Ex's Bet on Reconciliation Fails

Six years after Colten Rice ended our engagement, I returned home from my studies. During that time, Colten had just divorced Joanna Carpenter, the woman he thought was perfect for him.

I overheard someone asking him, "Melina's back. What's your plan?"

I'm Melina.

Colten replied with a tone of certainty, "I got divorced, and she came back right away. What plan could I possibly have?"

Another voice added, "She was pretty keen on Colten back in the day. She must've come back to give it another go."

Colten made a wager with his friends that within a week, I'd be on his doorstep, pleading for a reconciliation.

A week later, the news arrived—I was married. I even sent him an invitation to my daughter's birthday party.

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I caught sight of Colten Rice at "The Crestview" restaurant, a favorite spot for the city's affluent crowd. As he walked ahead of me, his tall and sophisticated silhouette was hard to miss, even after all these years.

He went into private room 606, while I headed to 608, just next door.

As I passed room 606, the door was slightly open, and the quiet hallway amplified the conversation inside.

Someone asked him, "Now that Melina's back, has she tried to get in touch?"

Another person noted they'd seen me at the airport last week.

I recalled that day; a man had waved at me when I got off the plane. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him, so I gave a courteous smile.

Then it all came together: he was the son of Donald Rice's secretary, who had used that connection to become Colten's assistant after graduating.

Colten laughed heartily and said, "Just as I expected."

With curiosity, someone asked, "What did you expect, Colten?"

Another voice jumped in, as if reading his thoughts, "She went abroad for five or six years without ever coming back, and now that Colten's divorced, she's here again—what other reason could there be?"

The group was in awe, "Colten's quite the catch among the city's well-off young crowd."

I chuckled to myself. With his father’s gambling habits, the Rice family barely scraped the surface of elite circles—more middle-class than anything.

Then another voice chimed in, "I ran into Lucille Alexander this morning. She had a little kid with her and said it was her granddaughter."

"Is Melina married?"

Faces in the room showed confusion. No one had seen any sign of a wedding from me.

My husband and I just registered our marriage; we didn't throw a wedding bash.

Someone confidently stated, "We never got any wedding news. She's definitely not hitched. Her mom would be shouting it from the rooftops if Melina were really married."

The mood of the room picked up again.

"Same old ploy!"

Colten was full of himself, "I bet you, within a week, she'll definitely show up at my door!"