Chapter 3

Daniel had even gotten a new haircut. All in all, he looked pretty handsome now.

Acting like I couldn't see the smug look in his eyes, I pretended to grumble in frustration, "I don't know how this happened either. I barely eat anything all day, and my coach supervises me each time I exercise, so why haven't I lost any weight?"

Daniel could barely stop himself from grinning at the sight of my defeatedness and despair.

"Maybe it's just fate. I was probably born lucky. No matter how much fried chicken and burgers I eat every day, I still manage to slim down and keep the weight off. Don't you think so, Maddie?" he remarked.

Madison was a pragmatic woman—almost to a fault, really. Even though she'd always scorned Daniel in the past, now that he looked a lot more attractive, she began speaking to him in a much gentler tone.

"That's right, Danny. With a body like yours, any woman would feel proud to be by your side in public."

After the two exchanged a flirtatious glance, she began to put pressure on me again.

"Take a look at yourself, Greg! Compare yourself to Danny. Shouldn't guys have a bit more self-awareness? Aren't you ashamed of being as fat as you are?" she snapped. "I'm warning you. You'd better lose the weight. Or else, if you can't even get into your wedding suit and end up embarrassing me at the wedding, I won't go easy on you!

"Also, you can forget about the buffet tonight. Danny can go with me instead. Lose the weight first, then I'll agree to let you take me to a buffet."

Daniel flicked his hair. "Exactly, Greg. Stay home and exercise hard tonight. Since you weren't blessed with a good physique, you're just going to have to work twice as hard to stay slim."

I didn't respond.

However, Furball bared his teeth and ranted in his head. "You horrible man! You're the one who stole my master's weight-loss efforts, yet you're being all snarky toward him. You shameless, terrible man!

"And I haven't forgotten about you, you awful woman! How dare you boss my master around when you rely on him for money, huh? Without him, you won't even be able to keep yourself alive!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

Once I saw that Madison and Daniel had left the house, I scooped up Furball and started kissing him again. "It's alright, Furball. It's too early to see who's going to have the last laugh."

A week later, I was at work when the phone app for the surveillance system I installed at the house suddenly alerted me that someone had entered my room.

Even though Madison and I were about to get married, I insisted on sleeping in separate bedrooms. She usually never entered my room, so I had to check the footage to see what was going on.

I ended up seeing that it was Daniel who'd snuck into my room and was digging through my closet. In the end, he pulled out a set of luxurious men's pajamas that I'd been too reluctant to wear this whole time.

He had no qualms about stripping himself naked and putting the pajamas on. As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he muttered, "Since we want to make things exciting, we should go all the way."

When Madison came in, he even unbuttoned the pajama top before lying down on my bed. "Maddie, do you want to feel my abs?"

Smirking, she walked over to him and said, "What a naughty boy you are."

The two of them were soon wrapped in each other's arms, rolling across my bed.

The veins along my forehead started throbbing. The bed had been defiled now. I had to throw it out at once, or I wouldn't be able to stop myself from puking.

Once they'd done the deed, Daniel continued to hold Madison close. "Maddie, what do you think will happen if Greg fails to lose weight? I'm his best man, and I'll look far more handsome when I stand beside him. Will he feel embarrassed because of that?"

Madison kissed him passionately before replying, "As if he'd had the audacity to feel embarrassed by that. It's not like I never gave him any chances. All women adore handsome and attractive men. What's so wrong about me wanting him to lose all that excess weight?

"If he's still as fat as a pig by the time the wedding comes along and ends up embarrassing me, then he's the one who's in the wrong. I'll just find myself a new groom, and he won't have any right to get mad at me for that.

"When the time comes, I'll just marry you instead. Are you okay with that?"

Daniel hugged her tightly. "Of course I'll be happy to marry you."

The two of them exchanged a smile before getting it on again. They seemed to share a kind of tacit understanding about the situation.

I was also smiling to myself.

This was precisely what I wanted to see. The more smug and delighted they were now, the more satisfying it'd be for me once it all blew up in their faces later on.