Basement Betrayal

I was in my first year of high school when I first met Cecelia.

A girl in a white dress suddenly barged into my life without any warning.

My family was poor, barely making enough to eat. Every day, I would sneak into the classroom to eat some dry bread when they went to the cafeteria.

One day, when I was secretly eating the cold bread in the corner of the classroom as usual, Cecelia appeared. She grabbed my hand and forcibly led me to the cafeteria, ordering me a table full of dishes that I never even dared to dream of before. "Come on, eat! You can't leave if you don't finish!"

I stared at the fairy-like girl blankly and asked, "Why did you help me?"

She smiled brightly. "Because you're worth it!"

From that day on, there was no room in my heart for any other girls.

Later, I learned that she helped me because she had made a bet with her friend on how long it would take to win over the school's handsome, high-achieving but penniless heartthrob.

It turned out that our relationship was based on a bet from the very beginning.

During our relationship, I discovered that there was another more important man in Cecelia's heart. That was her first love, Simon.

Every time Simon lost a competition against me, he would call Cecelia in despair, and she would rush to his side without hesitation.

Even my friends could not stand it and asked me whether Cecelia was my girlfriend or Simon's girlfriend.

I had my doubts about their relationship, but she explained to me many times with a frown, "I became depressed because of exam pressure, and he was the one who helped me through it. I just want to thank him properly."

Because of this bond of shared hardship, Cecelia was incredibly gentle with him. If he had any request, Cecelia would find a way to fulfill it, no matter how unreasonable.

If I even slightly doubted their relationship, Cecelia would frantically tell me they were just good friends.

I could not bear to leave her, so I kept lying to myself. Even when they were being intimate in front of me, I just told myself that they were just friends.

I just never imagined she could be so heartless and ruin my legs to help him win the championship.

Looking at my blood-stained legs, I could not help but cover my face and cry.

I thought of my mother, who had delivered food and washed dishes to raise me. Her once beautiful hands were now covered in frostbite. She was lying in a hospital bed, waiting for me to come home.

However, I could only stay here, watching in despair as my honor was taken away. I might never be able to engage in strenuous activity again.

Out of heartache for my mother's hardships, I had once urged her to remarry.

However, my mother firmly shook her head. She told me that the man she loved most in her life was my father, and she would never love anyone else.

As a child, I did not understand if the power of love could really be so great, capable of making someone give up everything.

I let out a bitter laugh as I felt the excruciating pain in my lower body. I thought, 'Mom, it turns out loving someone really is this painful. But it's too late for regrets. Everything I have... is ruined...'