Chapter 3

Five days left until their one-month bet was up.

I submitted my application for the one-year undergrad exchange program at UCL.

My advisor looked at me with genuine concern. "Tuition and living expenses in London aren't cheap, Wren. Can you afford it?"

Before, the answer would have been no.

But now, I was absolutely certain I could. The outcome of this sick bet had always been in my hands.

So what if I lost a boyfriend?

Scamming some cash out of a scumbag to self-fund my study abroad?

For an ordinary girl like me, it was the ultimate win.

...

Brody stepped out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower. I was sitting on the edge of the bed.

He immediately leaned in, trying to push me back onto the mattress.

"Wren, can we..."

I turned my head away, dodging his lips.

"I'm on my period."

Annoyed, Brody let out a heavy sigh. He grabbed his pack of cigarettes and stepped out onto the balcony.

Through the glass door, I watched him fire off a text in his fraternity group chat: Wren is at my place. Just got here this afternoon.

Reed replied instantly: No wonder I couldn't find her. Wait for me. Booking a flight right now.

Then, someone else in the chat pointed something out: Wait, who is this 'Wren_Fan' bro who bet all that money on Reed winning? Don't think I've ever seen him in the frat.

Wren_Fan? Sounds like a secret admirer of Wren's, lmfao!

Whoever he is, he's about to lose a ton of cash!

What those idiots didn't know was that "Wren_Fan" was actually me. Just yesterday, I had secretly used Brody's phone to invite my burner account into their little frat chat, disguising myself as just another bro.

Brody stared at his phone screen, his expression turning ice-cold.

He finished his cigarette, crushed it out, and walked back inside.

He looked at me, trying to sound casual. "Wren, what do you think of Reed?"

"In what way?"

His jaw tightened, annoyance flashing in his eyes. "Are you saying you know everything about him?"

"His personality is trash," I said, meeting Brody's gaze with a meaningful stare. "But his body? Incredible."

Brody poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. He wasn't smiling anymore. "Wren, do you have a thing for him?"

I didn't deny it.

"He loves sending me ab pics in my Instagram DMs. I had to learn to appreciate them. Oh, and by the way, it's not just his abs..."

Brody violently crashed his lips onto mine, cutting off my breath.

"Stop talking about him!" he growled. "I'm your boyfriend."

"Are you?" I pushed back slightly. "Reed said when you're not around, he's basically half a boyfriend to me."

Brody's eyes went red with rage.

He gripped my waist hard and aggressively reached for the buttons on my shirt.

Slap!

My palm cracked hard against his cheek.

"You animal," I spat.

He froze, his hands dropping as he ground his teeth together.

"Wren... you're the only one. No one has ever dared to hit me."

All the fight suddenly drained out of him. He collapsed onto the bed, pulling me into a suffocating hug.

"Wren, you never used to get mad at me."

…

In the middle of the night, a sharp knock echoed through the room.

Reed stood in the doorway, looking exhausted but wired from a red-eye flight.

Brody blocked the entrance, refusing to let him in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Brody snapped.

Reed leaned casually against the doorframe, a smirk on his face. "Came to check on Wren. What's it to you?"

Brody shoved Reed hard in the chest. "Let's talk outside," he said coldly.

The room fell silent. Once their footsteps faded down the hall, I quietly slipped out of bed and cracked the door open.

Brody and Reed were standing by the stairwell, smoking.

"You took a red-eye flight all the way here. What exactly are you trying to pull?" Brody demanded.

"Just wanted to see if you and Wren slept together yet," Reed said smoothly. "But she's on her period, and I didn't see any used condoms on the floor. Guess you didn't."

Brody's eye twitched. "How far have you gotten with her?"

"Haven't slept with her yet," Reed chuckled. "Why? Are you getting attached? Or just losing your nerve?"

"I’m just checking on your progress. Don't want you to lose the bet too miserably."

Reed crushed out his cigarette and grinned. "So what if I lose? I'm finding Wren more and more interesting every day. If you don't like her, I'll happily take her."

Brody's face darkened. "It's just a game. Are you seriously catching feelings?"

"If it's just a game, why are you actually pissed off right now?"

Reed patted Brody's shoulder with a mocking laugh.

"Just remember, when I actually sleep with your girlfriend, don't go breaking the bro code and flipping out on me."

"I have plenty of women!" Brody yelled, his voice echoing in the stairwell. "You think I care about losing this one?!"

Reed walked away, leaving Brody standing alone in the shadows.

Brody didn't move for a long time.

It wasn't until the cigarette burned down to his fingers, searing his skin, that he finally jerked awake.