"I have been watching you for a few days now because you barely sleep at night. Has work become this stressful or there is more to this?", Ella tried making him open up to her about what was wrong with him.
"It is just work dear, the CEO is putting me under so much pressure and it is getting into my head", he replied.
She got out of bed to join him on the sofa in their bedroom.
"Why not quit, you have the experience already and we can combine efforts to start your company", Ella persuaded him.
He laughed for a few seconds and held her hand before replying, "It is not as easy as you think, we need more than what we have to announce my presence in the industry".
She stood up and paced around the room thinking of a way out.
"What if we start small, build a brand, and get investors?", she asked.
"I don't want to depend on people who will start telling me how to run my thing", he replied.
Ella knew he wouldn't take her advice so she just stopped the discussion about him quitting the job.
"Dear, you have always handled things before now and you will solve any problem that you might be facing but you need to sleep so you can be in the right state of mind to think", Mary persuaded him as she gently rubbed his back.
He gave a faint smile and agreed to sleep.
Ella was on her way to the kitchen very early in the morning when she noticed Raphael phone buzzing, she took it and was surprised to see the message from one of his friends.
"Hello Raphael, I spoke to the guy and he promised to teach us about this casino thing. We will touch down there by night", she read out the message and woke him up.
"Are you thinking of gambling?", she asked with anger in her voice.
"What do you mean?", he asked and she stretched the phone to him.
"It is nothing, I felt that's the best way to raise what I really need", Raphael replied and they went on arguing about it for a while.
Ella showed her displeasure in gambling but she was silenced a few weeks later when Raphael came home with good news.
"I made my first win today, baby", he wrapped his hand around her while she was preparing dinner.
"That's good news", tell me more about it.
"I made about $15,000 just today alone", Raphael said with a big smile.
"Wow, if we add that to what's on ground then you are good to go", Ella said with so much excitement but the happiness on Raphael's face vanished.
She noticed it and asked if anything was wrong.
"I lost almost all my savings before I got this win and so far, it is just like recovering what I have lost. Anything I win again will be just an addition and I am learning very fast", he replied.
She felt disappointed and just shook her head.
"Try to understand me, the future is bright...", he tried explaining further but she walked out on him.
Raphael began losing distraction at work because he was getting addicted to the casino nightlife and he eventually lost his job.
"Now that you have lost the job, it's time to do the needful", Ella said to him after he broke the news about losing his job.
"Yes, I will. I just need to make more money", he replied.
"What if you lose it all, think Raphael", he left the dining angrily and Ella got mad at him as well.
Raphael came home the next day panting, "I won again, another $10,000".
"What did you lose this time? ", she asked.
"Nothing, I have the whole $25,000", Raphael boasted.
"Meaning, you are ready?", she asked with a smile.
"I still have one game this weekend, it is going to be a massive win. The take home is around $100,000 if I go in with $30,000 but I don't have enough", he replied.
"That's a lot of money, how do you intend to raise the balance", she asked.
"Please help me raise it, I promise to pay back", he pleaded.
Ella gave him this weird look and after much persuasion, she agreed to help him get a loan.
The next day, she sent the money to him. Raphael was happy and he went out with his friend just to have a few bottles of drinks.
While they were having fun, a man walked up to them and invited them to a game happening later that night at a nearby casino.
Raphael went home and told his wife about it. She advised him to give it a try while his friend refuse to be part of it.
He went there without his friend and Raphael started well that night but he ended up losing everything after playing the wrong card and he was bitter.
He left the place sad and he blamed Ella immediately after he arrived home. His friend blamed him as well for following his wife's advice.
Raphael began thinking, he started keeping a grudge against Ella and it made her sad. He tried raising money to register for the big game but couldn't.
His friend went for the big game but the story ended the same way. He lost everything because the competitors were pros.
He ended up just like Raphael and their gambling experience didn't end well.
On the same night Raphael's friend lost, Ella gave Raphael $30,000.
"Where did you get this huge amount of money?", he asked.
"I am sorry, Raphael. You didn't lose at the casino, everything was staged", she replied.
"Staged? How? Is this the same $30,000 I lost at the Casino?", there was anger in his voice this time.
"Yes it is, I spoke to someone about the big game you are talking about and he told me that you don't stand a chance. He said the organizers have professionals who were among the competitors and they have never been defeated so I asked my friend to help me so you wouldn't lose it all and keeping you away from the competition was all we could think of", she replied.
Raphael didn't believe everything he heard.
"Do you mean everything was your plan?", he asked again and she shed more light on how she told her friend to lure him to a different casino. She supported him and advise him to go so that they can secure the money he had.
Raphael was mad at her and went into the room.
The couple didn't speak to each other throughout the night but at daybreak, he served Ella breakfast in bed just to apologize for not listening to her.
"I could truly have lost everything and am sorry. I should set up my business now", he said while kneeling in front of her.