All Chapters of He Bet on the Wrong Girl: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1 A Bet's a Bet

I stared at the announcement pinned at the top of the group chat for nearly 10 seconds. "Congratulations, Oliver! You just won yourself a 200-pound girlfriend!" Three firecracker emojis appeared beneath it. There were more than a hundred people in the chat, and the messages were coming in so quickly that I barely had time to finish reading one before another pushed it up the screen. "Oliver rolled a six and actually won. Fred really got screwed this time." "How is Fred the loser? He just got rid of a human tank. Sounds like he won to me." "Oliver, where's your acceptance speech?" A photo suddenly appeared in the chat, and I recognized it the moment it loaded. It had been taken during field day in my junior year of high school. I weighed 198 pounds back then, so my school uniform stretched tightly across my body as I sat alone at the far end of the bleachers. My head was lowered as I munched on a piece of bread. Whoever had taken the picture had obviously been standi

Chapter 2 She's Not a Bet

My phone started ringing almost immediately. Fred's name flashed across the screen, but I made no move to answer. The call ended, only for him to try again. He finally gave up and started sending voice messages after I let his calls go to voicemail three times in a row. "Lauren, can you stop being mad about this? "Those are the rules. I lost, so you and Oliver are paired up as a couple for now. You just have to finish three challenges tomorrow night, and then it's over." His third message irritated me even more. "We're all going to the same university. Don't turn this into some huge deal and embarrass me in front of everyone." I actually laughed when I heard that. He treated me like an object he could hand over to one of his friends. Yet, I was the one embarrassing him? God, what a loser. I went back to the group chat and opened the file containing the rules. Apparently, there were three so-called couple challenges waiting for Oliver and me tomorrow night. We had to f

Chapter 3 He Already Knew

Fred and I had met through a competitive online game during my senior year of high school. I weighed 200 pounds at the time. The boys in my class had nicknamed me "the double-door fridge." The girls never joined in openly, but they weren't much better. I could still recall how their conversations would suddenly become quieter whenever I walked past them, and how giggles would break out behind me a few seconds later. I knew what they were laughing about. Our teacher made us run half a mile one day during gym. I finished dead last, struggling for air so badly that I genuinely thought I might pass out before reaching the finish line. The boy I had a crush on happened to be standing nearby. When I stumbled in his direction, he immediately backed away from me with a disgusted look on his face. "Don't fall on me." His friends started laughing. "There might be an earthquake if you hit the ground. Who could possibly catch you?" The entire class burst into mocking laughter

Chapter 4 One Second to Spare

I slept until noon on the day of the party. By the time I finally checked my phone, there were more than 99 unread messages waiting for me. Most of them came from the group chat, where everyone had apparently spent the morning discussing the seating arrangements for that night. Someone had even uploaded a picture of an extra-wide chair. "Let's save this one for Lauren. A normal chair probably won't make it through the night." Another person immediately joined in. "How thoughtful. Someone give this guy the Harbor City Humanitarian Award." Fred also had his own two cents to add. "She's not coming. Stop wasting your time." Rita replied a few seconds later, "What if she does come? Promise me you guys won't make fun of her anymore." Her weak attempt to defend me only made everyone laugh harder. I didn't bother replying. Instead, I got out of bed and started getting ready. Tessa arrived at my house around 2 p.m. with two makeup cases in her hands and murder in her eyes.

Chapter 5 Nice to Meet You

The countdown reached zero just as I pushed the door open. The entire room fell silent. Dozens of people turned toward me at once. One guy had a glass halfway to his mouth and forgot to take a sip. Another still wore the grin he had been laughing with seconds earlier, except now he seemed to have forgotten how to move his face. The buzz-cut guy standing closest to the door stared at me for several seconds before finally reacting. "Hey, gorgeous. Are you looking for someone?" He glanced toward the hallway behind me. "Did you walk into the wrong room?" Another guy immediately leaned forward in interest. "Who cares even if she did? We're all Harbor City University freshmen. You should stay and hang out with us, beautiful." "Yeah. Come sit with us." The buzz-cut guy seemed to remember his manners and quickly reached for an empty chair. "Here. You can sit next to me." I nearly started laughing at their audacity. A few minutes earlier, these same people had been joking about

Chapter 6 The Joke Wasn't Funny Anymore

The entire room seemed to freeze as soon as I introduced myself. For a few seconds, nobody reacted. Then, several voices broke the silence all at once. "What?" "You're Lauren Hogan? You mean the Lauren from the group chat?" "No way!" The buzz-cut guy near the door looked as though someone had knocked every word out of his head. His eyes widened, and his jaw went slack as he stared at me, failing to come up with a coherent response. Then, he suddenly grabbed his phone. A few taps later, my old high school picture appeared on his screen. He studied the photo before turning to scrutinize me. His eyes dropped back to the screen before returning to my face again. In that old picture, my features were hidden due to my obesity. My neck had almost disappeared beneath the extra weight, and my school uniform was stretched tightly across my body. The woman standing in front of him now had visible collarbones, a slim waist, and a face that no longer looked buried beneath laye

Chapter 7 Start the Timer

"A bet's a bet." The room fell quiet the moment I repeated the words I'd sent in the group chat. Every pair of eyes shifted toward Oliver. Earlier, they had treated the entire thing like the funniest idea ever when they were busy coming up with the three couple's challenges. In their version of tonight, Oliver would have to feed cake to a 200-pound girl, hold her hand for a photo, and carry her in front of everyone. They had expected the entire thing to be humiliating for me and hilarious for them. Now, nobody seemed to find it funny anymore. One of the guys finally broke the silence. "Oliver didn't lose anything. The guy basically hit the jackpot." Someone else immediately agreed with that statement. "If I'd known Lauren looked like this, I would've rolled the dice for him myself." A third guy laughed. "Keep dreaming. Do you really think she'd go for you?" Fred's expression darkened with every comment. Oliver ignored all of them and looked at me. "You're sure you

Chapter 8 We're Done

"Start the timer." The entire room erupted as soon as Oliver gave out the order. "Ten!" "Nine!" "Eight!" The cheering grew so loud that it almost seemed to rattle the ceiling. I hadn't expected Oliver to lift me without warning, so my arms had instinctively wrapped themselves around his neck. I could feel the muscles across his shoulders and back tighten beneath my hands through the thin fabric of his shirt. Yet, his hold remained perfectly steady. Ten seconds? He could probably hold me much longer than that without even breaking a sweat. The buzz-cut guy moved closer with his phone already raised. "Oliver, look over here. We need a picture of this." Oliver glanced at him coldly. "Put the phone down." The guy immediately lowered it, but a knowing grin on his face remained. "Got it. I guess we can't just take pictures of your girl whenever we want." The room broke into laughter again. Fred was the only person who didn't find it funny. His expression had turne

Chapter 9 You Really Don't Remember Me?

Fred's face darkened the moment Oliver stepped between us. "Oliver, are you seriously taking this stupid game that far?" His voice grew sharper. "Lauren and I were together for 11 months. This has nothing to do with you." Oliver looked at him calmly. "11 months?" He paused for a moment before asking sharply, "You were with her for 11 months, and you still treated her like an object you could gamble away?" Fred fell silent. Nobody else in the room spoke either, but the looks on their faces were enough to condemn him. Fred clenched his jaw before turning back to me. "Lauren, I admit I took things too far tonight." He sounded as though he were making a huge concession. "I never actually wanted to break up with you. It was just a game between friends. Did you really have to throw such a massive stink over it?" I rubbed the red mark around my wrist. Suddenly, I felt exhausted. I no longer felt any anger or heartbreak, just fatigue because he still didn't get it. Fred d

Chapter 10 He Remembered Me All Along

Sleep alluded me that night. My mind kept returning to my conversation with Oliver outside the hotel no matter how many times I tossed and turned. I genuinely couldn't remember helping him in third grade. To me, it had been such a small act of kindness that it had disappeared completely from my memory.Yet, Oliver had kept it close to his heart for 10 years. My phone suddenly lit up beside my pillow. A message from him appeared on the screen. "Did you get home safely?" I replied almost immediately, "Yeah." Another message followed. "Don't forget to put something on your wrist." I stared at Oliver's message for a few seconds. There was still one question plaguing my mind. "So… you recognized me a long time ago?" The typing indicator appeared briefly. "Yeah." I hesitated before sending another message, "Even after you saw my high school picture?" His answer came, prompt and as swift as the wind. "Yeah." Then, another message appeared. "You haven't c

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