Chapter 14 - THE BET THAT ALMOST RUINED EVERYTHING
Mateo finally confessed the wager.
It happened at a family dinner.
Alessandro and Amelia had been dating for six months.
Their relationship had grown slowly.
Built on honesty.
Respect.
And the understanding that neither belonged to the other.
Then Mateo laughed and mentioned the night Amelia first entered the dining room.
“Who would've thought that stupid bet would work?”
Amelia looked up.
“What bet?”
The room went silent.
Alessandro closed his eyes.
“Mateo.”
Mateo stopped smiling.
Amelia looked between them.
“What bet?”
Alessandro took a breath.
Then told her.
The challenge.
The first woman through the door.
The careless words.
She's mine.
Amelia stared.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Then she stood.
“You made a wager about me?”
Alessandro rose.
“Amelia—”
She stepped back.
“Was I a joke?”
“No.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
He swallowed.
“Because I was ashamed.”
Amelia's eyes filled.
“You should have been.”
She walked away.
Alessandro didn't follow.
Not because he didn't care.
But because he'd finally learned that loving someone meant allowing them to choose.
Three days later, he sent her a letter.
Not flowers.
Not jewelry.
Not an extravagant gift.
A letter.
Amelia,
I was arrogant the night we met. I spoke about a stranger as though she were something I could claim.
You were never mine because of a wager.
You were never mine because I wanted you.
And you never will be unless you freely choose to share your life with me.
I'm sorry I hid the truth.
I won't ask you to forget it.
I only hope you'll believe that the man who made that bet is not the man I want to remain.
Alessandro.
Amelia read it twice.
Then folded it carefully.
She didn't forgive him immediately.
But she agreed to talk.
And when they met, Alessandro listened without interrupting.
May you like
For the first time in his life, he didn't try to win an argument.
He tried to understand.
