All Chapters of A Bet That Changed My Life: Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

I had never been afraid of loving someone, but with Finn, that had backfired on me. Even so, I believed every bit of sincerity deserved an equal return.Before bed, I scrolled through my phone and noticed that Finn had bought a bunch of headlines to announce his wedding. Judging by the timing, they were planning to get married tomorrow. The front pages showed Sophie holding his hand, and the two kissing passionately.I hadn’t been paying attention when several forwarded messages popped up—someone had sent me the news. Looking closely, it was from a friend of Finn I’d added before, but soon after, the message was deleted.“Sorry, I sent it by mistake.”I remembered this person wasn’t usually so cold. It meant that on the other end of the phone was probably Finn himself. What a boring little trick, and I didn’t bother responding.Marcus came out of the bathroom, and I looked up. My eyes instantly widened. For the rare first time, he was wrapped in nothing but a towel, exposing his b

I was on an island with Marcus. I had taken my annual leave. For two weeks, Marcus had planned several destinations for us.I wore sunglasses, basked in the sun, and felt completely at ease. Days without any worries were rare and precious. Marcus, on the other hand, kept getting notifications on his phone. Yet, a smile never left his face.I leaned closer to him.“What’s so funny?” I asked.He reached out and ruffled my hair, praising me, “Those sunglasses look great on you.”“Of course they do!” I squinted and smiled.With Marcus, I didn’t have to try to impress him. He would research our travel spots in advance, and I would buy outfits that matched his style. I realized then that being in a relationship could be so easy and enjoyable.For several days, our trip went smoothly. Occasionally, our schedule would change. Marcus would look at his phone and tell me our flight had been moved forward by a few hours, or that the order of our destinations had shifted. I didn’t worry or c

I stood there in silence, watching everything unfold, finding it absurd. I took a deep breath, lifted my heel, and stomped down hard on Finn’s foot. The moment he staggered in pain, I yanked my hand free and shook my wrist.“You are disgusting,” I said coldly. “Coming to me with this… Do you think it makes you look devoted, or that I’d forgive you?”“I–”“Oh, or am I even qualified to talk about forgiveness?” I cut in. “After you came back from studying abroad, you were never short on women. Compared to them, an ex like me isn’t worth mentioning. In your eyes, I probably don’t even count as a person; I’m just a backup you can keep around for life.”Finn denied it over and over again. “No. That’s not what I think. I just didn’t realize… that I still love you.”I snickered. “You can take your time realizing that. Anyway, all I want to say is that people like you make me sick just looking at you. As for what you think, it has nothing to do with me.”With that, I turned and walked aw

After that, I didn’t see Finn for many days. There was no way he’d suddenly learned to behave himself. I knew, more likely than not, that Marcus had stepped in and stopped him for me.One time, I was out having dinner with a friend.She leaned in, clearly excited to share some gossip. “Finn got beaten up recently. He’s in the hospital. Did you know that?”I hadn’t heard that name in a long time and couldn’t help feeling a little curious.After Finn returned from studying abroad, he had built up quite a bit of capital and connections. Just through investments alone, he’d accumulated a decent fortune. For someone like him to get beaten up, who would have the guts?“It was Sophie,” my friend said. “The rich heiress couldn’t take the humiliation.”I swirled the wine in my glass.Well, that explained it. I had barely interacted with the women around Finn. To him, any one of them was just for fun; they were no different from me.Sophie, however, was one of the few he had seriously pu

Winter was nearly over when I received the last phone call from Finn. In my memory, he had always seemed a little unhinged and a bit off his mind at times. However, that day, he spoke with surprising clarity.“Ruth, is that you?”I sighed and said, “Finn, you’ve changed your number way too many times.”There was a long pause, followed by a bitter, quiet laugh on the other end. Neither of us said anything. There was just a dry, heavy silence.As I was about to hang up, he suddenly said, “Ruth, the doctors say I have cancer. I don’t have long to live.”I responded softly, “Then make the most of your time.”The next second, he choked back a sob and started crying on the phone. Finn had always been a proud and arrogant man. I couldn’t imagine anything that would make him cry.He asked me, “Ruth, if I hadn’t gone abroad back then, do you think we’d be married by now?”I shook my head, firm in my answer. “No.”Even now, Finn was finding excuses for his failures. However, temptation