How many nights had they spent together without me knowing?

I thought of the strange red marks that appeared on his neck and the unfamiliar scent on his t-shirt.

I calmed down, withdrew my hand from the door, and leaned against it. Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense. I hated myself for being foolish, for giving so much only to be endlessly taken from.

I wiped away my tears and turned to leave the hotel, heading back to the rental to pack my things quickly.

Since my salary had to support two people, I had few clothes and skincare products, so packing didn't take long. I grabbed my suitcase and headed downstairs.

When I reached the entrance of the old apartment complex, I saw the lottery retailer across the street.

I suddenly remembered a story I saw online a few days ago about a girl who won a million after breaking up with her boyfriend. On a whim, I walked over.

It was my first time buying a scratch-off ticket, and I didn't know how things worked. Acting out of spite, I handed the shopkeeper a hundred dollars.

"I'll take a hundred dollars' worth of scratch-off tickets."

The shopkeeper opened a pack of tickets and tore off two, handing them to me.

I instantly regretted it. The tickets were expensive, which cost me a hundred dollars for just two. But I thought, why not? If I didn't win, I would just take it as a way to get back my luck.

I sat down at the table in the back of the shop and started scratching.

The first ticket had five rows, and I scratched off five symbols, but they were only worth ten dollars each. Altogether, it was fifty dollars. At least I broke even. Hopefully, the next one would be the same.

I pulled out the second ticket. In the first row, there was nothing.

As for the second row, it had nothing again.

I thought I was about to walk away empty-handed and shook my head in resignation.

But then, as I scratched off the third row, a long string of numbers appeared beneath the symbol. It was… fifty million dollars?!

I rubbed my eyes, and once I confirmed I wasn't dreaming, I glanced at the shopkeeper. I nearly screamed.

The shopkeeper asked, "Did you win anything? These fifty-dollar tickets have a pretty high payout rate."

I glanced down at the top right corner of the ticket, where it said the maximum prize was fifty million dollars. I couldn't believe it. I had actually won the jackpot.