Part 1The Lethal Revenge My Roommate Stole

This time around, I started quietly dating the wealthiest heiress in Boston.

My roommate, Todd, had always possessed a taste in women that mirrored my own with sickening precision. In fact, he had deeply "admired" every single girlfriend I’d ever had.

He used to tell me I was too naive, too blind to the manipulative ways of women. Out of the goodness of his heart, he offered to "test" them for me.

The result? Every single time, under the guise of looking out for his bro, he seduced them.

Once he had them wrapped around his finger, he would parade his victory in front of me with a smug grin. "See? I told you your radar is garbage. They were only after your money, Rowan. Good thing I was here to cut your losses!"

The last time he pulled that stunt, I beat him until his face was a mosaic of bruises.

So, when he found out about my new relationship with the billionaire heiress, I knew he wouldn't be able to help himself. He was already itching to make his move.

What Todd didn’t know, however, was that this particular heiress was a meticulously crafted surprise—wrapped and delivered specifically for him.

* * *

Todd was waving a Polaroid of my ex-girlfriend, Juliette, like it was a winning lottery ticket.

"When she was chasing you, she swore she’d never love another man. Now? All I had to do was crook my finger, and she practically threw herself at me." He leaned back in his desk chair, tossing the photo onto my bed. "You should be thanking me, Rowan. You almost got played again."

My hands curled into tight fists. A hot, familiar spike of anger lodged in my chest.

"You’re literally bragging about being the other man," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Do you have any shame left at all?"

Todd blinked, feigning a look of profound hurt. "Come on, man. I was just worried about you getting used. Why do you always have to make me the villain?"

From across the room, our roommate Dustin immediately chimed in to defend him.

"Rowan, you’re acting pathetic over a girl. Are you really going to nuke your friendship with your brother over some chick?"

"Seriously," Brad added from the top bunk, not even looking up from his phone. "If it weren't for Todd, you would’ve been taken to the cleaners by now. He’s doing you a favor by filtering out the gold-diggers."

I opened my mouth, but the words died in my throat.

It was true that my last five girlfriends hadn’t exactly been saints, but was Todd any better? Before my last breakup, I’d secretly checked Juliette's phone. Todd had flooded her DMs with thirst traps—shirts unbuttoned to his navel, gym mirror selfies. He’d even messaged her: "Want to come over and trace my V-cut?"

They were all sickening.

Todd leaned closer, the triumph practically oozing from his pores. "You’re not actually mad, are you? Honestly, I didn’t even expect it. I just casually chatted them up, and they all caught feelings. You can’t blame a guy for that, right?"

"Course not," Dustin echoed. "It’s just your natural charm, man. Unlike some people who think getting straight A's means the whole world is going to fall at their feet."

Dustin and Brad exchanged a knowing, synchronized smirk.

I ignored their petty high school dynamics, turning my attention back to my phone.

The dorm room fell into a heavy silence for a few seconds. Then, Dustin let out a strangled gasp.

"Holy shit. Guys, come look. Is that who I think it is?" He practically flattened his face against the dirty glass of our balcony window, craning his neck toward the courtyard. "It's Sylvia! Sylvia Dupont! What the hell is the campus IT girl doing outside our building?"

Todd and Brad scrambled to their feet, rushing to the window.

"Damn, it really is her. What’s she doing here? Waiting for some guy?"

"God, whoever it is just won the lottery. That’s Sylvia Dupont. She basically owns half the biotech industry in this city."

Dustin suddenly turned to Todd, his eyes wide. "Wait, Todd, didn’t you use to be tight with her? Does she have a guy now?"

Todd’s face tightened. The smugness vanished, replaced by a tense, ugly silence.

Tight with her. That was a generous way to phrase it. Todd had stalked Sylvia for six months, practically begging for her attention, and hadn’t even managed to get her number.

I calmly grabbed my jacket and headed for the door.

Todd’s arm shot out, blocking my path. "I thought you just broke up with Juliette. Where do you think you're going?"

I slapped his arm away. "I dumped Juliette three months ago. If you want my trash, feel free to keep it."

Right on cue, my phone vibrated in my hand. I answered it immediately.

A cool, elegant voice drifted through the speaker. "Hey, baby. I'm downstairs."

"I'll be right there."

Before I could pull the phone away, it was snatched from my grip.

Todd glared at me. "No wonder you dropped Juliette. You already found a rebound." He brought the phone to his mouth, his voice dropping an octave into that slick, practiced tone he used on women. "Hey there. I’m Rowan’s roommate, Todd. Are you his new girl?"

I didn't hear what the voice on the other end said, but Todd’s trademark smirk froze instantly.

Seizing the moment of his paralysis, I ripped the phone from his hand and ended the call.

A manic, ugly jealousy flared in Todd’s eyes. He stared at me like he wanted to peel my skin off. "Your new girlfriend... is Sylvia Dupont?"