Madison Hodge, my fiancee, thinks that weighing 160 pounds makes me too fat.

So, I sign up for a gym membership and work out as much as I can. But the more I exercise, the more weight I put on.

Meanwhile, Daniel Webb, a good buddy of mine, livestreams his supper every night. Despite feasting on the most calorie-rich food out there, not only does he not put on any weight, but he even loses ten pounds.

As Madison rips into me for not losing any weight, I suddenly find myself able to hear the thoughts of my tabby cat, Furball.

His mind goes, "Why are you so silly, Master? Daniel chose you as his target for the Weight Swapping System he has! No matter how many pounds you work off, it's Daniel who loses the weight. He's trying to ruin your life!"

Feeling completely stunned, I turn to Daniel, only to see that he's staring at Madison with an affectionate gaze.

Once again, I hear more of Furball's thoughts.

"Daniel is hopelessly in love with that awful woman. Once he slims down, the two of them will start hooking up. They'll team up to take your life and live off your life insurance payout. They'll even enjoy their intimacy during your funeral!"

Now that I know the truth, I simply let out a chuckle.

Since this good buddy of mine loves losing weight so much, I'm sure he'll be extremely grateful to me if I make sure he weighs no more than 100 pounds, right?

The biting, sarcastic voice of my fiancee, Madison Hodge, rang out once more.

"Can you stop eating? I can see your double chin already. Do you seriously expect me to marry you when you look as fat and ugly as a pig? I'm warning you. If you don't get your weight down to 140 pounds, you can forget about us getting married!"

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, having just gotten over the shock of hearing my cat, Furball's, thoughts.

Standing at 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds meant I had a perfectly healthy body weight, but Madison said I looked like a pig.

All along, out of my deep love for her, I tried my best to lose weight. I ate one meal a day and worked out like crazy all the time. Despite how starved and exhausted I was, I was desperate to lose the weight and earn her approval.

Yet, not only did she not care about how hard it was for me, but she kept mocking me with snide remarks.

I was beyond disheartened.

Meanwhile, Daniel Webb stuffed the imported fruits I bought into his bag while chiming in to agree with her.

"She's right, Greg. Not only do you have a double chin now, but your arms are so thick and flabby. You've got way too much excess fat. It looks like you might even knock Madison out cold with a single slap.

"Hey, you're not just lying about trying to lose weight, right? Have you been secretly stuffing your mouth with food this whole time? If you put on any more weight, Madison might seriously dump you. Don't come crying to me when that happens."

Before I could say anything, Furball's thoughts came flooding again.

"You despicable man! The only reason my master hasn't lost any weight is because of that horrible Weight Swapping System you used on him! Every single pound he worked hard to lose ends up coming off your body instead!

"Meanwhile, you spend all your time gorging on the richest and fattiest food you can find, and every single pound you gain ends up on his body. That's why he keeps putting on weight!

"Master, even though you're just cannon fodder in this book, you're supposed to live a very fortunate life. You have to stay away from this awful pair. Not only will they take your life, but they'll even use your money to start a company and rise to the top!"

After hearing Furball's rants, I looked at Daniel's gloating expression and felt my heart clench painfully.

Daniel and I met in high school, and we'd been friends ever since. Our decade-long friendship lasted through graduation and our joint hustle since then.

Whenever he needed money, I handed it over without question. When he didn't have a place to stay, I took him in without hesitation. Even when he had an emotional breakdown, I was the one who stayed with him to pull him back together.

I thought we were the best of friends—but it turned out that he'd been stabbing me in the back all along.

Nevertheless, if Furball's thoughts were true, it wasn't time for me to confront Madison and Daniel just yet.

"Greg Jefferson! Are you deaf? Why aren't you talking?" Madison snapped impatiently.

Suppressing my anger, I replied with a smile, "I heard you. I'll do my best to lose weight, so you guys don't have to worry about it."

"Really?" Daniel's eyes shone gleefully. "Well, then, you'd better put your back into it! You should probably lose 30 pounds. You'd look best if you weighed about 130 pounds."

He kept emphasizing my weight, which made my gaze turn icy. Still, I deliberately leaned in close to Madison and said, "Of course. Since my fiancee wants me to lose weight, I should definitely do as she says. Otherwise, I won't be able to be the handsome groom she wants to see on her wedding day."

Madison nodded in satisfaction.

On the other hand, Daniel's expression darkened, and his eyes blazed with jealousy.

At the very next moment, he pulled me away and said, "Cut that out, Greg. Stop trying to flaunt your relationship in front of me. Look at you. You're a pig right now. Aren't you afraid you'd crush her under your weight?

"You should focus on coming up with your weight loss plan instead. Don't end up putting in more weight instead of losing it."

I let him drag me off, but my gaze turned even colder.

His jealousy was as clear as day. Why hadn't I noticed it sooner? Just how dumb was I all this time?

Flinging his hand off, I said, "I've already arranged a consultation with a nutritionist and signed up for a bodybuilding class. I'll be working on a weight loss plan that includes both watching my diet and exercising, so I'm sure I'll get the weight off soon enough."

Madison perked up at once. "Bodybuilding class sounds good. I hear guys who complete the training develop muscles in all the right places—broad shoulders and abs for days.

"Honestly, Greg, you're not too shabby looking. Once you shed the fat and build up some muscle, I'm sure you'll have a killer body that makes you even more appealing. I'd feel good walking around with you, too, so you'd better work hard on losing weight."

Meanwhile, Daniel had a meaningful smile on his face.

I took in both their reactions. Now that the love and affection had died out, all that remained was hatred and disgust. I wanted nothing more than to slap them both in the face.

One spent all her time gaslighting me, putting me down to make it seem like I wasn't good enough for her. She was a complete narcissist.

Meanwhile, the other was a backstabbing "friend" who had resorted to some underhanded trick to swap his weight with me. He was eager to seduce my "fiancee" and was going to team up with her to kill me off and use my money to fund their lavish lifestyle!

They were a pair of shameless monsters.

Since fate had somehow given me this knowledge of the future, I was going to make the most of it and let those two scumbags pay for their actions!

The next day, I started my weight-loss plan.

Daniel woke me up at the crack of dawn to send me on a morning run while he went to a diner to have a full breakfast, including a double serving of bacon and sausages.

I ran in the morning, worked during the day, and hit the gym like a maniac at night. My legs were so tired I could barely lift them, and I was so hungry my head spun.

Finally, I made it home and collapsed on the bed to rest for a bit. The moment I picked up my phone, however, I noticed that Madison had liked a hot guy's social media post. She even commented below, "Hey, handsome. Wanna meet up? I'm single, and I'll be heading to Frostcliff on a business trip for a month. I'll have plenty of time to spare then."

I was so enraged that I felt sick to my stomach and had to toss my phone aside.

From the looks of it, Daniel wasn't the only guy she flirted with. She was probably fooling around with other guys behind my back.

Thank goodness I'd somehow gotten the ability to hear Furball's thoughts. At least I was no longer oblivious to Madison's cheating.

I immediately rewarded Furball with two chicken drumsticks, his favorite.

All at once, I heard his thoughts again. "Yummy drumsticks! My master is such a handsome and awesome guy! But how do I tell my handsome yet foolish master that he can't keep trying to lose weight like that?

"He's working out so much that his legs are shaking from exhaustion, but in the end, it'll be that awful man who benefits from everything he does!"

I listened to Furball's thoughts in silence before giving him a peck on the cheek. He didn't have to worry about me. The games had only just begun.

After spending a month working my butt off to lose weight, I suggested going to a buffet.

However, in that time, I'd put on a ton of weight. All of the pants I owned no longer fit. Some couldn't even be pulled up past my butt, while others couldn't be buttoned across my waist.

Madison, who'd just returned from her business trip, was fuming.

"You want to go to a buffet? Is food the only thing you can think about? You said you've been working on losing weight for the past month, yet you've almost put on more than ten pounds instead! You're so fat that I can barely see your neck anymore! I told you to lose weight, so why are you getting fatter?"

When Daniel showed up, he gasped in feigned horror as well.

"Greg! I told you not to get lazy and stick to your weight-loss plan. Look at you! After all that money you spent on expert help, you still haven't lost any weight. You're so irresponsible!" he exclaimed.

"Why can't you be more like me instead? I don't even have to go to the gym, and I can eat as much as I want every day. I even livestream my suppers all the time, yet I still lost 20 pounds. It's annoying, honestly."

I looked at Daniel. He'd recently slimmed down a lot. Even his face looked smaller now. He was by no means short, standing at five feet ten inches tall. But now that he'd developed some muscle definition on his chest and abs, he started looking a lot more polished and attractive.

Daniel had even gotten a new haircut. All in all, he looked pretty handsome now.

Acting like I couldn't see the smug look in his eyes, I pretended to grumble in frustration, "I don't know how this happened either. I barely eat anything all day, and my coach supervises me each time I exercise, so why haven't I lost any weight?"

Daniel could barely stop himself from grinning at the sight of my defeatedness and despair.

"Maybe it's just fate. I was probably born lucky. No matter how much fried chicken and burgers I eat every day, I still manage to slim down and keep the weight off. Don't you think so, Maddie?" he remarked.

Madison was a pragmatic woman—almost to a fault, really. Even though she'd always scorned Daniel in the past, now that he looked a lot more attractive, she began speaking to him in a much gentler tone.

"That's right, Danny. With a body like yours, any woman would feel proud to be by your side in public."

After the two exchanged a flirtatious glance, she began to put pressure on me again.

"Take a look at yourself, Greg! Compare yourself to Danny. Shouldn't guys have a bit more self-awareness? Aren't you ashamed of being as fat as you are?" she snapped. "I'm warning you. You'd better lose the weight. Or else, if you can't even get into your wedding suit and end up embarrassing me at the wedding, I won't go easy on you!

"Also, you can forget about the buffet tonight. Danny can go with me instead. Lose the weight first, then I'll agree to let you take me to a buffet."

Daniel flicked his hair. "Exactly, Greg. Stay home and exercise hard tonight. Since you weren't blessed with a good physique, you're just going to have to work twice as hard to stay slim."

I didn't respond.

However, Furball bared his teeth and ranted in his head. "You horrible man! You're the one who stole my master's weight-loss efforts, yet you're being all snarky toward him. You shameless, terrible man!

"And I haven't forgotten about you, you awful woman! How dare you boss my master around when you rely on him for money, huh? Without him, you won't even be able to keep yourself alive!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

Once I saw that Madison and Daniel had left the house, I scooped up Furball and started kissing him again. "It's alright, Furball. It's too early to see who's going to have the last laugh."

A week later, I was at work when the phone app for the surveillance system I installed at the house suddenly alerted me that someone had entered my room.

Even though Madison and I were about to get married, I insisted on sleeping in separate bedrooms. She usually never entered my room, so I had to check the footage to see what was going on.

I ended up seeing that it was Daniel who'd snuck into my room and was digging through my closet. In the end, he pulled out a set of luxurious men's pajamas that I'd been too reluctant to wear this whole time.

He had no qualms about stripping himself naked and putting the pajamas on. As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he muttered, "Since we want to make things exciting, we should go all the way."

When Madison came in, he even unbuttoned the pajama top before lying down on my bed. "Maddie, do you want to feel my abs?"

Smirking, she walked over to him and said, "What a naughty boy you are."

The two of them were soon wrapped in each other's arms, rolling across my bed.

The veins along my forehead started throbbing. The bed had been defiled now. I had to throw it out at once, or I wouldn't be able to stop myself from puking.

Once they'd done the deed, Daniel continued to hold Madison close. "Maddie, what do you think will happen if Greg fails to lose weight? I'm his best man, and I'll look far more handsome when I stand beside him. Will he feel embarrassed because of that?"

Madison kissed him passionately before replying, "As if he'd had the audacity to feel embarrassed by that. It's not like I never gave him any chances. All women adore handsome and attractive men. What's so wrong about me wanting him to lose all that excess weight?

"If he's still as fat as a pig by the time the wedding comes along and ends up embarrassing me, then he's the one who's in the wrong. I'll just find myself a new groom, and he won't have any right to get mad at me for that.

"When the time comes, I'll just marry you instead. Are you okay with that?"

Daniel hugged her tightly. "Of course I'll be happy to marry you."

The two of them exchanged a smile before getting it on again. They seemed to share a kind of tacit understanding about the situation.

I was also smiling to myself.

This was precisely what I wanted to see. The more smug and delighted they were now, the more satisfying it'd be for me once it all blew up in their faces later on.