Part 1: The Truth Behind His KindnessA Different Kind of Glow-Up

While checking the exam schedule on Conrad Ashford's phone, I accidentally opened his group chat with his friends.

One of his messages jumped out at me.

"Anyone free to go running with that fat girl Tessa? I'll pay $20 a day. You're done once she gets down to 80 pounds. She's always clinging to me. I can't get rid of her. Just looking at her makes me lose my appetite."

I said nothing and put his phone away.

…

A few days later, Conrad messaged me on WhatsApp, sounding unusually gentle. "I found someone to run with you. Just train with him from now on. It'll be good for you."

I did as he suggested. I nodded and added the guy on WhatsApp.

…

Over the next three months, I trained with Silas Stryker and lost 30 pounds.

The day I showed up to class in a fitted dress, Conrad could not take his eyes off me. He cornered me as soon as class ended.

"Tessa, you've worked so hard to get in shape just to date me. I guess we should give this a shot. Let me take you to dinner tonight."

I shook my head and waved to Silas, who was waiting nearby. "No, thanks. I'm going running with my boyfriend tonight. I don't have time."

* * *

Conrad rarely spoke to me this gently. For a moment, I felt strangely dazed.

"I'm only doing this for your own good. You have to stick with it."

I nodded.

Just then, Brynn Haze, a girl from our class, walked by. He immediately brightened and hurried after her.

From around the corner, I heard Brynn's sweet, soft voice. "Did Tessa agree?"

"She was all for it. At the beginning of the school year, I casually told her we'd get together once she got down to 80 pounds. She actually believed me."

Conrad laughed, looking utterly pleased with himself.

She giggled. "You're so mean."

"She's never going to get that thin. She's so fat, she could spend her whole life dieting and still never make it."

"Then, why'd you pay someone to run with her?"

"I just hired some random guy to help her train so she wouldn't keep bothering me. Every time I see her waddling toward me from halfway across campus, I feel sick."

As he finished speaking, I heard Conrad make a quiet gagging sound.

It was muffled and barely audible, but the disgust behind it was unmistakable.

I stood silently in the shadows, my sweaty palm wrapped around my phone.

A new notification appeared, lighting up the photo on my screen.

Back in middle school, I had been slim, without an ounce of extra fat.

Conrad had even begged the adults to take a picture of us together. "This is proof that we'll be together forever. Pinky promise. No take-backs!"

But forever was a long time.

Ever since I started gaining weight in high school, he had grown increasingly distant. Sometimes, he did not even bother hiding his disgust.

My phone vibrated again. It was a message from Silas.

"It's chilly tonight. Bring a light jacket. Keep a bottle of warm water with you. Don't eat too much right before running."

I tightened my grip on the phone, then slowly relaxed it.

I had sent Conrad messages just like these.

"Wear something warmer when it gets cold."

"Remember to eat on time."

"Be careful on your way home."

Sometimes, he would reply with a simple "Okay."

Other times, he would complain that I sounded just like his mother, nagging him about everything.

But he was careless. More than once, he had gone out wearing the wrong clothes and ended up getting sick, so I could not help reminding him.

I started choosing every word carefully, afraid of annoying him.

Eventually, he stopped complaining altogether.

The lively chat we once shared had become a one-sided conversation.

…

By 6:00 p.m., the sun was already setting.

I arrived at the track right on time and spotted a tall guy in a gray shirt.

When he saw me, he straightened up. "Tessa?"

"Yeah."

"Let's walk two laps first. Find a comfortable breathing rhythm."

As far as I could remember, he was the first person who had not immediately sized me up.

Even Conrad, who had known me for over a decade, would look me up and down with a frown, finding something to criticize every time.

"Tessa, can't you control what you eat?"

"Look at those thighs. I bet you can't even fit into the largest pair of pants they sell."

However, Silas was meeting me for the first time, and he had only looked at my face. He started walking backward along the track. "Come on. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth."

The first lap went fine. However, just a couple of steps into the second, I started panting and swaying unsteadily.

Silas immediately told me to sit down on the steps. "Feeling dizzy?"

"A little."

"What did you have for dinner?"

"Nothing."

His brows furrowed. "Why haven't you eaten?"

I answered without thinking, "Conrad doesn't like me eating."