A Bet That Changed My Life

Almost everyone there got involved.“That’s a huge bet. Running off from her wedding with you? No way. Count me in.”“That’s right. Ruth might be a simp, but I don’t believe she’d stoop that low.”My hand trembled as I held the phone. I pressed the screen to end the call repeatedly, but couldn’t hang up. A tear fell without warning, sliding off my chin and landing right on the speaker button. In a panic, I hurriedly shut the phone off.I stared blankly ahead and then suddenly laughed. Ridiculous and pathetic was what my relationship with Finn had become. Everyone knew I had feelings for him, but no one knew that Finn and I had once been together for a long time. Before Finn went abroad to study, he told me to wait for him for three years. He said once he was successful, he would come back and marry me. However, when I finally saw him again, he was surrounded by women. With him having made it, I asked him if he still remembered what he had said to me back then. The look in his e

Marcus picked up a glass of punch.We leaned quietly against the wall beside the stage, side by side. After a moment, he suddenly asked, “You still haven’t told me why you were at the city hall that day.”I wasn’t great with alcohol. I could feel warmth slowly creeping up my face.I narrowed my eyes and thought for a moment before replying, “It was just a coincidence, I guess.”In truth, that day was my birthday. I hadn’t been in touch with Finn for a while when he suddenly contacted me, saying he had a birthday surprise for me. Even though I didn’t believe him, as I had been fooled by him more times than I could count, I still went, pathetically hoping to see it for myself.When I was near the city hall, a loud rumbling sound suddenly thundered overhead. A helicopter scattering flower petals flew above me. Finn was sitting inside.My heart skipped a beat. The petals were custom-made, each one unusually large, with words printed on them. I picked one up and unfolded it, my hands

Thinking back carefully, Finn had barely worn that coat more than a few times. I rushed into the store, grabbed Marcus, and studied his face closely.He touched his chin, asking, “Hm? Is there something on my face?”“No… that’s not it.”Something was wrong. Then, it hit me. An image from Finn’s social media suddenly surfaced in my mind, and one of the people in that photo was Marcus.I froze in shock for a long moment.“You… You and Finn know each other?”Marcus curled his lips into a smirk, responding in a vague, noncommittal way. “Maybe. But he didn’t seem to recognize me just now.”He was wearing sunglasses, after all. He did look different from his usual self. As for my wedding invitation, Finn probably hadn’t even bothered to look at it.Marcus narrowed his long eyes slightly.“There happens to be a gathering party of friends tomorrow. Go, and you’ll find out.”The next day, I arrived a little later after buying something. At the door, I could hear noise coming from in

With that, I pulled Marcus out the door.Inside the private room, Finn clenched his fists, head down, completely still. Some people couldn’t stand watching anymore, and one of them tried to reason with him. “Finn, don’t be mad. She’s just a simp. She’s totally not worth it.”“Yeah, Ruth’s not even that special. She can’t compare to the other girls around you.”“Hey, should I bring her back so you two can talk it out properly?”“There’s no way!” Finn suddenly snapped. “Everybody knows Ruth would do anything for me. I refuse to believe she could stay away from me!”Even as I walked away, I could hear his voice clearly. That phrase about me doing anything for him sounded familiar, and it reminded me of the time when we were in college.Finn and I were on separate campuses, and every time I tried to stay with him a little longer, I’d end up leaving really late. By then, the shuttle buses were gone, and I had to take a small path to make it back before the dorms closed. There were n

After we got home, I noticed Marcus could barely look me in the eyes. Hence, during dinner, I reached out and pressed down on his fork. He looked up, met my gaze, and immediately looked away again.“Marcus, is something wrong?”“No.”All of a sudden, he reminded me of a puppy that knew it had messed up. I couldn’t help laughing.“Just say it.”“I… I’m afraid you’d be mad.”“Mad about what?”He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I hung up your call without asking. And I… I didn’t want you to see Finn yet.”I froze for a moment.Honestly, since marrying Marcus, we actually weren’t that close yet. However, hanging up a phone call wasn’t a big deal, and as for Finn…“I don’t care,” I said calmly. “I didn’t want to see him anyway.”The moment I said that, I noticed Marcus’s eyes redden slightly. He let out a hoarse laugh.“I’m sorry. Maybe I’m just asking for too much. But Ruth, there’s one thing I’d like to know: why did you marry me?”I thought about it and then said, “Because yo