Chapter 1

At the start of the semester, our dorm set a rule: whoever landed a boyfriend first had to treat everyone to dinner.

Logan Hayes and I had been high school sweethearts and stayed together after graduation. Naturally, I was the first one in a relationship.

Because we were long-distance, we scheduled the dinner for a weekend.

The second my roommate Tiffany Miller met him, she blurted out:

"Long-distance relationships never work. Guys are surrounded by too much temptation out there. He’s bound to cheat."

I kicked her foot under the table.

Logan just looked at her with a calm smile:

"If I ever betray Riley, I hope my entire future burns to ashes and I never graduate college."

Hearing that warmed my heart, so I let her snide comment slide.

A few days later, while scrolling through our anonymous campus forum out of boredom, a viral post caught my eye.

[What should I do? I fell in love with my roommate’s boyfriend!]

She ranted shamelessly:

[Why does she get to have all the money AND true love? Life is so unfair!]

[Since she’s already rich, what’s wrong with sharing her man with me?]

[Give me ideas, everyone! How do I steal him from her?]

Amidst a sea of outraged comments, one reply stood out:

[If you feel so entitled, why don't you just DM your roommate and tell her to dump him for you?]

The very next second, my phone buzzed. It was a SnapChat message from Tiffany:

[Riley, why don’t you just hand your boyfriend over to me?]

I stared at the screen for three solid seconds before typing back:

[Are you out of your mind?]

Once I hit send, total silence followed.

I waited for over half an hour, but the chat remained dead quiet.

I was furious at first.

Then I thought about it. Tiffany loved scoring small favors and mooching off people, but she wasn't completely unhinged enough to openly steal someone's man, was she?

She probably just lost a game of Truth or Dare and was acting crazy.

I flipped my phone face down on the desk and put it out of my mind.

At eight that evening, I walked back into the dorm. Before I could even say a word,

Tiffany looked at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"Riley, you're finally back!"

Sniffling, she pulled out her phone.

"My SnapChat was hacked this afternoon."

"That disgusting scammer went around sending random junk to everyone."

"If you received anything weird, please, don't take it seriously!"

I froze, suspicion creeping into my chest.

Don't account hackers usually mass-text people asking for money?

What kind of scammer has so much free time that they go around begging for someone's boyfriend?

Yet, seeing our other two roommates hovering around her, offering comfort,

I swallowed the interrogation on the tip of my tongue.

Since she had handed herself an excuse, and we still had to live under the same roof, I didn't want to create an ugly scene right then and there.

"Fine. Just be more careful next time,"

I replied flatly, turning toward the balcony to wash up.

Just as I picked up my toothbrush, Logan sent a SnapChat message.

[Babe, that roommate of yours, Tiffany, tried to add me on SnapChat this afternoon.]

Immediately after, Logan sent over a screenshot.

2:30 PM.

Tiffany had sent him a friend request.

The verification note read: [Logan, I’m Riley’s roommate, Tiffany. It’s an emergency, please add me!]

Logan hadn’t accepted it.

[I ignored it. What possible emergency could she have with me?]

Looking at the screen, I let out a dry, angry laugh.

What a convenient "hack."

The scammer stole her account not just to ask for my boyfriend, but also specifically searched for and added him?

Was this hacker moonlight as a matchmaker?

I picked up my phone, marched over to Tiffany’s desk,

and shoved the screen right in front of her face.

"Tiffany, your hacker sure is dedicated."

"How did they manage to pinpoint my boyfriend’s exact username?"

The room fell dead silent.

Tiffany instantly slapped both hands over her mouth.

"Oh my god! How could that scammer do this?!"

"Riley, is your boyfriend okay? Did they scam any money from him?"

She looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"I swear I have no idea how that happened. Maybe the hacker saw his username in our group chat?"

I scoffed, shaking my head.

"My boyfriend's username is a random string of letters and numbers."

"Did your hacker suddenly develop psychic powers and memorize it?"

Tiffany bit her lower lip, tears welling up on command.

"Riley, what are you trying to say?"

"Are you accusing me of lying?"

"What would I even gain from that?! I’m already talking to someone else. Why on earth would I add your boyfriend?!"

She cried like a delicate victim, and the other two roommates couldn't stand it anymore.

"Riley, drop it. Tiffany got hacked, she’s a victim here too."

"Yeah, Logan didn't even add her anyway. Just let it go."

I looked at the three of them.

One actress, two backup singers. What a lovely little drama.

I locked my phone.

"It better be a hacker."

"Because if I ever find out someone is playing dirty behind my back, I won't hold back."

Tiffany shrank her neck and didn't dare say another word.

I climbed up to my bunk. I lay in the dark for a long time, tossing and turning.

Picking up my phone, I refreshed the campus forum.

That familiar viral thread had been updated.

[He’s so cold. He actually rejected my friend request.]

[The colder he acts, the more obsessed I become.]

[It’s fine. What you can’t have is always the most thrilling, isn't it?]