoiding it, refusing to even look in its general direction. As if she didn’t already have a bad feeling, it was growing in the pit of her stomach.
“Alright!” You grinned, plopping down on one of the four stools that surrounded the machine. You had cashed in your savings, just over one thousand dollars, and now had a paper bucket filled with shiny coins that only worked on the machines inside the casino.
Naomi came up beside you, folding her arms over her chest. “Y/N, I really don’t think this is a good idea… just think about it for a moment! If you lose all of your savings, you’ll jus have to rely even more on Giotto, right?”
That made you pause, your smile slowly falling. You could deal with a lot of things, but being a burden to your boyfriend? It was honestly the worst feeling in the world. “But don’t you see, Nao? This is why I have to! At this rate, I can never hope to repay the kindness he’s shown me so I have to take the chance!”
The truth of the matter was that you had been poor, living in an old rundown house that barely passed as livable. You couldn’t hold down a job because you were a bit slow on the uptake, something no one wanted to deal with. You had actually met Giotto while working part-time at a cafe but you had been promptly fired after you accidentally spilled his coffee on his lap. You had apologized profusely before begging your boss to give you one more chance, but he had already given you more chances than you deserved.
To this day, you’re still not sure if Giotto took pity on you or if he genuinely saw something within you, but he followed you from the cafe that day, offering you a job as his assistant. Only, he didn’t treat you like one. He rarely asked you to do anything for him and never scolded you when you fucked up, he would just smile softly and tell you it was alright. Not only that, but he even put you up in his family’s manor and bought you whatever you needed. He treated you kindly and was always patient with you. That’s why you fell in love with him, but you oftentimes felt as if you were taking advantage of that kindness.
‘But… if I really do hit the jackpot, I can finally pay him back!’ Determination filled you as you pulled a coin from the bucket, swallowing your nerves. ‘Daemon said that after twenty pulls, the jackpot is guaranteed! Let’s get this money!’ You grinned, sliding the coin into the tiny slot on the machine.
━━━━━━༻❃༺━━━━━━
Giotto sat at his desk, relaxing in his chair as he read over the document G had given him that morning. It had been a hectic day for him and he was only just getting around to reading it. Just as he lowered the pen to the page, the office doors burst open followed by you running into the room with tears in your eyes. This put him on high alert, but he remained calm so he could assess the situation.
You fell to your knees in front of him, your arms around his waist as you sobbed into his shirt.
“Mi amore, whatever is the matter?” he inquired softly, running his hand through your hair.
You sniffled, slowly explaining what had transpired over the past couple of days. “I went to the casino with my savings and I was so sure that I would win but the tokens just kept disappearing and I kept thinking ‘this will definitely be the one!’ but it was never the one, Giotto, I’m so sorry!”
“Breath, my love,” Giotto frowned as he processed this information. “What would possess you to go gambling?”
You felt embarrassed telling him the truth, but you knew he deserved to know so you told him everything. “I-I’m sorry! I just wanted to pay you back so bad and I was so sure I could win…”
He cupped your cheeks gently, using his thumb to wipe away your tears. “Mi amore, you don’t have to pay me back. I’m more than happy to provide for you and I expect nothing in return.”
“That’s the problem!” you frowned, hand resting over his own. “You’re too nice to me and you’re totally letting me take advantage of that!”
A smile slid onto his lips. “Y/N, you are the love of my life and I will always be here to take care of you. It’s my job as your future husband, after all.”
Your eyes widened, meeting those beautiful orange eyes you had grown to love. “You… want to marry me?”
“Of course, I do.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Promise me you won’t return to the casino.”
“I promise…”
“Good. Shall we dine out tonight? We can visit whatever restaurant you’d like.”
“Sure!” You grinned, pulling yourself to your feet. “I’ll go get ready!”
His eyes followed you from the room before he stood up. Giotto was a kind and patient man, but he did not enjoy Daemon using you as a plaything, something he had warned the male about on multiple occasions already. Yes, he was kind and patient, until someone fucked with his beloved Y/N.
He straightened his tie as he stepped out of his office, intent on finding his mist guardian and giving him a piece of his mind.
