Jaycee was speechless. She knew that Amos wasn’t from a well-to-do family and it wouldn’t be easy for him to get that kind of money to buy her the branded wallet. Though Amos claimed that he had used his savings, she wasn’t completely convinced. Nevertheless, she accepted the gift but not before she made him promise not to squander his savings buying her expensive gift again.

Amos had actually made a large gamble to get the cash needed to buy the wallet. He was glad that everything had turned out as planned. Unknown to Jaycee, he was a seasoned gambler. He had been involved in football betting since he was introduced to it by his friends when he turned 18. He had started out small and had been quite successful in winning extra pocket money. However, the more often he won the more confident he became and he began placing bigger bets. The bet he placed with part of his tuition fee had been his largest thus far. He was again able to predict the results accurately. Lucky? Perhaps, but for how long?

Though he had promised Jaycee not to be a spendthrift, he still couldn’t stop himself from showering her with branded stuff whenever he made a winning. Initially, Jaycee would express her disapproval but when she sensed Amos’ sincerity, she decided not to be a spoilsport. Not wanting Jaycee to feel bad about accepting his gifts, he decided to tell her the truth about his 'source of income'. Jaycee found it hard to believe him, dismissing it as a lame joke but when he showed her the bet tickets, she was dumbfounded. It had never occurred to her that her dear Amos could be a gambler and a damned good one too. Soon, they were living life on the ‘high side’, dining at posh restaurants and shopping at high-end retail stores.

All these while, Amos was financing the high expenses by placing bigger bets and when luck wasn’t on his side, he resorted to borrowing from his friends. As time passed, he found it difficult to keep up with the high living and not wanting Jaycee to be worried, he kept his financial woes from her. Soon he was desperate. It seemed that the more he tried to recoup his losses, the more he lost and the deeper he fell into the debt trap. Eventually, Amos didn’t even have the spare cash to place any more bets. No bet meant no chance of winning, no winnings meant unsettled debts. Just as he was spiralling into a state of despair, a pal who knew of his predicament offered to introduce someone who would loan him cash at 'reasonable' rate. Amos knew that he was referring to an illegal lender and understood the dire consequences of getting a loan from one. He had seen how his neighbour being harassed by loan sharks. He couldn't imagine himself ending up likewise and decided against turning to one.

A friend, whom Amos had got a loan from earlier, came looking for him one morning at his campus. He needed him to repay the loan as he had an urgent need for it. Amos was caught off guard. Though it wasn’t a big sum and Amos had promised to repay him asap, he was definitely not able to raise the money then. However, his friend said that he needed the money for a family emergency. Amos was apologetic and promised to return the money in a couple of days. Having given his word, Amos had to think of a way to raise the money quickly and the only person he knew who had the kind of money to lend him was ……..........