Todos os capítulos de A Different Kind of Glow-Up: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

Conrad said bread made me fat. Noodles made me fat. Meat made me fat.Whenever I brought him bottled water while he played basketball, he would not even look at me. He would just tell me not to drink too much.Even drinking water was apparently enough to make me fat.Silas paused, his expression turning serious. His voice was firm, almost cold. "If you run on an empty stomach, your blood sugar could drop in less than ten minutes. If you fall and hurt yourself, do you think he'll care?"My lips parted, and my heart tightened.He would not.Just like that time during the morning run when someone tripped me. Conrad had only clicked his tongue as he watched me get back up."She's so fat, she can barely even run."The evening breeze had turned cold, and my eyes began to sting.Silas held out his jacket. "That's enough for tonight. I'm taking you to get something to eat. Starting tomorrow, you have to send me pictures of all three meals. No skipping any."I rubbed my eyes and nodde

One of the guys burst out laughing. "Didn't she lose weight? It's just hard to tell when she had that much to lose!""Poor Conrad. How much are you paying that guy to run alongside her?"Everyone turned to look at him. I clenched my fingers, waiting for his answer.…Meanwhile, Conrad was busy peeling a hard-boiled egg for Brynn. Without even looking up, he said casually, "Twenty bucks a day. That's his rate."He did not mention that we had ended up in the same major because I had wanted to study finance and he had followed me to the same test prep classes. Eventually, we had even ended up in the same class.He did not mention that I had never been the one chasing him. He had been the one following me around since we were kids.With that one offhand remark, he turned every rumor into fact.The laughter in the classroom grew even louder. Brynn glanced at me with a look I could not quite read. "Tessa, don't take it personally. They're just joking around."But she could not qui

"And I don't mind." Silas turned to leave. "We've done enough for today. Let's head back. I'll walk you."I quickly stuffed my water bottle and towel into my bag and hurried after him. He always matched his pace to mine, knowing how slowly I walked.When we reached my dorm, he stopped. "Tessa, what did you want me to say when you asked me that earlier?"His expression was calm, but his eyes never left my face.I thought for a moment. "Nothing. I just wanted to ask. I wasn't sure if you'd mind.""I don't mind." He repeated his answer. "Anytime you want to use me as an excuse to keep someone away, go ahead. But if someday you don't want to use me as an excuse anymore, if you decide you want to take this seriously, that's fine too."The moment he finished speaking, he turned and walked away. Then, he broke into a jog, which quickly turned into a sprint. In seconds, he was gone.I could not help laughing.…At 10:30, just as I was climbing into bed, Silas sent me a message. "Good

It was the day I wrote that promise.That evening, after reading through the whole conversation, I finally let go of my insecurities. From then on, I no longer felt self-conscious around Silas.He told me he had not agreed to run with me for the money. He had seen the things Conrad said about me and thought they were way out of line."I'd never even met you, but that didn't make it okay for him to talk about someone that way."I let out a breath. "Actually, ever since I started gaining weight, I haven't had any friends."Back in the present, Conrad shrank back guiltily when he heard Silas's accusation. "I… I just wanted to pay you in full.""No. You thought she'd never lose the weight, so you figured you wouldn't have to pay me at all."Still unwilling to back down, Conrad pulled out his phone. "Don't make things up! I just wanted to pay you everything at once! How much do I owe you? I'll send it right now!"Silas shook his head. "Forget it. I run with her because I want to, no