CHAPTER 12: CHAPTER 12 LIKED THE IDEA

“Why did we break up?”

Caden genuinely wanted to know. He had thought their relationship was perfect.

She was a popular girl at school while he was the most popular boy in school. They were like a power couple.

Caden blinked.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t list a lot of reasons why he was obsessed with Brielle.

Aside the fact that she was experienced in bed and was popular at school, he just couldn’t think of any more reason why he wanted her.

Brielle replied, her eyes taking on a hopeful smile.

“I thought I wasn’t good enough for you. The truth is, no one knows about my background. Most students in this school all see me as this popular girl from a wealthy family and I didn’t see the need to tell the truth about my family. But it always bothered me, it bothered me to think that I’d lose you if you find out about my background. At that time, I was very depressed, plus my stepdad kept pestering me about money so...so I thought I didn’t deserve someone like you. I felt was too miserable to be with you.” Her voice cracked and she tried by all means to cry.

“But now that you just saw him and you weren’t affected, I...I just realized that I was stupid, I shouldn’t have thought anything less of you. I shouldn’t have doubted your love for me.” Brielle finished speaking and stood there waiting for him to ask the question she desperately wanted to hear.

But he didn’t.

He just stood there.

Fuck it!

She decided to ask the question instead.

Reaching for his hand, Brielle asked, softly.

“Caden, can we get back together?”

Caden stared at her, his fingers cold against her palm.

The question hung in the air between them.

This was the very thing he had wanted to hear, that was why he went about scheming and manipulating an innocent girl.

But somehow, that made him feel uneasy now.

After being with Alora, Caden was having doubts if he ever liked Brielle.

Did he like Brielle or did he just like the idea of being in a relationship with Brielle?

The way he could list out, even the smallest things about Alora, he couldn’t do that about Brielle.

The way he and Alora would spend hours and hours talking and simply basking in each other’s company, he never did that with Brielle.

Hell, it felt as if him and Brielle’s relationship was led by lust and he thought it was love.

Brielle’s smile faded as the silence stretched.

“What’s wrong? Did you lie just now? My background is a problem for you, isn’t it?”

Caden shook his head.”No, I...I don’t care about your background...I...”

He paused as Alora’s face flashed through his head.

Her smile, her laughter, the beautiful look in her eyes.

Caden still couldn’t understand himself.

He had spent months orchestrating an elaborate scheme to ensure Brielle would get the Tisch spot.

Now, everyone had turned out the way he planned.

But he wasn’t happy about it.

This feeling was worse than sadness.

“I...”He tried to speak again.”I need time to think about it.”

Brielle’s face drained.

She instantly felt fearful but she tried to hide it. She had bared her souls, tried to look pitiful as hell only to be met with hesitation.

But she forced a smile anyway, years of performing on stage made that easy for her to act right now.

“Okay.”

Caden walked Brielle back to her dorm because it was freaking late then he went back to it.

As he opened the door to his room...

POP!

Confetti exploded on his face, the sudden noise making him flinch.

He frowned, brushing the colorful paper from his hair, irritation replacing the confusion that had plagued him since Alora left.

“What’s going on here?”

His teammates and friends crowded around him with mischievous grins.

Mason held the empty confetti popper while Logan and Chase stood behind him with knowing smiles.

“We’re celebrating, of course!”Chase exclaimed.

“We heard you and Brielle talking. You guys are getting back together. Mission accomplished!”Mason cheered.

Caden frowned.

He and Brielle had been alone. It was midnight and he was sure no one came by the late.

“How do you know about that?”

“Dude, you really need to be more careful with your phone.”Logan advised.

He held up his cellphone and Jason grimaced.

“You never lock your screen and it’s always in your pocket. We’ve lost count of how many times you’ve accidentally called people at this point. It’s like your signature move at this point.”

“I got a call from you earlier.”Logan continued.”When I realized that you and Brielle were together and talking, I figured you had pocket-dialed again. So yeah, I heard her asking you to get back together with her.”

“Don’t worry, after hearing that, I felt you two needed privacy so I hung up right away. Did you two seal the deal at the lake?”Logan teased.

The other guys joined in.

But something else was running through Caden’s mind.

It was true that he accidentally calls people and he barely figured it out because the people were the ones who always hung up because he even realized he had called by mistake.

He recalled the many times he had gloated about the bet with his friends while deep down, he had hoped Alora never finds out about it.

He had been running through a list of reasons when she had suddenly left him.

While he guessed that she had found out about the bet.

He wasn’t certain about it, plus he didn’t want it to be true.

If she ever were to find out about the bet, he had wanted to be the one to tell her about it himself.

But if she found out through his gloating with his friends, his heart dropped.

She might never forgive him for that.

He quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket.

With trembling fingers, he scrolled through his call history, each heartbeat thundering in his ears like a countdown.

He checked the dates and time he had called her.

He remembered each other until he came by one that he didn’t remember.

He didn’t remember calling her this day and at this time but he could remember what happened on this day.

It was the day they had sex at the prop room.

He had boasted about it to his friends, they had laughed and talked about the bet.

Caden swallowed the huge lump in his throat.

The answer stared back at him, damning and undeniable.

He had called her easy and gullible. He had boasted about how simply it was to manipulate her feelings.

And she was on the other end of the phone, hearing every word.

Caden stared at the call duration in horror, the number burning into his vision like a brand.

Twenty-three minutes.

Long enough to hear everything. Long enough to understand exactly what she had been to him.

She must have felt so hurt.

A shattering sound startled the boys.

They turned to see Caden had smashed his phone against the floor.

He finally understood why she changed towards him and decided to leave.

He finally understood why her eyes looked different and she suddenly didn’t want him touching her.

She had been so guarded against him for the past few days.

She had heard everything he said, clearly.

There was no denying it.

Nothing could justify what he said.

Nothing.

A wave of nausea swept through him as he realized the magnitude of his cruelty.

It was just because of the bet itself, it was his callous pride, his stupid need to prove to his friends that he was the master at playing games with innocent girls.