“I have to win this race,” as Gabe was telling himself, four guys recognized Gabe and came to him. These were his friends that played cards every night at his house.“Hey, you’re participating in this marathon? Are you crazy?” one of the guys asked.“That’s why I’m here,” Gabe said, making them laugh.“Anyway, good luck, but you better tell us what your relationship with Mia is,” another guy said, roughly patting Gabe’s shoulder twice. “She wouldn’t come to your house in the middle of night for no simple reason, right?”“T-There’s nothing going on between us,” Gabe said. “I worked in her house for a day, and she came to pay me the money. That’s all.”“Don’t stress. We’ll talk about it tomorrow night,” saying that they went to their positions, where there were more girls concentrated. These guys were in their thirties like Gabe, but they were standing next to 18 and 19 year olds, telling them their bank account balances and receiving some level of attention in return.“These guys…” see
The first place went to Brendon, who finished the race in 2:17:06. He received the prize money of 250,000 dollars in the form of a check. In addition, he also received a charity donation of 10,000 dollars to his company by an anonymous donor.The second place went to Bart Holder, who finished the race in 2:17:38. He received the prize money of 50,000 dollars.The third place received 30,000 dollars. From fourth to tenth place, everybody received 10,000 dollars.From the 11th to the 100th place, everyone received 1000 dollars. From 101st onward, everybody who finished the race received a blender worth about 50 dollars.Gabe was coming home in the dead of the night, holding a blender in his hand, as everybody who had finished the race was given this item.As for Gabe’s four friends, all four of them failed to finish it, though all of them covered close to fifteen miles.“There’s no way Bart got second place… unless he purposely lost…” Gabe thought. “He’s likely trying to get acquainted
Gabe was heading out of the house, but right outside the door, he saw a couple of bones. He immediately recognized them. They were the thigh bones of a rooster.Gabe gritted his teeth in rage. William probably left these at his doorstep to further anger him, he thought. Maybe, Bart made William do it. It didn’t matter. He hated both the father and son to the core.“How could they do this…” his hands curled into tight balls.Just then an old man came to his house with a big book in his hand.“Excuse me, sir, I came to collect the property tax, water tax, and sewage tax,” he introduced himself to Gabe. “Erwin Woods, the house is in his name, and the tax for the past three years hasn’t been paid.”“H-How much do we have to pay in total?” Gabe asked, his heart starting to pick up speed.He adjusted his glasses and took a look at the record book. “All taxes included, it’s just 6325 dollars.”Gabe’s heart exploded. “WHAT?! Why is it so much?”“It’s for three years, sir.”“I know, but… It’s
“This is a private hall,” one of the guards blurted. “It ain’t for beggars. Turn around and leave.”“Beggar?” Gabe frowned. He knew he didn’t come wearing dashing clothes, but how could they mistake him for a beggar. “I-I’m not a beggar.”“You can’t fool us with your poor lies,” another guard grabbed him and tried to take him to the side.“W-Wait!” Gabe raised the envelope in his hand. “I have an invitation card.”“You think I’ll fall for that?” the guard took a look at the pink wedding card, and his eyes widened. He quickly took it and checked the contents inside. He looked at Gabe in mild shock. “Wait here a second,”saying that he rushed to the other guards and told them. “This guy has the VIP wedding card.”“You’re kidding, right? How could he have that card that’s only given to those who’re at least millionaires?” the guards found it hard to believe that Gabe actually brought a VIP wedding card with him. “Maybe one of the actual guests lost his card or something, and then this guy
The walkway was lit with lights and artificial plants in a sequence. The pavement was carpeted by flowers, and so Gabe picked his sandals up and walked on his bare feet so he could feel the softness of the flower petals with his own feet. And he loved it.Some of the people passing who were already giving him weird looks now had their faces scrunch and make more distance from him.“Soft pink flowers… I don’t know their name, but they feel so soft, and they smell nice, too.”He didn’t even feel like entering the wedding hall because he loved walking on this pavement. It was so soothing and comfortable, so he kept going to and fro.One of the guests complained to a guard inside, and this guard spotted Gabe and was coming to him.But then Mia’s family just went past Gabe. None of them even stopped for a second, except for Mia.“Hey…” Mia patted Gabe’s shoulder as he was busy looking at the flowers. “What are you doing here?”“Nothing. I’m just…” Gabe was casually replying, thinking it wa
Kiera brought Gabe over to Zack and said, “He’s Gabe. I told you about him, you remember?”“Yes, I do,” Zack politely shook Gabe’s hand. “You’re the guy who almost took my future wife away from me.”“Haha,” Kiera chortled a little, but Gabe didn’t feel like smiling. Still, he forced out a smile.“Let’s take a group picture,” Kiera said.Gabe along with Mia and her family together stood with Zack and Kiera for the pictures.And then, Mia and her family were getting down the stage. Gabe was also leaving, but Kiera grabbed his hand. “Wait, Gabe. Didn’t you bring any gift for me?” she asked him rather loudly, which he didn’t like. “Did you forget to bring it onto the stage?”Gabe pursed his lips and quickly came closer and pecked her cheek, startling everyone on stage, including Kiera and Zack.Mia and her family couldn’t see what happened because they were getting down the stage; however, many guests noticed it and began to whisper.Kiera controlled herself from fuming at Gabe and shower
Everyone was shocked by what Mia had done.“You bitch!” The young man’s friends fumed at Mia. If not for Gabe suddenly jumping in and standing before her, they would have probably attacked her already. “Do you know who we are and who this man is? He’s the only heir of Fred Fashions. His dad has a networth close to 80 million dollars.”“So what?” Mia indifferently replied. “How much of that 80 million is actually earned by this great friend of yours?”None of the five friends replied to that question, but the guy who got curry thrown in his face just wiped it away with his kerchief and smiled at Mia. “You… I like women with guts like you. Why don’t you be my girlfriend?”Gabe was shocked by his response.“No,” Mia was quick to reply. “You wish.”“Haha,”he took out a visiting card. “I’m Ron Fredinand. You can give me a call whenever you want.” He tried to give the card to her, but she didn’t take it, so he put it in Gabe’s pocket.Gabe wanted to throw the card away, but he couldn’t do s
“How is the food, Gabe?” Kiera asked in a lovely and friendly tone.Gabe put his doubts aside and responded with a thumbs-up.“I’m glad you like it,” she said and then hesitantly asked, “Can I ask you a favor?”“A favor?” Gabe was surprised. “What can I do for you?”“The thing is… we planned a musical and dancing event on the rooftop of the hall,” Kiera explained. “Even the mayor’s son is going to come. There should be a large teddy bear leading the dance and entertaining the guests, but the guy who’s supposed to play that role is ill right now, so…”“Wait, you want me to dance in his place?” Gabe shook his head. “No, no, no.”“You can dance, right?” Kiera remembered him dancing pretty good back when they were dating. He used to clean the floor and work in a dance school for almost six years, and he freely picked up on many dance styles.“It’s been years since I danced,”Gabe explained. “And I’m full right now. I don’t think I can dance. I really want to help, but I’m sorry.”“It’s not