The Hundredth Prank, A Fatal Bet

Flipping through the diary, I saw that while Ethan was pranking me, he had also recorded countless moments when his heart had skipped a beat for me.

It seemed he was just as trapped as I was, unable to escape.

But tucked into the last page of the diary was a plane ticket stub from last Valentine’s Day. His strong, sharp handwriting filled the blank space:

“If I had to choose again, I would still pretend to lose the tickets and trick her into staying at the airport with me all night to revise the proposal. Because this was for Sophia. The 72nd prank.”

Raindrops hammered against the window.

All his affection was built on a foundation of self-deception. He might have loved me, but he loved Sophia more. In the end, I was just a substitute.

My hand trembling, I pulled out my phone and scheduled an abortion.

Late that night, I lay in bed, pretending to be fast asleep as I heard Ethan come home, bringing a chill in with him.

A long moment passed. He hadn't moved. Strange.

I hadn't played along with his prank, which must have humiliated him in front of Sophia and his friends. Was he really just going to let it go?

The mattress behind me dipped, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around me.

Ethan buried his head in the crook of my neck like a weary traveler finally home, his warm breath tickling my skin. “We’re having a baby, Anna.”

I remained silent. He had no idea that I had already decided not to have this child.

Ethan didn't notice my cold silence. He took out my pregnancy test, drawing three tiny hearts on it with the sharp point of a fountain pen.

It was the Montblanc pen I had bought him with my first-ever paycheck. He had carried it with him for years.

I didn't respond. Ethan held me tighter, whispering endless sweet nothings. But my heart felt like it had been tossed into the dead of winter, frozen stiff.

“I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”

He immediately fell silent, only murmuring, “We’re going to Sophia’s birthday party tomorrow,” before his breathing evened out into sleep.

But I lay awake all night.

Ethan had orchestrated a game of feigned amnesia, and I had lost three years of my heart.

So I would stage a game of feigned death and make him regret it for the rest of his life.