Chapter 3
615 Words
The envelope was stuffed with nothing but blank sheets of paper.
Not a single bill inside.
The room erupted in laughter again.
Chloe held up the camera I had given her, recording my embarrassed expression as I opened the envelope.
"Relax, I was just messing with you. The atmosphere was so tense earlier that I was scared.
"Zoe, I was only trying to lighten the mood. You're not going to be mad at me, are you?"
My grip tightened around the envelope as I fought to keep my temper under control.
When I didn't respond, she turned to Jason with a pleading look.
"Did I go too far? Maybe I should leave. I don't want Zoe to be upset because of me."
Jason placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on. Zoe's a 'strong, independent woman.' She doesn't get upset over little things. If anything, she'd be happy that you're making her laugh. Why would you leave? Think of something to put on the wheel."
The others immediately chimed in.
"Exactly. Chloe, you're always the creative one. Come up with something fun."
I calmly folded the envelope back up.
Not a single person in the room cared about how I felt.
"Fine. I won't hold back then. I'll write whatever comes to mind."
She picked up a pen and walked over.
Soon, the wheel was filled with new challenges:
"Twenty-four-hour Courthouse Marriage Challenge"
"Forty-eight-hour Boyfriend Swap Card"
"Real Proposal"
"That should do it. Since it's Valentine's Day, we might as well have some fun. But if Jason ends up having to propose to someone else, you won't mind, right, Zoe?"
I didn't even look at Jason.
"I'm fine with it. I can handle it."
Chloe rushed over and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"I knew it. Our Zoe would never be that petty."
Then she returned to her seat.
But I stood there frozen.
Because I caught the scent of Jason's cologne on her.
Even if they had been sitting close together, the smell shouldn't have been that strong.
Unless...
"Alright, let's start. Everyone roll the dice in the group chat."
"Whoever rolls the lowest goes to spin the wheel. Sound good?"
"I'm rolling first."
Chloe's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
One notification after another filled the room.
I took out my phone, but there were no new messages.
Chloe sighed dramatically. "Six? Seriously? A six? That's so boring."
Jason gently comforted her. "Then next round, whoever rolls the highest gets to spin?"
Everyone called out their numbers. No one rolled the lowest number: one.
"Zoe, what did you get?"
After asking everyone else, they finally remembered me.
I turned my phone screen around.
"Sorry. It looks like I'm not in your group chat."
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Chloe froze, then quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Oh, that's my fault. I must have sent it to the wrong chat. This group was actually supposed to be for your surprise."
"Zoe, just send a one in your group. We'll count this round as your win. You can spin the wheel, okay?"
"Everyone's fine with that, right?"
Everyone nodded.
Jason said nothing.
I stood up and walked toward the wheel.
My heart felt like it was stuffed with a wet towel.
Heavy. Tight.
I gave the wheel a casual spin. The pointer landed perfectly on "Fake Proposal" again.
Laughter instantly swallowed the room.
"Looks like Zoe's marriage luck really isn't great this year."
"Maybe Zoe forgot to check the fortune calendar before coming out today. Looks like today just isn't a good day for proposals or weddings."
Even Jason laughed.
But I couldn't.
The wheel had been tampered with.
- Writer
