After I Lost Weight They Knelt And Begged For Forgiveness Chapter 07
The room exploded.
“Ryan, honor the deal!”
“If you can’t lift a hundred pounds, you seriously need to get back to the gym.”
“Who was just saying they were scared of the ER?”
Every eye in the place turned to Ryan.
Before, they’d egged him on because they wanted to watch a 220-pound version of me crush him.
Now they were egging him on because they envied him for getting to hold me.
Ryan clearly caught the difference.
He straightened his collar. There was even a hint of smugness in his eyes now.
“I made a promise. I don’t go back on my word.”
He started toward me. Ashley grabbed his arm.
“Don’t.”
Ryan frowned.
“It’s just a hug.”
“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t be jealous of her?”
Ashley’s face went pale.
“I thought she was still 220!”
The moment it left her mouth, the room went silent.
I laughed.
“So when I was 220, you didn’t mind.”
“But at 100, you do?”
Ashley couldn’t come up with a word.
Ryan shook her off.
“Cut it out. You’re making a scene.”
He walked over to me and reached out to hug me.
I stepped back.
Ryan’s hand froze in the air.
“What?”
“Shouldn’t there be an apology before the amends?”
His face locked up.
The people who’d been cheering him on a second ago went dead quiet.
Ryan lowered his voice.
“Sienna, don’t push it.”
“I’m willing to hug you. What more do you want?”
Looking at his face, at that expression of complete entitlement, I suddenly saw how ridiculous I’d been back then.
I’d loved him for three years.
And I’d never once seen just how deep the arrogance ran in him.
“You taped my love letter across an entire row of lockers.”
“You tripped me on purpose.”
“You asked the whole school if you’d survive being sat on by me.”
“And now one ‘I’ll hug you’ is supposed to fix it?”
Ryan’s face darkened further.
“We were kids. Everyone said stupid things back then.”
“Is there really any point in dragging up old stuff?”
“Yes.”
I pulled out my phone.
“Because you all forgot. I didn’t.”
Jenna sprang to her feet.
“Sienna, this is a reunion. Not a tribunal.”
“Ryan’s giving you a graceful way out. Don’t let a little weight loss go to your head.”
I turned to her.
“What’s the rush?”
“Your turn is next.”
Jenna’s face went stiff.
I opened the betting pool.
The clock had just hit seven-thirty.
The system started settling out.
My ten thousand came back to my account with the winnings piled on top.
Another nine grand and change from everyone who’d bet wrong.
Zach caught sight of the total. He couldn’t stop the shock.
“Nearly twenty grand?”
“Sienna cleaned up tonight.”
The chat erupted into groans.
Some had lost a few hundred. Others a few thousand.
Jenna had lost the most.
She was staring at her phone, her face awful.
I flashed the confirmation screen.
“Thank you all.”
“Before you made me tonight’s joke, you were kind enough to send me some money for it.”
Someone couldn’t hold in a snort of laughter.
Ryan couldn’t stand losing face. He scrambled.
“It’s just twenty grand.”
“If you’re short on cash, you can just ask me.”
I nearly asked him to repeat that.
“Your monthly paycheck barely covers this dress.”
Ryan’s face went crimson.
Ashley scoffed.
“Please. It’s just a black dress.”
She reached for the tag inside my dress.
Her fingers hadn’t even touched the fabric when there was a knock at the door.
The lobby manager stepped in with two members of the hotel staff.
He walked straight up to me. Respectful.
“Ms. Reed. Mr. Sterling and Ms. Vance are on the rooftop.”
“The announcement is ten minutes out. When would you like to head up?”