All Chapters of Giving up After 99 Bad Omens: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I ran into Clara Winslow again on my way out of the tarot studio. Her gaze paused on my swollen eyes for a couple of seconds before she looked away, her expression as calm as ever.Lylia Moss, who was standing beside her, was the one who broke the awkward silence. "Mr. Quinn, are you heading back?"My throat was still raw from crying, and it hurt too much to speak, so I merely nodded. Then, I walked to the ticket counter, planning to take the cable car down the mountain.Behind me, Lylia sounded confused. "Are you taking the cable car? Aren't you going to make your way down on foot?"I turned around and met the confusion in both her and Clara's eyes. A bitter feeling rose in my chest.For three years, I'd come here 99 times to draw a card. Every time, I'd dragged myself up the mountain step by painful step, then limped all the way back down, hoping God would see my sincerity and finally allow me to draw the Lovers card.Only now did I understand that sincerity had never been en

Chapter 2

Clara froze, too. "You two…"Caleb quickly grabbed her hand. "Clara, please don't ask, okay? I..."I couldn't stand another second of his performance. I turned on my heel to leave, but Clara stopped me again."I don't care what your history is. You bumped into him, so you owe him an apology. Caleb is a doctor. His hands are precious, and you almost injured him earlier."The burn on the back of my hand felt as if something were biting into the skin, the pain radiating all the way to my chest. I lifted my hand, exposing the raw, angry red skin to her."There's plenty of space in the aisle. I was standing beside my own table. He was the one who came over and ran into me. Besides, I'm hurt, too. This wasn't my fault, so I'm not apologizing."Clara's gaze fell on the back of my hand. For a brief second, something shifted in her calm eyes.I pushed past them, asked a server for an ice pack, and left.As I headed for the exit, I couldn't help but glance back one last time.Caleb was

Chapter 3

I had quietly joked to myself that Clara was an NPC, completely devoid of emotion.After that, I nearly ruined the notes she had spent half a month copying, but she still wore that same expression. I even went online and memorized a bunch of cheesy pickup lines just to flirt with her, yet she still barely reacted.I truly believed she had transcended all worldly desires. But now, she was actually angry, all because of one remark I made about Caleb.Dad, incensed by my words, lunged forward and struck me again. "You don't call the shots in this family!"Then, he ordered the maids to throw out everything that belonged to Mom and me. I tried to stop them, but Dad grabbed my arm and shoved me outside. "If you can't stand the sight of Caleb and me, then you and your mother can move out!" he yelled.The door slammed shut, and Mom crouched on the ground, sobbing.Soon, the door opened again. Caleb came out with my belongings in his arms, looking smug. "Lucas, why put yourself throug

Chapter 4

Dylan's eyes had reddened by the time he was done talking, and even his breathing was unsteady. It was obvious he felt bad for me.Everyone in our circle knew I had spent three years chasing after Clara without getting anything in return. Yet the moment Caleb came back to Corvia, I was kicked out of my own home, and even Clara was snatched away from me.They were all waiting for me to make a fool of myself.I gave an indifferent laugh and comforted him instead, "Relax. I'm marrying Selene Shaw. When that happens, they're going to be choking on their own envy."The Shaw family's empire sat on a foundation far deeper than ours. Rumor had it that they had connections in politics, too, and that made them practically untouchable in Arland.At that thought, Dylan immediately gave me a look that said I had better not forget him once I made it big. "True. When that happens, you'd better slap the smug looks right off their faces!"He suddenly brightened, pointing at a white suit displayed

Chapter 5

The elevator doors slid shut right after I said that, and the last thing I saw was the shock flashing across Clara's face.By the time I reached the top floor, Mom was already waiting near the entrance. She looked me over as soon as I stepped out, and only when she was sure I was unfazed did she let out a breath of relief.I smiled at her, then made my way into the reception hall with her.Selene hurried over. She took her place beside me, her eyebrows arching in surprise. "You look good. Put you in a bar dressed like that, and you'd be the center of attention."I took her hand with a smile. "Really? You look good in a dress, too, but I think racing gear suits you even better."Surprise flickered across her eyes. "You've seen me race?"I nodded. "You won last year's World Racing Championship. You were trending for three days straight in Corvia. It would've been harder not to notice."That seemed to catch her interest."Shall we go have some fun once this is over?"I nodded wit

Chapter 6

I nodded calmly."Yes, I knew. If I'd known sooner that you were so sick of me you had to pull something like that just to make me back off, I would've given up a long time ago. With that said, Clara, I won't like you anymore."Clara's eyes widened in disbelief as the color drained from her face.After a long while, she stammered, "N-No… I wasn't sick of you…"I had no patience left for her excuses, so I turned and stepped into the elevator. Clara stood there and watched me in silence, a flash of pain crossing her eyes.Outside the hotel, we ran right into Caleb, who had his arm around Dad and was laughing joyfully. When his eyes landed on me and on Selene holding my hand, jealousy flickered across his gaze.Dad was surprised the moment he noticed Selene, but he quickly recovered. He immediately put on a smile and stepped forward to greet her.I tugged Selene back. She had been about to say hello, but she caught the displeasure in my eyes and bit back the greeting."Ms. Shaw, w

Chapter 7

Caleb stood off to the side, staring at me with obvious resentment.Selene leaned in and said in an amused tone, "Had you worn this suit when you were pursuing Clara, I'm pretty sure that ice queen act of hers would've cracked a long time ago."I glanced at Clara before turning back to Selene. "Are you jealous?"Selene froze, but she recovered quickly and tried to cover it up with a clumsy excuse. "Who said anything about being jealous? You're standing there in a skin-tight suit and grinning next to a supercar. Do you think there's a single person on this track not staring at you?"Even your crush for three years, Clara, was staring. That little strategy of yours…"Selene's voice died in her throat, and a faint blush quickly spread across her face.My hand was on the back of her neck. I pulled her closer and lowered my voice beside her ear. "Then, you don't have to be jealous because I wore this for you."Behind us, a car door slammed shut. Clara got out with an icy expression,

Chapter 8

I rolled my eyes in sheer disbelief and signaled for the track manager to come over. "Hi, could I see the surveillance footage from this area?"Caleb looked up in shock when he heard that.The manager knew I had come with Selene, so he quickly had someone pull the footage.Panicking, Caleb tried to stop him. "N-No, you can't!"Catching the flicker of confusion in Clara's eyes, he stammered, "C-Clara, do you not believe me? Why would you need to check the footage?"Clara's brows furrowed ever so slightly, but she didn't say anything.Caleb's eyes darted around in panic. When he realized he couldn't stop it, he fell back on the same pitiful act again. "Fine. If you don't trust me, I'll just leave! Lucas only slapped me because he was upset. I'm fine, really."Clara instinctively reached out and caught his hand. Caleb shot me a subtle, triumphant smirk.The next second, the manager came over with a tablet. "I have the footage right here, Mr. Lucas."Caleb's smirk froze on his fac

Chapter 9

Before I could open the door, Clara caught my hand again. This time, there was a pleading look in her eyes."Lucas, I-I was wrong. I didn't realize how I felt about you back then. I fell for you a long time ago, before I even knew it."Even as she said that, she still looked so sure of herself, as if she were certain that the moment I heard her confession, I'd be over the moon and go right back to trailing behind her like a pet again.Selene chose that exact moment to link her arm with mine."Clara, Lucas is my fiancé now. Confessing to him right in front of me doesn't seem very appropriate, does it?"Clara froze for a second. She glanced at Selene's hand in displeasure before turning her gaze back at me. "I said I like you, Lucas."I laughed. "And what about it? I don't like you anymore, Clara."The color drained from her face instantly. It was only then, seeing the resolution in my eyes, that she finally panicked.She quickly fumbled for the Lovers card in her coat and tried

Chapter 10

Side Story"The first time Clara met me was in the backyard of the tarot studio.I was holding a coin, trying to toss it into a wishing well, but I took a wrong step and accidentally twisted my ankle."Clara came over and asked if I was okay. My face had been scrunched up from the pain, but somehow, the moment I saw her, I smiled.After that, I told her I was going to pursue her.Clara never understood why I had suddenly fallen for her.When she helped me back, I'd even muttered under my breath that she was like a robot, cold and detached, yet the very next day, I was standing in front of her again, smiling.She rejected me, just like she always did.But I was stubborn. No matter how distant she was, I kept showing up anyway.In the end, she had no choice but to tell me to draw a card. If I drew the Lovers card, she would marry me.I had been beaming.Seeing how happy I looked, Clara felt a strange pang of emotion in her chest. She had already hidden the Lovers card, so I ne

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP