She Bet on Love, I Married Another

Chapter 2: Rebel

Alex

Julie treated me like this because she believed I loved her and was willing to do anything she wanted.

What she didn’t know was that I was also bound by a bet.

That was the real reason I had been so desperate for us to register our marriage all this while.

But Julie didn’t even care about me.

From the way things were going, it almost seemed like I was the one forcing this relationship on her.

She preferred spending her days with John rather than being with me.

And now that I knew John had been the one who instigated the whole bet, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to their relationship.

Was John simply trying to keep her away from me?

Or were they actually dating behind my back?

What hurt the most was how little Julie cared whenever I tried to talk about any of it.

Meanwhile, there was someone out there who was practically dying to marry me.

Yet, I had chosen Julie.

I had chosen her over someone who actually wanted me.

But that was all in the past now.

I should have seen everything clearly from the beginning.

Julie didn’t love me.

That was why she could play with my feelings so easily.

I just couldn’t understand why it had taken me this long to realize it.

After hanging up, I flagged down a taxi and headed back to our shared apartment.

The moment I stepped inside, I hesitated.

Memories immediately flooded my mind.

I remembered the first time Julie and I had walked into this apartment together. She had been so happy then.

She couldn’t wait for us to start our life together and begin making plans for our marriage.

I still couldn’t understand what had happened between then and now.

How had we gone from that to this?

I shook the thoughts away and headed into the bedroom to pack my clothes.

When I opened the wardrobe, I spotted some wedding gifts I had prepared for Julie.

I stared at them for a moment.

She didn’t even know they existed because she hadn’t been around for days.

Whenever she wasn’t at work, she was with John.

In fact, she seemed to prefer being with him over being with me.

And all this time, I had convinced myself they were nothing more than harmless friends.

A bitter smile crossed my lips.

I gathered the gifts and dumped them into the bin.

There was no point keeping them anymore.

I had spent a fortune preparing those gifts, all for nothing.

What a waste.

Then I remembered the wedding invitations I had printed.

They were still on the table in the living room.

I walked out to collect them, knowing Julie didn’t even know about them.

I picked up one of the cards and studied it for a moment and a wide smile appeared on my face.

I remembered asking Julie how she wanted the invitations designed. She had simply told me to do whatever I liked.

Back then, I thought she was giving me freedom because she trusted my judgment.

Now, I realized she simply hadn’t cared.

She hadn’t bothered to get involved because, to her, the wedding had never been that important.

That explained everything.

Why did she never ask about the preparations?

Why she never cared about the invitations.

Why she never seemed interested in anything concerning our future together.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

Then I tossed the invitation into the bin.

The moment I turned around, the front door opened.

Julie and John walked inside, laughing together.

I quickly gathered the remaining invitations and threw them into the bin as well.

Julie would never know about them anyway.

“Alex,” Julie called suddenly.

I pretended not to hear her.

Without looking back, I turned and walked into the bedroom.

She followed me inside, but I paid her no attention and continued packing my clothes.

“Alex, why are you like this?” she demanded behind me, her usual nonchalant tone slipping through.

I let out a sigh and turned to face her.

I wasn’t even in the mood to exchange words with her.

It wasn’t like anything I said would change her mind about the trip. It never had before, and it certainly wouldn’t start now.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Anyways.” She shrugged casually, ignoring my question. “John’s pipes burst, so he’ll be staying in our guest room tonight. By tomorrow, we’ll leave for the airport.”

“For the trip, right?” I asked with a sigh.

The change in her expression was immediate.

“Why are you still on this matter?” she asked, clearly irritated. “I thought we’d settled it. You want us to get married, right? Of course that will happen when I get back from the trip. I promise.”

I huffed and turned around, continuing to pack my clothes.

If she thought I was going to beg her like I used to, then she was deceiving herself.

I have done that a lot anyways. And all that time, I genuinely believed she loved me.

“Alex, I already promised you, so don’t worry,” she continued behind me.

She had said those exact words eight times already.

Eight times she had stood me up.

Each time, she would apologize afterward and promise that the next time would be different.

But how was I supposed to know it had all been part of a bet?

I packed the last invitation card and stepped out of the bedroom to throw it away.

Julie followed me again.

“Anyways, we’re starving after all the hassle we’ve been through since morning.” She paused before adding casually, “So go make us dinner. John specifically asked for your Western soup. Make that too.”

I came to an abrupt stop.

Seriously?

I had no idea I was a chef now.

I scoffed and emptied the remaining useless invitation cards into the bin.

“I’m not making it,” I said flatly. “Order takeout if you want to eat.”