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He Told Me to Honor the Bet—So I Married the Man He Could Never Cross
Novelix
Completed
On the day of my wedding, my husband Don Adrian Castellano's childhood friend Vivienne Hale challenged me to a Sudoku match. "Let Adrian set the puzzle. Whoever solves it first gets to wear the wedding dress. What do you say?" I was frowning, about to scold her for pulling a stunt like this at my wedding. But Adrian said, "No problem. Let's add a little fun to the ceremony." "After all, I fell for you watching you compete in Sudoku tournaments, remember? Serena?" "You've been a Sudoku coach for years. Don't tell me you're afraid." Of course I wasn't afraid. What I didn't know was that Adrian had already given Vivienne the answers. She won. She looked at me with a smug grin. "You lost, Serena. A bet's a bet. Now you take your punishment, Serena. That dress is mine." Adrian's tender gaze drifted away from Vivienne, and he turned to me with a frown. "You lost. You have to honor the bet." I said nothing. I just nodded. She could have the dress. She could have the whole wedding. What Adrian didn't know was that the night before, Don Dominic Langford, the most powerful man on the East Coast, had called me. He told me Adrian would side with Vivienne. I didn't believe him. So he made me a bet. "If you lose, you marry me." I lost. So, Adrian, I won't be marrying you after all. I'll be marrying Don Dominic Langford.
Chapters (3)
第1章
On the day of my wedding, my husband Don Adrian Castellano's childhood friend Vivienne Hale challenged me to a Sudoku match.
"Let Adrian set the puzzle. Whoever solves it first gets to wear the wedding dress. What do you say?"
I was frowning, about to scold her for pulling a stunt like this at my wedding.
But Adrian said, "No problem. Let's add a little fun to the ceremony."
"After all, I fell for you watching you compete in Sudoku tournaments, remember? Serena?"
"You've been a Sudoku coach for years. Don't tell me you're afraid."
Of course I wasn't afraid.
What I didn't know was that Adrian had already given Vivienne the answers.
She won.
She looked at me with a smug grin. "You lost, Serena. A bet's a bet. Now you take your punishment, Serena. That dress is mine."
Adrian's tender gaze drifted away from Vivienne, and he turned to me with a frown.
"You lost. You have to honor the bet."
I said nothing. I just nodded.
She could have the dress.
She could have the whole wedding.
What Adrian didn't know was that the night before, Don Dominic Langford, the most powerful man on the East Coast, had called me. He told me Adrian would side with Vivienne.
I didn't believe him.
So he made me a bet.
"If you lose, you marry me."
I lost.
So, Adrian, I won't be marrying you after all.
I'll be marrying Don Dominic Langford.
...
An hour before the ceremony, I thought what Dominic had predicted would never come true.
Then Vivienne pushed open the door to the bridal suite.
Behind her came not only Adrian, but the core members of the Castellano family and representatives sent by the Dons of other families to observe the wedding.
"How about a Sudoku challenge?"
Vivienne spoke first.
My heart sank. I looked instinctively at Adrian.
He was sitting on the sofa as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Vivienne pouted at Adrian. "I'm definitely going to win this time, right?"
Adrian said nothing.
"The ceremony starts in an hour. Are you sure you want to joke around right now?"
I couldn't keep quiet.
My makeup was already done. All I had left was to slip into the dress, put on the veil, and the ceremony could begin.
The entire estate was filled with representatives from every family in New York.
This wedding wasn't just a union between Adrian and me. It was Adrian publicly declaring to the world that he had chosen the woman by his side.
For me, it marked the moment I stopped being an outsider and officially became part of their world.
"Come on, don't be such a killjoy. If you hadn't forced me to leave back then, Adrian and I... who knows what might have happened."
Vivienne suddenly threw that out, and Adrian lifted his head to look at me.
Then he glanced at Vivienne.
Only then did she explain. "Serena and I had a Sudoku match years ago. I lost, and she made me leave the country. Told me I was never allowed near Adrian again. So I spent five years in London."
Before I could get a single word out in my defense, Adrian cut me off.
"Fine. Let her have her game."
His eyes were cold when he looked at me. As if, in his mind, it had always been me who drove Vivienne away five years ago.
I opened my mouth, but in the end, I said nothing.
"Let Adrian set the puzzle. Whoever solves it first gets to wear the wedding dress. What do you say?"
Vivienne's tone was playful, brimming with certainty.
Someone behind her couldn't resist chiming in.
"Bold as ever. If you end up in the dress, how are we going to explain it to the other families? Every major family has people sitting out there."
Vivienne laughed. "What's there to explain? I'm just wearing a dress. It's not like I'm marrying Adrian."
I looked at Adrian.
"What do you think?"
I didn't care about Vivienne or the people behind her. The only thing that mattered to me was Adrian's answer.
Adrian just shrugged, his voice flat.
"Then let's play. Isn't this exactly how you sent Vivienne abroad for five years?"
"Sure."
I smiled, then added, "If I lose, why not give her the whole wedding too?"
Adrian frowned. Vivienne laughed immediately.
"The wedding as a wager? Are you trying to force Adrian into cheating for you?"
After hearing Vivienne's words, Adrian said coldly, "Don't say things like that out of spite. You know I don't respond to that."
I felt my heart shatter in that moment.
第2章
"Adrian, you can make the puzzle now."
Adrian had barely finished setting the puzzle when Vivienne was already scribbling numbers across the grid.
In under a minute, she finished and handed it to Adrian.
"Did I get it right?"
Before he could answer, I capped my pen and swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat.
"You got it right."
I looked at Adrian, unable to comprehend.
He could have just told me outright that Vivienne would be wearing the dress today.
"That's not even subtle."
"Everyone knows Vivienne can't do Sudoku."
"It's Don Castellano's wedding. If the bride doesn't wear a dress, what's she supposed to wear? All the families are sitting right outside."
"It must be a joke, right? Don Castellano would never humiliate his own bride like that."
"The people out there don't know what really happened. When the time comes, they'll just say Vivienne is Don Castellano's bride."
The person who said that stopped talking, because Vivienne glanced back over her shoulder.
When she turned to face me again, her eyes were full of triumph.
"You lost the bet, Serena. You should accept it. I'm wearing this dress."
"Honestly, I don't even like this style. Too fussy. What's the point of all these diamonds?"
"I'll probably have every single one of them taken off. I'm a simple person."
My gaze followed hers to the wedding dress behind me.
Four hundred thousand dollars. Adrian had it custom-ordered from Milan.
It was the style I loved. And yes, I loved diamonds.
I clenched my fists and looked at Adrian.
"Why?"
Why would you help her humiliate me?
He knew exactly what I meant.
"You owe her this. Losing once won't kill you. I'm still marrying you."
"Five years ago, nobody gave me the answers, and we never even made a bet..."
"You're not going to back out now, are you?"
Vivienne interrupted me, frowning.
Adrian's brow tightened. "You stood in front of every Don in this city and gave your word. You think you can just walk that back?"
The moment those words landed, every face in the room turned grave.
No one had expected this to be serious. Adrian meant it.
A family that breaks its word doesn't last three days in New York.
And I was a woman who had married in from the outside.
If I went back on my word now, it would only confirm every prejudice people already had about me: she doesn't understand the rules, she doesn't belong at a Don's side.
I stared at him and nodded.
"Fine. I accept."
It was just that I had lost two bets in a single day.
Like they said, I lost, and I had to take my punishment.
So I could no longer marry Don Adrian Castellano. I would marry Don Dominic Langford.
With that thought, I pulled out my phone and sent Dominic a message.
【I lost. I'm marrying you.】
第3章
Dominic replied immediately.
【Good. I'm waiting for you.】
Along with the message, he sent a photo of a wedding dress.
I recognized it at once.
It was the flagship piece, from the same collection as the one Adrian had bought, but this was the premier design. More refined craftsmanship, more intricate detail. And, of course, far more expensive.
At the time, I had thought it was too extravagant and couldn't bring myself to ask for it.
"Everyone out. I'm changing into the dress."
Vivienne said it with a look of pure satisfaction.
I turned off my phone screen, stood up, and gave her my seat.
"Wait, aren't you going to take off your makeup?"
"You're not going to sit out there as a guest with a full bridal look, are you? That would be pathetic."
"Or you could just leave. I'm sure no one would notice."
Vivienne stopped me mid-step.
Then she turned to Adrian. "Since I'm wearing the dress, I'll be the one standing beside you today. She can't walk out there in front of the guests with the same makeup as me, can she? What would the families think?"
That was when I noticed her makeup was identical to mine.
Further proof that everything Dominic had told me the night before was true. They had planned this from the start.
Adrian allowed all of it to happen because he was convinced I had schemed against Vivienne five years ago.
"Take her makeup off!"
Adrian's voice was ice.
I pushed back instinctively. "And if I refuse?"
"Then don't show your face at the wedding! You know what I'm capable of."
I drew a sharp breath, staring at him in disbelief.
The tears I had been holding back finally broke through. I pointed at Vivienne, my voice trembling.
"Then let her marry you."
Vivienne froze for a second, and a flash of delight crossed her eyes.
But Adrian closed the distance in two strides, gripped my shoulders, and lowered his voice.
"Serena, stop this."
"You should've thought about today when you were bullying Vivienne back then."
"Vivienne suffered for five years overseas. You owe her this much."
"And I'm marrying you anyway. All I'm doing is not letting you wear the dress."
I tried to explain one more time.
"Five years ago, she came to me first. I never went looking for her."
"And there was never any bet. I had no idea she left the country."
Adrian stared hard at me, and for the first time, something wavered in his eyes.
Then Vivienne spoke.
"Forget it. There's no point going over this now."
"I won't even wear the dress. Serena, you're quite the manipulator."
"Isn't it because Adrian and I are childhood sweethearts that you used every trick in the book to push me away?"
"I was young and naive. I fell right into your trap. But I never imagined you'd be this shameless."
She turned to leave, and as she pushed up her sleeve, a vicious scar across her wrist came into view.
Adrian's pupils contracted sharply. He grabbed a bottle of makeup remover and poured it over my head.
I couldn't dodge in time. All I could do was hold my breath.
His palm scraped roughly across my face, destroying every trace of makeup.
The humiliation hit me like a flood and pulled me under.
