Chapter 1

The biting, sarcastic voice of my fiancee, Madison Hodge, rang out once more.

"Can you stop eating? I can see your double chin already. Do you seriously expect me to marry you when you look as fat and ugly as a pig? I'm warning you. If you don't get your weight down to 140 pounds, you can forget about us getting married!"

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, having just gotten over the shock of hearing my cat, Furball's, thoughts.

Standing at 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds meant I had a perfectly healthy body weight, but Madison said I looked like a pig.

All along, out of my deep love for her, I tried my best to lose weight. I ate one meal a day and worked out like crazy all the time. Despite how starved and exhausted I was, I was desperate to lose the weight and earn her approval.

Yet, not only did she not care about how hard it was for me, but she kept mocking me with snide remarks.

I was beyond disheartened.

Meanwhile, Daniel Webb stuffed the imported fruits I bought into his bag while chiming in to agree with her.

"She's right, Greg. Not only do you have a double chin now, but your arms are so thick and flabby. You've got way too much excess fat. It looks like you might even knock Madison out cold with a single slap.

"Hey, you're not just lying about trying to lose weight, right? Have you been secretly stuffing your mouth with food this whole time? If you put on any more weight, Madison might seriously dump you. Don't come crying to me when that happens."

Before I could say anything, Furball's thoughts came flooding again.

"You despicable man! The only reason my master hasn't lost any weight is because of that horrible Weight Swapping System you used on him! Every single pound he worked hard to lose ends up coming off your body instead!

"Meanwhile, you spend all your time gorging on the richest and fattiest food you can find, and every single pound you gain ends up on his body. That's why he keeps putting on weight!

"Master, even though you're just cannon fodder in this book, you're supposed to live a very fortunate life. You have to stay away from this awful pair. Not only will they take your life, but they'll even use your money to start a company and rise to the top!"

After hearing Furball's rants, I looked at Daniel's gloating expression and felt my heart clench painfully.

Daniel and I met in high school, and we'd been friends ever since. Our decade-long friendship lasted through graduation and our joint hustle since then.

Whenever he needed money, I handed it over without question. When he didn't have a place to stay, I took him in without hesitation. Even when he had an emotional breakdown, I was the one who stayed with him to pull him back together.

I thought we were the best of friends—but it turned out that he'd been stabbing me in the back all along.

Nevertheless, if Furball's thoughts were true, it wasn't time for me to confront Madison and Daniel just yet.

"Greg Jefferson! Are you deaf? Why aren't you talking?" Madison snapped impatiently.

Suppressing my anger, I replied with a smile, "I heard you. I'll do my best to lose weight, so you guys don't have to worry about it."

"Really?" Daniel's eyes shone gleefully. "Well, then, you'd better put your back into it! You should probably lose 30 pounds. You'd look best if you weighed about 130 pounds."

He kept emphasizing my weight, which made my gaze turn icy. Still, I deliberately leaned in close to Madison and said, "Of course. Since my fiancee wants me to lose weight, I should definitely do as she says. Otherwise, I won't be able to be the handsome groom she wants to see on her wedding day."

Madison nodded in satisfaction.