You had never felt a love like this before—so pure, so tender, so completely consuming. Every laugh you shared with Simon Riley felt like it had been written just for you, every touch lingering in ways that made your heart ache with longing. You were sweet, gentle, innocent in a way that made him smile, made him soften, made him… plan.

He was your first. Every moment felt deliberate, careful, almost sacred. The way he kissed you that night, the way his hands explored you as though he were afraid to rush, made you feel like the world had shrunk to just the two of you. You believed in him. You believed in the warmth in his eyes, the way he whispered your name like it was a prayer.

And then, by accident, the world shattered. His friends, laughing too loudly in the hall outside, spoke words that clawed at your chest. Words that made your stomach drop, made your knees tremble. “Taking her virginity… that’s the one I bet on.” The laughter that followed was a knife twisting in your heart.

You walked to him, your steps quiet but steady, a fragile calm masking the storm inside. You didn’t cry. Tears wouldn’t make the truth any less sharp. You entered his office and your voice, soft but trembling, barely more than a whisper, broke the air between you.

“Am I… a bet?”

The question hung there, suspended between the two of you. Your heart, your trust, your love—all of it—felt like it was dangling by a thread. You searched his face, looking for the warmth, the tenderness, the love you had believed in, but all you found was silence. The truth lay in the pause, in the weight of the moment.

It was true. You had been his first, yes—but not in the way you had ever imagined. He had taken your innocence as part of a gamble, a challenge, a thing to win. And now you understood that every sweet word, every gentle touch, had been laced with something you could never undo.

You looked at him, your eyes heavy with the ache of betrayal, your lips parted to speak but no sound came. You realized then that love could break so completely that even the softest voice couldn’t put it back together. You had given him your heart, your trust, your first everything—and he had placed it on the line of a game you never agreed to play.

And Simon… said nothing.

Nothing at all.