The Price of the Wrong Girl

"You?" The day I finally met my online boyfriend in person, he frowned at me like I was a mistake. Two months earlier, he'd added both me and my roommate. He was warm to me.

Cold to her. And she was the pretty one on our floor. My roommate had sulked about it. "I thought he was after me. Turns out he wanted you." I'd been so happy.

Two whole months, falling for a guy I'd only ever talked to through a screen. Then he told me he'd gotten the wrong girl. The one he actually wanted was my roommate.

He gave me fifty thousand dollars. Deleted me. Blocked me. Later, he regretted it. He parked outside my building and sat there all night.

I told him: next time, I hope you find the right person. He said, "There won't be one." But he never knew. Freshman year, I took a bad fall on campus.

The person who carried me to the hospital was him. I was just too scared that day. Too scared to tell him my name. Chapter 1 Dorian Pei had gotten the wrong girl.

Every bit of warmth, every bit of attention meant for Tiffany Chen. He'd handed all of it to me. And left the girl he actually wanted out in the cold.

Wind moved through the parking lot. He leaned against his car, pressed two fingers to his temple, and gave me a tired look. "Head back for now.

I'll text you tonight." I held the tears in. "Okay." But I understood. Some things he didn't want to say to my face. They'd cut too deep to hear out loud.

Back at the dorm, no one was around. I lay down and slept hard. Something woke me. Tiffany Chen stood in the middle of the room, a huge bouquet of roses in her arms.

The other two roommates were loud about it. "So it was a mixup! I called it, didn't I?

Who wouldn't want you, and he goes for Delia instead?" Tiffany gave a soft little smile. "Just a misunderstanding." Then she looked at me. "Delia, let me say sorry for Dorian.

You don't mind, right?" I sat up and played it like it was nothing. "I don't mind." She smiled. "Right. It was only two months anyway. All online, too.

You probably didn't even like him that much." Tiffany was wrong. It wasn't that I "didn't like him that much." I'd been in love with Dorian Pei for years.

So long I couldn't tell you when it started. He was three years older. My freshman year, he was already a senior, barely ever on campus. Later he graduated, and I saw him even less.

All I knew was what everyone knew: old money, a young tech founder who'd built his own company, riding high. We were from different worlds.

There was never going to be a story between us. Then, not long ago, at a party, he added me. And he couldn't have been sweeter. We talked every day.

It didn't take long before we were a thing. Now that I thought about it. All that happiness, all that sweetness these past weeks? None of it had been about me.

It had all been because of Tiffany. The screen lit up. A message from Dorian. He didn't waste words. Him: [We're done.] Him: [Delete our chats.

I don't want Tiffany seeing any of that.] Him: [To make it up to you, I'll have someone send you fifty thousand.] For me, that was almost an unreal amount of money.

For Dorian, it was nothing. He was buying out everything between us. Paying to make me disappear. Two months. Sixty days. Fifty thousand dollars.

I sat on my bed and ran the math, over and over. Every single day he'd "liked" me came with a price tag. Eight hundred thirtythree dollars a day.

I stared at the screen for a long time. Then I typed. Me: [Okay.] After a moment, I added more. I typed it out one word at a time.

Me: [Everything we talked about, I won't tell a soul.] Me: [You can count on that, Mr. Pei.] From that second on, I would never call him by his name again.

But the message didn't go through. He'd already deleted me. I stared at the little red exclamation mark sitting there in the chat. Chapter 2 My hand started shaking, hard.

I scrolled up. These two months, he'd been traveling abroad for work. He'd tell me who he met. What he ate at every meal.

Once, I asked him to help me with a problem for class, and he said he was in the shower. I joked: [Sure you are. Prove it.] He always gave me whatever I asked for.

He actually sent it. Fresh out of the shower, hair still wet. Sharp jaw, sharper face. Every inch of him carried something that pushed at you, dared you closer.

I went hot all over. [Okay, okay. Take it back.] A second later, two voice memos came through. There was a laugh buried in his voice. "What are you shy for?

You'll be seeing it every day soon enough." "Just so we're clear, I've never touched anyone. But you and me? I've thought about it.

I think it'd be a lot of fun." Back then, I'd even looked up, in secret, what to know for a first time. Now that same photo lived one tap from a delete button.

The wet hair, the laugh in his voice, all of it. Nothing but a chat window I'd been ordered to wipe. I deleted everything. Stopped searching his company.

Stopped reading his interviews. But I lived in the dorm. And Tiffany brought up Dorian constantly. She said they were together now. He'd been the one to say it first.

That night, he'd taken her to a movie. The theater happened to be nearly empty, just the two of them.

She'd worked up the nerve to reach for his hand, and the second she got close, he moved it away. "He seems like he'd be smooth, but underneath he's a total gentleman," she said. "I don't know why, but being with him leaves me uneasy.

He's so far out of everyone's league. There are way too many girls around him." I wanted to tell her. Dorian was loyal to a fault. No exes, no "just a friend" girls, nothing.

In all this time, he'd made a move exactly once: the day he added Tiffany. You could imagine how much he must like her.

One of the roommates had advice for her. "Ask him to take you upstate this weekend. Just the two of you, one room.

Trust me, he'll make his move." "And if that flops, drag the two of us along. We'll be your wingwomen." I checked the date on my phone. Five days until the weekend.

In five days, she'd be checking into a hotel with him. And I'd be stuck in this room, helping them get ready for it. Five whole days.

I sighed, put in my earbuds, and turned the music up as loud as it would go.

That was when a girl I didn't know knocked on the door. "Is Delia here?" "Theo Xie's looking for you." The room went dead silent. Tiffany froze. The smile slid off her face.

She turned to me, frowning. "You know Theo Xie?" I shook my head. "I don't." But he'd asked for me by name. I got scared it was something serious. I hurried downstairs.

Down at the base of the building, I spotted him right away, standing a little ways off. I'd known who Theo Xie was for a long time. Everyone did.

He was impossible to miss: powerful family, top of every class, and a face that looked like it belonged to a heartbreaker. And yet a guy like that had never dated anyone.

Back at the start of freshman year, Tiffany had gotten someone to pass him her number. She'd been so sure her looks would seal it. Theo turned her down.

After that, no one in our room said his name for a long time. And now here he was, waiting for me. Phone in hand, thumbs flying across the screen. I stopped where I stood.

He and I had never said a single word to each other. And I couldn't work it out. How did he even know my name? Chapter 3 He looked impatient.

I walked over and heard myself say, "Sorry to keep you waiting." He clicked his tongue. Lifted his head. Like he was about to say something.

Then he saw my face, and whatever it was stalled in his eyes. "You're Delia?" he asked. I nodded. He went quiet for a beat.

Something shifted in his voice. "My cousin's ex?" I blanked. It took me a second to catch up. Was he talking about Dorian? I'd only ever dated one person.

But I'd never once put Dorian and the word "ex" in the same thought. I hesitated. "You mean Dorian?" He nodded. "Yeah." "Barely anyone at school knows he and I are related.

Keep it that way." I said okay. Then he pulled out a check. "He wanted me to give you this." That was when it came back to me. Dorian had said he'd have someone bring me the money.

I didn't hesitate. I took it. Right then, Theo's phone rang. I was close enough to see the name on the screen. Dorian. Theo didn't bother stepping away.

He just answered, voice lazy and drawnout. "Hey." A pause on the other end. "You see her?" Under the moonlight, Theo glanced up.

His eyes rested on my face for two full seconds. "Yeah," he said. "Gave her the thing too." It took me a moment. Dorian was asking whether Theo had seen me.

I didn't want to hear any more. I slipped away. Back in the room, Tiffany was standing by the window. When she saw me, she drawled, "I thought Theo was into you.

Turns out he was just dropping something off. You two barely even talked. What'd he give you, though? I was too far away to see." I said nothing for a second.

I could hardly tell her it was Dorian's breakup money. His hush money. "Nothing." One word. I didn't explain. Didn't ask anything back. Didn't let her finish.

I grabbed my pajamas, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door. When I came out of the shower, Tiffany was on the phone with Dorian. She had a sheet mask on.

The call was on speaker. She was telling him she wanted to go upstate for the weekend.

Dorian agreed right away. "I'll have someone book the hotel." Tiffany smiled. "Can I bring two of my roommates along?" The line went quiet for a second.

Then, through the speaker, the sound of something hitting the floor and shattering. The call was still on speaker. The whole room heard it.

Tiffany jumped. "What happened?" Dorian's voice came back low. "Knocked a glass onto the floor. It's nothing." I lowered my head and went back to what I was doing.

I just couldn't figure it out. Everything was fine. So why would he break a glass? Three days left. Two days left. The next few nights, they talked every night.

Some of it got intimate. She pressed him once. "So who'd you give your first kiss to?" He laughed, low. "Still have it.

Saving it for you." And every time, I had to act like I hadn't heard a thing. Just kept my head down. I barely talked anymore.

Whenever a new friend request came in, I'd spell out my name first. One letter at a time. So no one would ever get the wrong person. Again.

Then the weekend came, and they left with their suitcases. Only then could I breathe. But the day after they left, I got a call from the RA. She said she needed to reach Tiffany.

Chapter 4 Except she couldn't get through to her. The other two roommates weren't picking up either. "It's urgent.

Can you get hold of her?" The second I heard that, one thought hit me: Dorian was with them too. Fear crept in. What if something had actually happened to them?

My palms went damp in an instant. I still knew Dorian's number. I called it right away. But he'd blocked me. He really didn't do anything halfway, I thought.

Deleted me online, then made sure to block my number too. If he could, would he wish I'd never existed at all? I was out of options. There was a phone at the front desk downstairs.

The dorm was on the sixth floor. I ran the whole way down. By the time I got there, I was out of breath. He'd deleted me online. He'd blocked my number.

And here I was at that front desk phone, calling to make sure he and his girls were safe. Luckily, the call connected fast. I let out a breath.

Quickly, I explained that the RA couldn't get through to Tiffany. A second later, Dorian's voice came through the receiver. "They're downstairs getting food.

Left their phones behind. I'll pass it along." I said okay. I was about to hang up when I heard the flick of a lighter.

Then his voice, careless and easy. "Why didn't you come?" I froze. Then I remembered. He'd once asked how I got along with my roommates.

I hadn't wanted him thinking I was some loner, so I'd said, without thinking, that we got along fine. Back then, he'd asked me one more thing.

Him: [That girl who was with you that day. I only added her as an afterthought, to get to you. She won't stop messaging me, and it's getting old.

Mind if I just delete her?] Back then, I had no idea he'd gotten the two accounts confused. And I was never any good at talking behind someone's back.

Me: [She's actually pretty nice. She probably doesn't mean anything by it.] The memories rolled past, one after another. Sweet, at the time.

Looking back now, all I felt was a shame too deep to count. I pressed my lips together, about to answer. And then Tiffany's voice came through from his end.

Careful, coaxing. "I don't like sleeping alone. Could I stay in your suite... I'll take the couch." Somewhere in my head, a thread pulled tight. Then, quietly, it snapped.

I didn't hesitate. I hung up. After that day, I saw Dorian often. We never spoke. He was slammed with work, but he still made time to come see Tiffany.

He'd show up at her classroom, sit through a lecture beside her. Once, he sat right behind me. They whispered together, low. I lost the whole morning to it anyway.

Partway through, my pen slipped off the desk. I bent down to grab it. And my hand met another. The second our fingers touched, his skin warm against mine, he went still too.

For half a breath, neither of us moved. Then, like it was nothing, he set the pen in my palm. His voice was flat. "Here." The whole time, Tiffany watched from the side, cold.

My pulse wouldn't settle. My palm still held the warmth of his hand. By the time class let out, I realized I'd absently written Dorian's name in my notebook. It startled me.

I reached to scratch it out. Then scalding water hit my back. My skin drew tight. The air punched out of my lungs. Chapter 5 I turned around. Tiffany was still holding the cup.

Empty. She gave me this innocent look and apologized. "So sorry! It was an accident. And it was only cold water, no big deal.

I'll pay for your dress." It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. "That was boiling water.

You did it on purpose." Tiffany smiled and turned to the classmates who hadn't left yet. "You all saw, right?

It was cold." One of them had been angling to get close to Dorian for a while. He looked at my back. Then at Tiffany.

Then he nodded, fast. "Yeah." "Cold." The skin across my back burned like it was still on fire. And not one person in that room said a word for me.

That was when Dorian walked in from outside. He'd stepped out to take a call. He saw the scene and frowned. "What's going on?" The same classmate jumped to tell him the story.

Dorian glanced at me. He seemed to be in a hurry. He didn't press for more. He just picked the neatest way to handle it. "I'll have someone send you clothes later.

Tiffany didn't mean it." Then his voice paused. Something in his eyes went cold. "But lying isn't a good habit. Wouldn't you agree, Ms.

Shen?" I dropped my eyes and swallowed the rest of it down. "Understood." Between me and Tiffany, no matter the truth, of course he chose to believe her.

I went to the hospital alone. After I checked in, while I waited in the lobby, a friend request popped up on my phone. Him: [It's Theo Xie.] I paused. It clicked almost right away.

Dorian had said he'd have someone send me clothes. He'd probably dumped that on his cousin Theo again. I hesitated, then accepted. Then I fired off one line.

Me: [I don't want the clothes. Don't bother sending them. Thanks.] After I sent it, the top of the screen just read typing, on and on.

A good ten minutes passed before his message came through. Him: [My cousin did ask me to handle it. But I'm in Boston for a competition right now. Won't be back anytime soon.

I added you just to ask if you're okay.] I'd spoken to Theo exactly once. You could tell he wasn't some gentle, attentive type. But those words. They almost made me cry.

I said: [I'm fine.] Not long after, he called. "I asked around a little. A buddy of mine was there. Said he saw Tiffany go refill the cup with hot water after class.

Want me to explain it to my cousin for you?" I shook my head. "Don't." Theo didn't push. He just sighed. "You took off way too fast last time.

I didn't even get the chance to add you. You have no idea. I just asked half the school to track down your info." That day, he stayed on the line with me for fifteen minutes.

Before he hung up, he said, "My round's about to start. Wish me luck?" I froze. It hadn't even occurred to me that he'd carved out time, right then, to call me.

I thought for two seconds and came up short.

In the end, all I managed was a flat little, "You'll do great." He gave a soft laugh. "Yeah." Dorian had someone bring me the clothes after all.

It was a freshman girl I didn't know. She put the bag in my hands. Heavier than I expected. Clearly expensive. My fingers stopped on the drawstring.

I didn't open it. "Hey, was that hot guy from earlier your boyfriend