All Chapters of After They Gambled With My Life, I Went to the Scottish Highlands: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The apartment door swung open just as I was folding my last waterproof jacket and tucking it into my suitcase."See, I told you, Nora's definitely packing a suitcase full of dramatic stuff to scare us." Sophie's bright voice carried in first. "Ethan, a bet's a bet. Don't forget to send me the coffee money."Ethan followed behind her, carrying a new portable tea set and a map of Bath's old town. He set everything down in the entryway, and his gaze fell on the thick wool socks, hiking boots, and camera rain cover in my suitcase. His brow furrowed slightly."What are you packing all this for? It's Bath, not the Alps."I didn't answer.Ethan didn't seem to notice my silence. He pulled out his phone and held up a ticket purchase page in front of me. "I got you a replacement open ticket. No guaranteed seat, but Sophie and I will take turns letting you sit once we're on the train. Last night we took things too far. Don't be upset."He sounded gentle, and even reached out like he always did, t

Chapter 2

I slipped my phone into my coat pocket, ignoring Ethan's question.At the entryway, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a spare key.Ethan had insisted on giving me this key six months ago. That day he'd leaned against the doorframe and told me with a smile that from now on, this wasn't just his apartment. It was our home. My books, cameras, and clothes could stay wherever I wanted, and I'd never have to pack up like a temporary guest every time I left.That sentence had made me happy for a long time.Now, I placed the key gently in the brass tray on the shoe cabinet. Metal met metal with a crisp clink.Ethan's gaze fell on the key, and his expression finally changed. "What is this supposed to mean?"I didn't look at him. Instead, I took out my phone again and opened the photography cloud drive we shared.This account held most of the material I'd shot over the past few years. Ethan had said that couples shouldn't have secrets, and Sophie was always borrowing my photos for her trav

Chapter 3

The delay announcement played on loop through the departure hall.I found a seat by the window and bought a hot coffee to warm my hands. Outside the glass, low clouds hung heavy over the tarmac, which gleamed wet with drizzle.My phone screen lit up with a notification from our mutual friends' group chat.I opened it and immediately saw a screenshot Sophie had just posted of her social media update. In the photo, she and Ethan were standing downstairs from the apartment, both holding their tickets to Bath, wearing the aggrieved look of two people fresh out of an argument.The caption read: "I just wanted to help my friend lighten up a little, and I got treated like a criminal. I guess some people can only suffer with you, not enjoy life with you. I'll never wear my heart on my sleeve for anyone again."The first comment was Ethan's."She's stubborn. Give her a few days to cool off and she'll come around. Ignore her."Mutual friends rallied around Sophie. Some said I was too sensitive,

Chapter 4

I sank slowly to my knees on the cold marble floor and began picking up the scattered SD cards.One card had slid under a stranger's suitcase. I bent down to reach for it, but my fingertips hit a shard of broken filter glass first. A sharp sting, then blood welling up instantly, dripping onto the edge of a nearby boarding pass and blooming into a small dark-red stain.Sophie stumbled back two steps, her face white.But the first thing out of her mouth was still, "I didn't do it on purpose. Who told you to pull so hard? If you hadn't tried to grab it from me, the bag never would have fallen."Ethan walked over with a frown and glanced at the broken lens on the floor. He crouched down, his tone as measured and rational as ever. "The lens is broken. I'll buy you a new one. Cards can be replaced, and even if the data's corrupted, we can hire someone to recover it. Get up first. The floor is cold. Don't make yourself sick again."Those cards held the footage I was preparing to submit to the

Chapter 5

Ethan stood in front of me, his expression shifting slowly from shock to anger.He clearly hadn't taken "breaking up" as a real decision. He treated it as something I'd said in anger to force him into backing down."Nora, you're not thinking straight right now." He stared at the backpack on my shoulder. "Put your things down first. We can talk when you've calmed down.""There's nothing to talk about."I walked toward the door.Ethan suddenly reached out and snatched the medication case and EpiPen from my hand.I froze. "Give those back.""Stop trying to scare me with this." He clutched the medication case, his face dark. "You already pulled the can't-breathe act once at the airport. I know you have asthma, but you don't have an attack every time you get emotional. Stay here and rest. When you've thought things through, I'll give you the medication."I reached for it. He stepped back quickly, opened the door, and walked out."Ethan!"The door slammed shut in my face.Then came the sound

Chapter 6

The plane broke through heavy clouds and touched down at Inverness Airport. Dawn was just breaking.I turned on my phone. The screen was clean. No missed calls, no unread messages. The temporary restraining order had been served by the police. Ethan could no longer contact me directly or enter my residence without permission.I didn't know what expression he'd worn when he arrived at the hospital and found the bed empty, the trash can holding nothing but blood-soaked gauze.I didn't care anymore.Walking out of the arrivals hall, a gust of snow-laced wind hit me head-on. I pulled my coat tighter and spotted a man in a black windbreaker standing at the exit.He was holding up a white cardboard sign with "Nora Bennett" written on it in neat black marker.When he saw me approach, he checked my photo first, then lowered the sign. "Nora? I'm Gabriel Grant, the project director at the Photography Center. Professor Reed asked me to pick you up."His voice was low and steady. No excessive warm

Chapter 7

Winter comes early to the Scottish Highlands.Over the next two weeks, I went with Gabriel to the lakeside, the moors, and remote villages to shoot. The wound on my arm was gradually scabbing over, and the thin cuts the glass had left on my face were beginning to fade. I still woke up sometimes at night, startled by the sound of a lock clicking. But every time I opened my eyes, I could see my own key right there on the nightstand.That key belonged only to me.Gabriel was someone with a keen sense of boundaries.Before setting up a tripod, he would always ask, "Does this spot feel safe to you?"When we had to walk on icy mountain paths, he would spread the route map out for me to see. "There's a steep stretch up ahead. Are you up for it? If you're not feeling well, we stop. It won't hold up the project."When he needed to adjust my position, he never reached out and touched me. He would just say from a distance, "Nora, may I move the reflector behind you?"Each question was small, yet

Chapter 8

The day the exhibition opened, Inverness was buried in heavy snow.I wore a white turtleneck sweater and a long dark skirt, standing before the main wall of the gallery. Twelve photographs from Before the Lake Turns Blue hung there. The centerpiece was a winter morning shot of the lake surface. The ice hadn't fully sealed the water yet, and deep blue seeped through the cracks, like a pair of eyes opening for the first time.Many visitors lingered before the photographs.Someone asked me why I hadn't put myself in any of the pictures. I said I had always been in them. The surface of the lake, wrinkled by the wind, that was me. The stone wall, standing again after being battered, that was me too.Gabriel handed me a cup of hot tea and said quietly, "You were wonderful today."This wasn't Ethan's brand of condescending reassurance. It wasn't a pretty line designed to stop me from being angry.Just a calm, equal acknowledgment.I cradled the teacup and smiled at him. "Thank you."Just then

Chapter 9

The celebration dinner after the opening was relaxed.Project members and the curator sat around a long table, discussing the next shooting plans. Someone wanted to photograph the winter fishing ports on the northern coast. Someone else was planning to document the slowly disappearing Highland primary schools.A server brought out a plate of elaborate desserts topped with crushed roasted peanuts.Before I could even open my mouth, Gabriel had already reached over and moved the plate away from me. He called the server back, and after confirming the kitchen had prepared everything with the same set of utensils, he simply had them bring a sealed package of fruit and cheese instead.I blinked. "How did you know I can't have peanuts?"Gabriel cut a slice of apple, his tone casual. "Your residency health form listed a severe allergy. It also listed asthma. As the project director, I should remember."The words were light, yet they landed like a stone dropped into still water, sending out rip

Chapter 10

After wrapping up everything in London, I said goodbye to that apartment for the last time, and to the version of my life where I had mistaken endurance for the only way to hold onto love.When I returned to the Highlands, it was already deep winter.The lake had frozen over completely, like an enormous sheet of blue glass lying still between the mountains. In the distance, snow-covered peaks refracted blinding light under the sun. The wind blew in from the far edge of the moor, carrying a clean, sharp cold.I set up my tripod, adjusted the aperture, and prepared to photograph the play of light within the ice as the sun set.Gabriel stood two steps away, blocking part of the wind coming at me head-on. He remembered I got cold easily and had slipped two heat packs into my coat pockets beforehand. He also remembered I didn't like being touched without warning, so every time he came closer, he would call my name first."Nora, are you cold?"I reached into my pockets, felt the steady warmt

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