They Bet On How Fast I Would Cry On Our Anniversary Chapter 02

They Bet On How Fast I Would Cry On Our Anniversary Chapter 02

The next morning, Ethan had the filming equipment moved straight into the our penthouse.

The living room was rearranged to look just like the private lounge from the night before.

Sophie had already changed and was waiting in front of the camera for me.

According to their script, I was supposed to smile and admit I’d known about the game from the start.

Every tear, every fight, every time I’d walked out over the years—all of it was supposed to be part of the act.

At the end, I was supposed to hug Sophie and tell everyone she’d never come between us.

Ethan handed me the script.

“Three lines. Say them, and Sophie’s in the clear. It’ll save everyone’s reputation.”

I didn’t take it.

“Why do I have to deny what I actually went through?”

He frowned. “It’s just the ending. You’re not really losing anything.”

To help me get the lines down, he sent me a shared doc.

When I opened it, the revision history popped up on the right.

There was a folder titled: [Claire Reaction Tests.]

I opened it. That’s when I realized the so-called random Truth or Dare prompts had never been random.

Three years ago, the question our friends had originally prepared was: [Who was your first love?]

Ethan had changed it himself.

[What’s the one thing you regret most in your life?]

Next to it, he’d written: [Answer: Marrying Claire.]

[That’s her biggest fear—me regretting the marriage. She’ll cry for sure. Best reaction.]

Two years ago, the original Dare had been to hug someone of the opposite sex. He changed it to a ten-second kiss.

He’d even seated Sophie directly to his right.

He’d even calculated how fast they should lean in toward each other.

[Give Claire five seconds to react.]

[She’ll rush over before they actually kiss.]

[Don’t actually kiss. It’ll be harder to smooth over.]

Last year, Sophie asking him who he’d marry if he could do it all over again had been rehearsed too.

What their friends would use as a veil.

What ring Ethan would put on her finger.

Where I’d stand.

Every detail was mapped out.

Even this year’s fake pregnancy call had been rehearsed several times.

How long Ethan should stay silent. Exactly how he should promise to divorce me.

The newest page was a prediction of my reaction.

[Take off the ring.]

[Walks out.]

[Cries and demands answers.]

[Ethan goes after her and brings her back.]

The final line had been written by Ethan himself.

[She’s terrified of being replaced. Fake pregnancy plus divorce will get the strongest reaction.]

[She won’t actually leave. We can push it a little further.]

The folder also had a plan for winning me back after every game.

Three years ago, white roses and an apology. He was supposed to tell me that what he really regretted was not marrying me sooner.

Two years ago, a three-minute hug and a promise that he hadn’t actually kissed Sophie.

Last year, dinner with me, followed by putting my wedding ring back on on the third night.

Which flowers to bring. Which soft words to use.

How long to hold me. When to tear up so it looked real.

He’d planned it all out in advance.

So even the comfort and remorse I thought were real—it was all just the scripted ending.

Sophie came over, saw what was on the screen, and her face flickered with panic.

She reached for the mouse, trying to close the file.

“Claire, don’t read this. Ethan just wanted to make the anniversary more fun.”

Ethan didn’t deny it.

“I put this much time into it because I wanted to keep things fresh.”

“And you forgive me every year. So clearly, none of it was bad enough to end us.”

Sophie was quiet for a moment.

Then she asked softly, “Why does it have to be me every year?”

Ethan looked at me and answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because you’re the one who bothers her most. Anyone else, and it wouldn’t work.”

I let out a quiet laugh.

So he knew exactly how much I hated seeing them together. That was exactly why he’d pushed it further every year.

I shut the script. “I’m not filming this.”

Ethan’s face went completely hard.

“For three years, you’ve played along with the ending.”

“Now you suddenly won’t. Are you just trying to humiliate everyone?”

Right then, Derek called.

The teaser had already been shared everywhere.

More and more people were accusing them of using the game to publicly humiliate a wife for years.

Sophie’s name was trending too.

After hearing the update, Ethan shut off the filming equipment.

He took the script and headed for the door.

Before he left, he gave me one last sentence.

“If you won’t say it. I’ll say it for you.”