Mark

Alina and Mark were like the ice and fire of Eleventh-A. He was the acknowledged king of the school, an arrogant, handsome man accustomed to adoration. She was the most beautiful girl in her class, proud and independent. Every encounter between them in the school hallways turned into a verbal duel: barbs, caustic laughter, and sparks of mutual hostility that the entire class watched with bated breath. They squabbled heartily over every little thing.
Everything changed one November evening. Mark lost a card game with a group of friends. The challenge was a tough one: start a relationship with Alina and date her for exactly six months.
Mark accepted the challenge. He abruptly changed his anger to mercy, surrounded the girl with unusual warmth, gave her flowers, and courted her beautifully. Alina's proud heart melted. A perfect romance began. They never separated, studied for exams together, and applied to the same university. Alina beamed with happiness, sincerely and deeply in love with yesterday's enemy. Mark, however, skillfully played his role, feeling absolutely nothing for her. Exactly six months later, when they had already successfully entered university, Alina was expecting a celebratory call. Instead, a dry message arrived: "It was a six-month bet. I won. Don't write to me anymore." The world collapsed. For several weeks, Alina didn't leave the house. The walls of the room witnessed her utter despair and tears. It was unbearably difficult to just breathe. But one day, looking in the mirror, she firmly decided: this can't happen. She pulled herself together, tidied herself up, regained her impeccable style, and began living a normal life again. At university, Mark behaved cynically. He flirted with new girls every day, changing them like gloves. He absolutely didn't care about his ex's feelings. Alina stubbornly pretended that she didn't care either. She desperately tried to believe that nothing happened to him. She doesn't feel it anymore. But one day, at a coffee shop near the university, a cute guy approached her to pick her up. Alina smiled and left her number. The next day, this guy didn't show up for class, and a day later, he showed up at the university, completely beaten up. When questioned, he only responded with a frightened silence, and no one ever found out.