He Faked a Lottery to Choose Her—Until I Changed the Game Chapter 07

My plane had just touched down.

I got in the car and texted my parents that I’d landed.

Then I leaned against the window and watched the landscape slide by.

The car pulled up outside a rental cottage I’d found online.

Something about the quiet out here loosened the knot in my chest. Just a little.

I picked up the key and headed to my unit.

I dragged my bags inside and started unpacking.

A month. Might as well make it feel like somewhere I lived.

Something slipped out between the folded clothes and hit the floor.

It was a card.

I picked it up. Grant’s make-up coupon.

He’d made it after a fight. I couldn’t even remember what we’d been fighting about.

We didn’t talk for two days. He apologized over and over until I gave in.

That’s when he gave me the card.

Handmade. His handwriting, his drawings, all of it.

My initials, L.B., were in the lower right corner.

“If I ever get mad at you, just hold this up. Instant truce.”

He’d grinned when he said it. “I can’t stay mad at you anyway. It’s physically impossible.”

“There’s only one of these in the world. And it’s only good for you.

I looked down at the card in my hand.

I’d rolled my eyes and told him he was being dramatic. Then I tucked it somewhere I wouldn’t lose

I hadn’t expected it to follow me here.

I had never used the card.

Grant hardly ever got mad at me. And when he did, it passed fast.

So the card just sat there, waiting for a fight that never came. Until the fights that did come were too big for a card to fix.

I held it over the trash can for a second. Then I let go.

I gave myself two days to do nothing. Then I started exploring.

It wasn’t peak season, but the town still had a pulse.

Everything here moved at half speed. Nobody rushed. I could feel my shoulders dropping for the first time in weeks.

After dinner, I checked my phone. A string of messages from Graham.

[Laurel, Grant’s been looking everywhere for you.]

[He’s been looking for you nonstop since he realized you moved out. He’s wasted right now. Like

bad.]

[Can you just call him? Please?]

There was a video attached.

I stared at it for a second. Then I tapped play.

Grant, slumped against the couch, eyes closed. Saying my name. Over and over.

The camera drifted to the side. Whoever was filming hadn’t meant to pan.

And there was Celia. Right next to him.

I’d never met her in person. She’d only ever existed in his posts and video calls. And now here she was, sitting in my living room.

I closed the video.

I replied to Graham.

[We broke up.]

[I don’t think we should be in contact anymore.]

Graham called within a minute.

He sounded exhausted. “Look, I know he screwed up. He knows he screwed up. Can you guys just talk?”

It was quiet on his end. All I could hear was the wind.

He had probably gone out onto the balcony.

I’d never been close with Grant’s friends.

Graham was the closest thing I had to one.

“Which time?” I asked.

“The rigged draw? The fake proposal? Bringing her home to live in our apartment?”

“It wasn’t one thing, Graham.”

He sighed.

“Okay. I understand.”

I hung up.