Fat Girls Are Not A Bet Chapter 04
On the day of the party, I slept in until noon.
There were already hundreds of unread messages on my phone.
The chat was arguing about the seating arrangement.
Someone had deliberately posted a photo of an extra-wide chair.
“Reserve this one for Olivia. A regular chair probably won’t hold her.”
“Aw, so thoughtful. Someone give this guy a Freshman Kindness Award.”
Ethan was in the chat too.
“She won’t come. Drop it.”
Serena: “But what if Olivia does come? Everyone, promise me—no more making fun of her.”
The more she pleaded, the harder the chat laughed.
I didn’t say anything. Just got up and washed my face.
Mia showed up at my place at two, dragging two makeup cases.
“Today I’m giving you the ‘trash-ex-fatal-wound’ look.”
I sat in front of the mirror and raised an eyebrow.
“What’s a ‘trash-ex-fatal-wound’ look?”
“It’s where you walk out untouched and the trash ex takes catastrophic damage on sight.”
She curled my hair, then dug a black slip dress out of my closet.
The cut was minimalist, cinched slightly at the waist, baring my collarbone and the elegant line of my shoulders.
When I stepped out in it, Mia stared for a solid thirty seconds.
Then she pressed a hand to her chest.
“I’m done.”
“Done with what?”
“I’m already in love with you.”
I laughed.
She spun me around twice, getting more and more excited.
At five in the afternoon, someone in the chat suddenly posted a video from the party.
In a private room at a restaurant, a white cake sat in the middle of the table.
Written across it in red frosting:
**[Welcome, 330-lb. Olivia]**
Laughter cackled around it.
A guy with a buzz cut named Nico yelled at the camera, “Olivia, if you don’t get here soon, we’ll do the couple’s challenges for you!”
Ethan was sitting on the sofa. He glanced at the camera and scoffed.
“Told you. She won’t dare.”
“She wouldn’t even video chat with me. You think she’s actually going to show up in person?”
Serena playfully swatted him.
“Don’t say that about Olivia.”
I closed the video.
Mia grabbed her car keys, furious.
“Come on. Let’s go show them.”
Right as we stepped outside, my phone buzzed with a friend request.
Adrian.
I accepted, and a message came through almost immediately.
“I’m sorry. This started because of me. I’ll handle it.”
“Do you want me to pick you up?”
I stared at that *I’m sorry*, and something in me warmed toward him.
“No need. I’m already on my way.”
“And I’ll go through with the challenges tonight.”
His last message was short.
“Don’t push yourself.”
Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of the restaurant.
Mia had planned to come up with me, but her mom called in the middle of it—some emergency.
Before she left, she squeezed my hand.
“Call me the second anything happens. Anyone dares humiliate you, I’ll slap them across the face.”
I nodded and got out.
Walking through the restaurant lobby, I noticed the guy at the front desk keep glancing up at me.
Even after I stepped into the elevator, his eyes were still on me through the glass doors.
The private room was at the far end of the third floor.
I walked over in my heels. Even through the heavy door, I could hear the laughter inside.
“It’s six already. She really didn’t come.”
“What’d I say? Someone Olivia’s size, she’d need an oxygen tank halfway to the restaurant.”
“Adrian didn’t come either. Think he chickened out?”
Then Ethan’s voice, casual.
“I told her not to come.”
“Girls like her—they can lie to themselves online. Show up in person and it’s just a public execution.”
Serena laughed and picked up the thread.
“Maybe she just wants to prove something to herself.”
Another wave of laughter rolled through the room.
I stood outside, slowly lifting my hand.
At that exact moment, a low male voice came from behind me.
“Olivia?”
I turned.
Under the hallway light, a tall young man stood there in a black shirt, his features cold and almost sharp.
The instant he saw me, his face registered clear shock.
I gave him a small smile.
“You’re…”
“Adrian?”
Inside the room, someone was already counting down.
“Ten seconds left. If she doesn’t come, our bets pay out!”
“Ten!”
“Nine!”
“Eight!”
Adrian was still staring at me.
I turned back, wrapped my hand around the door handle.
One second before the countdown hit zero, I pushed the door open.