Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Family Made Bets about Me: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

It was extremely dark. Through the live surveillance app on my phone, I saw my family gathered around the dinner table with four phones placed in the middle. They were betting on how long it would take me to call them for help. My younger brother, Nate Anderson, said confidently, “It’ll take one minute.” When I was ten years old, Nate poisoned my puppy on Thanksgiving. I cried in defeat and rushed into my parents’ room. I begged them to take my puppy to the vet. My parents did not take me seriously even when I sobbed my eyes out. “Nate’s just pranking you. We can get another dog if this one dies.” My puppy had a seizure and died in my arms. It took exactly one minute. After that, they did not even bring up the new dog that they promised to get me. It was my parents’ turn. They said together, “Five minutes.” There was once when I had a family dinner with them. Nate swapped my soda for pesticide. My tummy was twisting in pain, and I rolled on the floor for five

Ever since Gwen suggested that Nate organize our engagement party, I had had my suspicions.However, my parents promised me that it was all genuine. “Oliver, you’ll only have an engagement party once in your lifetime. “Why would we let Nate play a prank on such an important event?”Gwen also convinced me that it was real. “Nate just wants to ease your load for the engagement party, so you can be the most handsome fiance there ever will be.” I had finally agreed to that. While they were out shopping with Nate, I took out the pendrive labeled “Oliver’s Happiest Memories” and plugged it into my laptop.When I clicked on a video, I heard muffled laughs. My back was drenched in cold sweat when I heard the familiar voice. In the video, my parents and Nate told me to finish the birthday cake. I was twelve years old in that video. I had a black-and-white cake-like mush in my mouth. I asked carefully, “Mom, Dad, what’s this cake made of? I really can’t eat it anymore.” Af

After my plane landed, five hours had already passed since the engagement party started.As soon as we touched down, my phone started buzzing with notifications.I had missed calls from four people—my father, my mother, Nate, and Gwen. I did not rush to return their calls. Instead, I wheeled my suitcase out of the arrival hall. I found a convenience store outside the airport. I let my phone ring. I would be lying if I said I was not upset. However, I did not miss them at all. My only regret was that I could not be there to see their expressions when they watched what I had prepared for them. After a few minutes, I made up my mind and answered my mother’s call. The moment the call went through, my mother screeched, “Oliver, what are you trying to do? Are you insane?!“Didn’t you consider what would happen when you released those videos?”I gazed at the scenery through the windows. Her screech hurt my ears. Fortunately, there was a six-hour difference between us.

After the recording was exposed at the engagement party, my family was in complete chaos.The relatives all gossiped about the adoption as well as the intended drugging. My father was detained by the police for investigation, and Gwen cut them off completely. Nate’s pride was shattered after the series of events. In just two weeks, Nate, who used to be arrogant and loved to prank me, had changed completely. He locked himself in his bedroom and did not talk to anyone. He remained locked inside and was mentally unstable.Not only did he lose sleep, but he would also burst into tears and start smashing things.The doctor said that he was severely depressed. If it were in the past, my mother would have been extremely anxious and taken him to seek medical help. However, my mother had more important things to focus on at that point. She did not care about Nate’s feelings. Instead, she begged him to sign the mediation papers, telling him that he owed them for raising him for

Gwen was standing alone on an unfamiliar street, holding a small suitcase. She looked like she had just arrived.She had lost a lot of weight, and she had acne on her face. Her eyes looked hollow, as if she had not slept well for a very long time.It was obvious that she had taken a red-eye flight here. Just to talk to me, she had traveled thousands of miles to a new city. When she saw me, she shuffled forward and sounded cautious. “Oliver, I’m sorry for showing up unannounced. You were not responding to my texts, and I really missed you.” She wanted to hold my hand, but I took a step back and frowned.“Go back. There’s no point in any of this anymore.” It was like she did not even hear me.“Oliver, just give me a little time.”From that day on, Gwen ignored my wishes and stayed in the new city. She rented the apartment opposite mine. She apologized and tried to get back with me.Somehow, she got hold of my work schedule and waited for me every single day at my offi