Lost the Bet on Our Anniversary, Ended the Relationship She Scriptted Chapter 01
I have severe face blindness, so for three years in high school,
I never even learned to recognize the classmate who sat nex to me every day.
My boyfriend, Evan Brooks, started wearing the same cologne
every day so I would always have another way to identify him.
“It’s okay. Even if you can’t remember my face, remember my scent.”
“One night, he blushed and told me he wanted to take our relationship further.
The moment the man in front of me started unbuttoning his
shirt, the bedroom door flew open.
Evan stood in the doorway, with his childhood friend and
self–appointed dating coach, Sienna, beside him.
She glared at me.
“Who are you trying to fool with this face–blindness act? Who
mistakes someone else for her own boyfriend? You just want
an excuse to mess around, don’t you?”
Evan looked shaken.
“Aria, is she right?”
I looked at the disheveled man in front of me.
There was a mole on his neck.
Evan didn’t have one.
My stomach turned.
Last Valentine’s Day, Evan had ordered a shared taco platter
covered in cilantro, even though he knew I couldn’t stand it.
I barely touched dinner, and Sienna immediately frowned.
“She’s barely eating. Doesn’t exactly look like she’s happy to be here with you.”
That was how nearly every fight between us started.
Sienna would make one pointed comment, and Evan would start doubting me.
Every single time, he believed her before he believed me.
Suddenly, I was exhausted.
Maybe I really had mistaken him for someone else.
But the man I loved wasn’t the Evan standing in that doorway anymore.
“You’ve been together for three years, not three days. I don’t
buy that you can still make a mistake like this.”
Sienna pouted and stood close enough to Evan that they
looked more like the couple than we did.
I opened my mouth, but my throat tightened and no words came out.
When Evan first asked me out, I turned him down immediately.
I told him I had face blindness and that there would be times
when I might not recognize the person I loved.
But he kept showing up, day after day, until I finally believed
he could handle it.
Then, on our very first date, I mistook another man for him.
The moment I realized my mistake, I tried to leave.
The stranger grabbed me and pulled me into a nearby alley.
“You’re the one who came up to me. Now you’re suddenly not interested?”
When he ignored me telling him to stop and crossed a line, I
panicked and fought to get away.
Evan and Sienna had been only a short distance away.
They had watched me approach the wrong man.
They had watched the situation turn dangerous.
They only came over after I called the police,
Sienna didn’t comfort me afterward,
She looked at my tear–streaked face and said. “Quit acting
like a victim. You looked pretty into it to me.”
Evan said nothing.
We had one of the worst fights of our relationship that night.
It wasn’t until I showed him the neurologist’s diagnosis
confirming my prosopagnosia that he finally apologized.
He begged me to forgive him and swore he would never doubt
me like that again.
I believed him.
I never imagined I would go on forgiving him for the same
kind of betrayal over and over.
Somewhere along the way, tears had started running down my face.
Evan reached out to wipe them away.
Don’t cry, Aria. I believe you.”
Then he turned to Sienna, irritation finally entering his voice.
“Enough, Sienna. Stop making assumptions about Aria. She’s
not like that. Apologize.”
Sienna just shrugged.
“Fine. Sorry, I’ll stop, okay? I’ve never seen anyone this whipped.”
She smiled as though she were humoring a child.
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
Then my hands started shaking before I could stop them.
My anxiety was turning physical again.
Evan saw it and finally stopped pushing.
He took me home, poured me a glass of water, waited while I
took my medication, and left after I had settled down.
I curled up in bed, completely drained.
Then my phone buzzed.
A mental–health creator I’d followed for a long time was
hosting her first live advice Q&A that night.
I wiped my face and worked up the courage to request a spot.
I happened to be the first person she brought on.
I told her about the years of confusion, fear, and
misunderstanding I’d dealt with because of my face blindness.
The livestream went quiet for a few seconds,
Then the host gave a soft laugh,
“Sorry, but people come here for real advice, Are we really
going to spend everyone’s time on a made–up relationship story?”
I froze.
I knew that voice.
Sienna.
Before I could explain, she removed me from the livestream.
When the app returned to her profile, I found myself scrolling.
She didn’t post often, but Evan was hidden in almost every post.
There was a photo of a man’s right hand resting against her
stomach while she had cramps.
“The mole on the back of his hand was in the exact same place as Evan’s.
Another post showed a takeout dinner from a popular restaurant.
“He was worried I’d be hungry, so he waited forever to get this
for me,” she’d written.
My chest tightened.
I remembered that day.
I’d been in the hospital with a 104–degree fever and a severe
case of gastroenteritis, curled up in pain.
I’d called Evan more than ten times.
Every call went straight to voicemail.
Hours later, he finally showed up with a small box of pastries
and said they were an apology.
He claimed something urgent had come up and his phone had died.
I was too sick to question him, so I forgave him again.
But now, staring at the receipt visible in the corner of
Sienna’s photo, I finally understood.
The pastries Evan had brought me were the complimentary
dessert that came with her order.