Chapter 7

Jenny’s pov

I paused mid-step, his words wrapping around me like a vice. Do you think I don’t love you, Jenny?

For a split second, I almost turned back. Almost let myself believe there was even a shred of truth in his words. But then I remembered the whispers, the laughter, the gut-wrenching humiliation when I realized I had been nothing more than a conquest to him.

I clenched my fists, shoving down the pain clawing at my chest. "It doesn’t matter anymore," I said without looking at him. "Because I don’t love you."

The lie burned my tongue, but I forced myself to say it. To believe it.

I walked away, my heart pounding in my ears, refusing to let him see the tears that threatened to spill.

The days that followed were a blur of avoidance. I stopped waiting in the usual spots where we met, skipped lunch in the cafeteria, and ignored every text and call from him. But it didn’t stop Rex.

He was everywhere. Waiting outside my classes, lingering near my locker, trying to get Vanessa to talk to me for him. But I had made up my mind.

"You’re being strong," Vanessa told me one afternoon as we sat in the library. "But I see how much this is hurting you."

I swallowed hard, my fingers tracing the edge of my Stanford acceptance letter. "I have no choice, Vanessa. He destroyed me."

She hesitated, then sighed. "Then why do you keep looking for him in every room you walk into?"

I stiffened. "I don’t."

“You do," she said softly. "But it’s okay, Jenny. Loving someone doesn’t just disappear overnight. But he’s not worth your heart if he never truly valued it in the first place."

I nodded, even though a part of me still ached for what could have been.

I thought Rex would eventually give up, move on the way guys like him always did. But he didn’t.

The school hallways that used to buzz with whispers about us now carried a different energy—pity. Everyone had heard the truth by now, and while some of the girls took satisfaction in my humiliation, most of the students seemed genuinely shocked by how broken Rex appeared.

His cocky, confident exterior was gone. His usual smirk replaced with a tight jaw and bloodshot eyes. Even Kade looked at him like he was a ticking bomb.

One afternoon, as I walked out of school after filling some paper works, I spotted him waiting for me. Again.

This time, he wasn’t alone.

Rachel Madison, the queen bee of our school, stood beside him. She’d always been one of the girls who had tried to get Rex’s attention, and now, with me out of the picture, it seemed she was ready to strike.

“Aw, poor little Jenny," she sneered. "Still pouting over a high school fling?"

I rolled my eyes, already walking past her, but she wasn’t finished.

“Come on, Jenny, did you really think someone like Rex would stay with someone like you? I mean, look at you—pathetic, desperate, so easy to fool."

I froze. My blood ran cold, but I refused to react.

“Rachel, shut the hell up," Rex snapped.

She pouted, tilting her head toward him. "Oh, come on, Rex. Don’t tell me you actually miss her? There are way better girls lining up for you."

Rex’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening in a way that made my stomach twist. "There is no better girl than her," he said.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

Rachel scoffed. "Seriously? You’re still chasing after her? Ugh. Whatever, your loss." She flipped her hair and strutted off.

Rex turned to me, his expression raw. "Jenny, please," he whispered.

I stared at him for a long moment, feeling my anger waver, my heart betraying me with every unspoken word.

But then I thought about the bet. The betrayal and humiliation. The fact that he let me believe I was special when I had only been a game.

I took a step back. "It’s over, Rex. You have to accept that."

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. "I don’t think I can." he said.

My heart clenched, but I forced myself to hold my ground. "Then that’s your problem, not mine. We can't be together Mr lover boy, I no longer want to be one of your victims.”

And with that, I walked away.

But as I turned the corner, my breath shaky, one thought haunted me.

If it was just a bet… then why did his eyes look so damn broken?

I was confused, Rex look broken from that day, does he truly love me as he said or he is acting again? I thought to myself.