Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Julian, was insanely controlling.

He wouldn’t let me get my nails done, perm or dye my hair, or wear short skirts.

Even makeup had to get his permission first.

Sometimes I got upset about it, and Julian would soften his voice to coax me.

“I’m just scared someone else will steal you away.”

“Isn’t it good to be a little ordinary and stay by my side forever?”

Whenever I remembered that his ex-girlfriend had dumped him and left him insecure, I always gave in.

Until I saw a post on X.

“I made a bet with my ex. If he can date some plain, frumpy girl for three years, I’ll agree to get back together with him.”

“He’s super into pretty faces, but for me, he’s almost made it three years.”

“The funniest part is, he won’t let her get her nails done, perm her hair, wear short skirts, or put on makeup.”

The next second, a photo appeared in the comments.

The man in the photo was Julian.

The girl whose hand he held tightly was his beautifully dressed ex-girlfriend, Cora.

So Julian didn’t want me to be prettier.

I stood in front of the mirror and looked at the version of myself he had slowly dulled, inch by inch.

From now on, I would no longer be a piece in their little betting game.

…

When Julian came home, his gaze swept over my hair, and he frowned on instinct.

“You need a haircut. It’s almost half an inch past your shoulders.”

We had been together almost three years, and Julian had never let me grow my hair long.

He said, “I love shoulder-length hair the most. It’s cute.”

So I cut off my long hair without hesitation.

I thought he really liked it.

Turns out he only thought a shoulder-length bob was frumpy enough to keep Cora at ease.

I looked up at him, my voice calm.

“I’m growing my hair out from now on.”

Julian stared at me, a little stunned.

“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you always love short hair?”

“No. I never liked it.”

He gave a light laugh and patted the top of my head like he was humoring me.

“Little frump, what are you sulking about now?”

Before I could answer, he took out his phone and snapped a picture of me.

Then he sent it to someone, his fingers typing fast.

“Third day from the end of my countdown of staying with the little frump.”

He scrolled up and down.

Only then did I realize he took a picture of me every single day and sent it to Cora.

To prove that he really was enduring a relationship with someone as ordinary as me.

Julian and Cora chatted back and forth.

Every now and then, he glanced at me like he was inspecting me.

All at once, I felt exhausted.

Julian didn’t know.

Before I got together with him, I studied fashion design.

I knew very well how to dress myself. When he pursued me, I had only dressed casually because I was busy with my graduation defense.

Back in the bedroom, I drafted a reply.

“I’d like to join your studio. I can start in three days.”