The Bet She Made With My Pain

Inside the bar, bodies swayed beneath flashing lights, swallowed by the music.

Afraid Sienna might get into trouble alone, I pushed through the crowd and searched for the private room she had mentioned.

When I pushed the door open, Sienna was about to link arms with a man and drink from his glass.

The man was Callum Hayes.

He was the one who had taken Sienna rock climbing. Ever since he showed up, her obsession with climbing had spiraled out of control.

A crowd surrounded them, clapping and chanting.

"Drink! Drink!"

"Drink from his glass, then leave with him tonight."

Sienna's face was flushed with shy excitement. She looked as if she might melt into Callum's arms at any moment.

And I, her actual boyfriend, stood outside the crowd like a stranger. No one noticed me.

Someone nearby spoke as if I did not exist.

"I heard Sienna has a boyfriend. Won't he get jealous if she does this?"

"What boyfriend? He's just her little lapdog. Sienna has seen every kind of man. You really think she'd fall for some broke orphan?"

"True. Maybe he's just good at something, so she keeps him around for fun."

Their words stabbed into me.

For a second, I wanted to throw every single one of them out. However, I did not want to embarrass Sienna.

As long as she knew I was sincere, that was enough.

I pushed through the crowd and took her hand. "Sienna, don't drink too much. Your stomach is sensitive."

The moment Sienna saw me, surprise flashed across her face.

Then she turned to the crowd, excited. "See? I told you I could make my boyfriend come over right away."

She smiled proudly and added, "And he's generous. Even if I drink with another man like this, he won't get mad."

So that was it. Sienna had made a bet with them.

She had lost, so she wanted me to stand there and watch her drink intimately with another man.

Callum looked me up and down, then raised his glass toward her. "Sienna, you lost the bet. You can't leave me without an answer, can you?"

Sienna had always been careless and proud.

Afraid she would be taken advantage of, I stepped in front of her first. "Callum, Sienna can't handle much alcohol. I'll drink for her."

Callum did not take me seriously at all. He reached out and tapped a finger against my chest. "You want to drink with me like that?"

Then, he smirked. "Should I take you to a hotel tonight, too?"

The room erupted with laughter and applause.

"Callum, that's wild. You don't even spare men."

"A bet is a bet, Sienna. You can't ruin your own reputation."

"Exactly! Running away now isn't your style."

Egged on by everyone around her, Sienna shoved me aside and took the glass from Callum's hand. Then she linked arms with him and drank it all.

Suddenly, someone pushed her from behind.

She fell straight into Callum's arms and almost kissed him.

She never once cared about how humiliated I was or how much it hurt.

I wanted to take Sienna away, but Callum blocked me. "Come on, man. It was just a joke. Since you're already here, sit down and play with us."

Sienna had no intention of leaving either. So I stayed reluctantly, just to keep an eye on her.

The games those rich kids played were disgusting. Whoever lost had to kiss someone of the opposite sex in the room.

Sure enough, Callum lost on purpose, and the person he chose was Sienna.

I held Sienna's hand and lowered my voice. "Sienna, Callum isn't a good guy. Let's go."

I did not expect her to shake me off so hard.

She pointed at me angrily as she lashed out. "Asher, don't be so clueless. I brought you here to show you the world. If you embarrass me, you'll regret it."

I was afraid she would get angry and refuse to come home with me, so I stopped talking.

Yet when I saw Callum pull Sienna into his arms, I could not stand it anymore. I rushed forward and pulled her back.

Then I faced Callum and announced, "Callum, I'll drink for Sienna this round."

Sienna broke free from my grip and slapped me across the face. "Don't think being my boyfriend gives you the right to disrespect my friends."

Her voice was cold as she ordered, "Apologize to Callum. Now."

The Man Behind the Factory

I wondered, 'Am I really worth less to her than Callum, a man she has only just met?'

Back when Sienna went out to negotiate business deals, she often drank until she could barely stand. I felt sorry for her, so I forced myself to drink every day, slowly building my tolerance until I could take those drinks for her.

Every time she needed a deal closed, I drank until the world spun. Afterward, she would sit by my bed, hold me, and cry until she could barely breathe.

But now, when I tried to protect her again, she only thought I had embarrassed her.

I still tried to pull her away, but Callum walked up to me with a glass in his hand. "Didn't you want to drink?"

He smiled coldly. "Fine. I'll let you."

The next second, he poured the entire glass over my head.

The liquid was ice-cold as it ran down my face and soaked into my clothes, but it was nothing compared to the cold spreading through my chest.

Even trembling, I still reached for Sienna.

Yet, she shook me off and threw herself into Callum's arms. Then, she stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips.

Everyone watched me like I was the night's entertainment. They laughed, clapped, and cheered. "Bravo, Callum! Sienna and you are a perfect match!

My heart felt as if it had been split open. Then I tasted blood in my mouth.

A second later, I turned and ran out like a madman.

I did not make it far.

My strength gave out, and I collapsed on the side of the road.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

My body felt weaker than before. During the emergency treatment, I vaguely heard the doctor say I had, at most, one month left.

I tried to face death calmly, but the only thing I was still worried about was Sienna.

Suddenly, the hospital room door was shoved open.

Sienna stormed in and threw a jacket straight at my face. "Asher, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

I had no idea why she was so angry. I reached for her hand helplessly, but she pulled away as if my touch disgusted her.

"You ran off in front of everyone, and now they're all laughing at me," she snapped. "They're saying I chose a coward for a boyfriend. And you actually have the nerve to hide here in the hospital?"

She had no idea that I did not have much time left.

I thought, 'Every day I have left with her is already precious. Why would I hide from her?'

"Sienna," I explained, "I wasn't hiding from you. I'm really sick."

For a second, something flickered in her eyes, but it vanished almost immediately.

She let out a cold laugh. "You're still lying to me? You're usually so healthy. You barely even catch colds. How could you suddenly be sick?"

I knew she was angry. All I wanted was to calm her down.

With trembling hands, I reached for the expensive climbing gear beside me and carefully held it out to her. "Sienna, you like climbing, right? Then go for it. I bought this for you. I even got it in your favorite color, purple."

Sienna lowered her eyes to the gear in my hands. There was no joy on her face.

She took it, then threw it hard onto the floor.

"Asher, do you think I don't know what you can afford? You expect me to believe you bought gear this expensive? Stop trying to fool me with cheap knockoffs."

She used to love purple more than anything.

Once, to make her happy, I spent all my savings creating an entire sea of purple flowers for her. I decorated every flower by hand, and by the time I finished, my fingers were covered in cuts.

Back then, she threw herself into my arms and promised she wanted to be with me forever. Now, it seemed she no longer even liked purple.

That climbing gear had cost me my health.

Sienna did not care, but I did.

I struggled to climb out of bed and pick it up, but my body had no strength left. The moment my feet touched the floor, I fell beside the bed.

Sienna watched me fall. She did not help me. Instead, she stepped on the gear.

Before I could say anything, Callum called her.

Sienna answered with excitement and agreed to go climbing with him somewhere else.

I dragged myself forward and wrapped my arms around her leg, making one last attempt to keep her there. "Sienna, let me go with you, okay? If you go out with him alone, I'm afraid you'll be in danger."

She kicked me hard in the chest. There was not a trace of pity in her eyes. "What can you even do? All you know is to use cheap little things to coax me."

She had never called my gifts cheap before.

In the past, even when I cooked her a simple meal, she treated it like something precious.

I had already tried my best to give her the best gift I could.

I clung desperately to her leg, hoping to wake the woman she once was. But all I received were kicks in return.

She wanted nothing more than to push me as far away as possible.

In the end, my face was covered in blood, and Sienna left the hospital room without looking back.

Since I did not have much time left, there was no point wasting it in the hospital.

I completed the discharge paperwork alone.

When I had just returned home, a former coworker from the chemical plant called me.

He told me the plant had no real safety measures. To cut costs, the factory had allowed chemical exposure levels to exceed the legal limits by a terrifying amount.

What they had done was no different from murder, and the man behind that chemical plant was Callum.