My boyfriend complained that I looked ugly in glasses, so I bought a pair of contact lenses online. But then, something bizarre happened. After putting the contacts in, I looked at my sweet, doting boyfriend, only to see him glaring at me with utter disgust. "If it weren't for her money, who would ever date this loser?" he sneered. I blinked, taking the contacts out. Suddenly, he was standing right in front of me, a charming smile plastered on his face. "Babe, you look absolutely gorgeous today." From that day on, I discovered the secret of those contact lenses— As long as I wore them, I could see people's true inner thoughts. It turned out my perfect boyfriend was nothing but a two-faced parasite. 1 My boyfriend begged me to buy him a new pair of sneakers, and I said no. He got angry and stormed into my homeroom to confront me. Coincidentally, I was wearing my special contacts again. "Babe, I don't know what I did to make you so mad, but please forgive me. I really want those sneakers, just buy them for me, please?" He had no idea I could see his vicious, twisted expression as his true inner voice spat: "I'm giving you an inch and you're taking a mile. I can't believe I actually have to beg you for this." I was so startled by his hostile glare that I stumbled backward, accidentally stepping hard on someone's foot. Looking down, I saw a prominent, dirty smudge smeared across a blindingly white sneaker. I looked up. A breathtakingly handsome guy was looking down at me, his chin tilted slightly. I was just about to apologize. Then I saw him looking at me with dark, unreadable eyes, his inner voice saying: "What is wrong with her taste? Why is she dating a piece of trash like that?" Me: ? Excuse me, how is that polite? Seeing him turn to leave, I quickly called out to him. "It's my fault for stepping on your shoe, and I apologize for that. But insulting people in your head is just rude." He just paused, gave me a long look over his shoulder, and walked away. I wanted to march over and argue with him, but my boyfriend grabbed my arm. "When did he even insult you?" Impossible. I clearly saw him insult me. The feeling of my boyfriend's hand on my arm instantly put me on high alert, and I quickly shook him off. A wave of disgust washed over me. I literally felt sick to my stomach. This guy had been with me for three months. I had spent at least fifty thousand dollars on him, and that didn't even include our expensive dinners and the "allowance" I gave him. Looking back now, I was so stupid and naive. He only loved my money. To him, I was just a walking ATM. 2 Ever since I discovered the secret of the contacts, I started plotting. One day, I was going to make him spit out every single cent he took from me. Watching my boyfriend's frustrated expression, I swallowed my disgust and put on a fake, playful smile. "I'll buy them. I never said I wouldn't." He looked a bit surprised, but didn't question it. "Babe, then hurry up and order them." He shifted his weight and put on a pathetic, pleading look. "The big basketball game is coming up, and I was really hoping to wear those Dunks to shine on the court." Oh, so that's how it is. Fine, I'll let you keep acting. I coaxed him into leaving, promising I'd buy them tonight. Once he was gone, my entire focus shifted to the desk in front of me. The guy whose shoe I stepped on was my new deskmate, Liam Sterling—the poor transfer student everyone was whispering about. I looked around. The classroom was empty. I crouched down and slowly shimmied under the desks. Just as my hand was about to brush against his white sneaker, a deep, shadowy voice came from above. "What kind of weird fetish is this? You like hiding under desks?" I jumped, completely startled, and slammed my head straight into the corner of the desk. My eyes instantly watered from the pain. "Are you an idiot? How did you even manage to hit that? You really do need your eyes checked." This new kid had a seriously toxic mouth. Before this, I had been so glued to my boyfriend that I never really paid attention to him. Looking at him now... he was actually incredibly attractive. Sharp jawline, straight nose, deep-set eyes—his features were practically flawless. He was better looking than my favorite celebrities. And unlike my boyfriend, he didn't have two faces. A second later, I remembered my mission. "What's your shoe size? And your clothing size?" He ignored me. I crouched there awkwardly. If I wasn't terrified of the rumor mill, I wouldn't be hiding under a desk. Plus, I had a boyfriend; I was supposed to keep my distance from other guys. "I accidentally stepped on your shoe earlier. I'm just here to apologize and make it right." The moment I finished speaking, he leaned over and looked under the desk. "That doesn't sound like an apology." I froze for a second before catching his drift. "I'm sorry I got your shoe dirty. To show you how sorry I am, let me buy you a new pair. How does that sound?" He stared at me for a long moment. "Size 10." I mentally logged the shoe size. "What size clothes do you wear?" Suddenly, he leaned in closer. As he moved, a faint, sweet scent of strawberries drifted through the air. I wasn't entirely sure if it was coming from him. Honestly, what teenage guy smells like strawberries? "What size does your boyfriend wear?" I answered honestly, "Large." "Alright. I'm a Double XL." He let out a short, mocking laugh. "He's so scrawny. What use is a guy like that?" I didn't entirely get his underlying meaning, but he was right. Mason was skinny—like, withered, bony skinny. I had never cared about my boyfriend's physique before, but suddenly, Liam's words made an awful lot of sense. Regardless, I quickly pulled out my phone and ordered several pairs of limited-edition Dunks and designer athletic wear. 3 On the day of the basketball game, I shoved the shopping bags onto Liam's desk. He frowned, glancing down at them with clear annoyance. "Take them back." I checked to make sure no one was looking, then gave him my best puppy-dog eyes. "I can't. Final sale." "Then throw them out." Suddenly, a classmate sprinted into the room to grab something and sprinted right back out. On his way, he shoved me hard. Losing my balance, I crashed headfirst right into Liam's chest. That faint, familiar strawberry scent completely enveloped me. Following immediately after was a sharp, stinging pain in my nose. "Are you actually a pig? Last time you headbutted a desk, this time you tackle me. What are you going to crash into next?" My nose stung so badly it brought tears to my eyes. I reached up to rub it, but his voice stopped me. Then, I watched as he pulled a childish strawberry-print band-aid from his backpack, peeled the wrapper, and gently placed it across the bridge of my nose. I froze. I crossed my eyes to look at the cartoon strawberry on my face. "Who puts a band-aid on their nose? It looks so ugly." I was just about to rip it off when I heard someone calling his name from the hallway. I realized how compromising our position looked. The footsteps got closer. In a pure panic reflex, I dove straight under his desk, my hands tightly gripping the fabric of his jeans. A guy poked his head in. "Liam, the counselor wants to see you in his office this afternoon." "Got it." The guy left. My nose started itching. Just as I raised a hand to scratch it, a large, warm palm covered the top of my head. "Don't move." I froze in terror. The classmate had turned back around. "Did you need something else?" "No." "Oh, okay." I finally exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding and crawled out from beneath the desk. "Sorry about that," I laughed awkwardly. He sat up straight, his tone softening. "What did you really want?" Right. I almost forgot the actual plan. But knowing I was going to use him this afternoon made it hard to say out loud. Yet, I couldn't exactly swap my leading man at this point. "It's just... could you wear the clothes and shoes I bought you to the game this afternoon?" He reached out with long, elegant fingers, opening the shopping bags on his desk. He glanced inside. "Not bad taste." "Does that mean you agree?" He leaned in closer. "I can wear the clothes you bought me, but under what title?" "You have a boyfriend. Me wearing clothes you bought... isn't that a little inappropriate?" He had a point. If my two-faced boyfriend found out, he would literally lose his mind on the spot. I put on my best nonchalant expression. "He won't be my boyfriend for much longer. Just wear them. If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility." A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Before he walked out of the classroom, he leaned down and whispered right against my ear: "Alright. If something happens, you're responsible." 4 All afternoon, Mason had been blowing up my phone, demanding I give him the new shoes. I brushed him off, telling him I'd bring them to the court later. He didn't suspect a thing. He still wants the shoes? He can ask a ghost for them. I got to the bleachers early to wait for Liam. When he finally walked onto the court, wearing the gear and the Dunks I bought him, I couldn't help the proud, giddy smile spreading across my face. My taste was impeccable. Though to be fair, the guy looked like a model in literally anything. His dark hair was slightly long, the sides faded clean, with a few strands falling perfectly right above his brow line. His sharp jawline led down to a beautifully defined neck. "Wait, how is Liam Sterling wearing limited-edition Dunks? Since when does he have money?" "Right? Didn't he always wear cheap knockoffs from Temu? And those are the limited releases! They cost thousands!" "You don't think he's a sugar baby, do you? I've seen a lot of rich girls hitting on him lately." "Honestly, if I had a face and body like that, I'd find a sugar mama too." I listened to my classmates gossiping, a little amused. "Who are you guys talking about?" One of the girls pointed at the court. "Him! Liam. He used to wear thrift store junk, and now he's rocking designer gear. If he isn't being kept by someone, what else could it be?" Oh, so his name is Liam Sterling. But I bought those for him. I was just about to defend him when an angry voice boomed from above me. "Chloe Bennett! Where are my shoes?" I looked up at Mason's furious, twisted face. I pointed calmly at Liam on the court. "I bought the wrong size. So I gave them to him." Instantly, the girls who had been gossiping clamped their mouths shut. "You bought the wrong size, so you tell me! Why the hell would you give them to him?" Under the fading sunlight, I saw his hands ball up into fists. He leaned down, his voice turning lethal. "You dare play games with me? You really have a death wish, don't you?" I have a death wish? He actually just told me I have a death wish? Even my own parents had never spoken to me like that. I had put up with it for a week. In that moment, the dam finally broke. I stood up, pulled my arm back, and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. "I buy what I want, for whoever I want! Who the hell do you think you are? "You eat my food, you spend my money—what, am I your mother? Are you still nursing? "You play this perfect boyfriend act all day, aren't you exhausted?" He stared at me in absolute shock, clutching the side of his face that was now burning red. He glared at me with pure venom. "What are you looking at? My money, my rules." I realized then that he was nothing but a paper tiger. I couldn't fathom why I had ever been so blinded by him, pouring so much cash into his pockets. Just thinking about it made me nauseous. I couldn't stomach looking at him for another second. I watched half the game and then headed back to the classroom. 5 I was resting my head on my desk when Mason showed up again. "Chloe, I'm so sorry. I never should have spoken to you like that." I had just woken up from a nap, so my brain was a little foggy. The guy standing in front of me had morphed back into the gentle, mild-mannered boyfriend who supposedly never raised his voice. It felt completely surreal. He reached out and gently held my hand. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me, okay?" Watching tears stream down his face as he offered an endless stream of apologies, I genuinely wondered for a second if I had hallucinated the whole thing. I sat there, utterly exhausted by the whiplash. "You're being way too loud. Shut up." I turned toward the voice and saw Liam walking in. I had taken my contacts out to sleep, so my vision was blurry. I could only identify him by his tall silhouette. Before Liam could even sit down, Mason rounded on him. "I'm talking to my girlfriend! Mind your own business! Don't think just because Chloe bought you some clothes that she actually likes you." Liam hadn't even taken his seat yet. He turned his head and looked directly at me. "I really don't know how blind you have to be to date a piece of trash like this." Even though I couldn't see his expression clearly, the quiet rage and heavy sarcasm in his voice were unmistakable. Mason turned back to me, whining, "Chloe, please just forgive me. I swear I'll never make you mad again. I was just upset today because you gave my shoes to him!" Liam let out a cold laugh. "A man who leeches off a woman's bank account has the nerve to call me poor. You've got some thick skin. Keep gaslighting her, maybe she'll eventually believe you." "There's nothing wrong with spending my girlfriend's money! What gaslighting? I don't know what you're talking about." Even without the contacts, I could hear the guilty tremor in Mason's voice. My head was pounding from their bickering. "Stop fighting. Mason, just go home. We'll talk tomorrow." After kicking Mason out, I dug through my bag and put my old, thick-rimmed glasses back on. They were ugly, but I had no choice. I really should have bought backup contacts. The second I put them on and looked up, I was met with a pair of deep, brooding eyes. "Are you legally blind? "You're actually keeping a guy like that? "Don't tell me you're getting back together with him." His voice kept dropping lower and lower. His eyes darkened, and the very air pressure around us seemed to plummet. When I didn't answer right away, he added, "Is this what you meant by taking responsibility? "You're a brilliant actress. It's a tragedy the Oscars haven't called you yet." 6 I went home feeling incredibly frustrated. Thinking about the contacts, I opened the shopping app on my phone to order more, only to find the store had vanished. I dug through my messages and found my chat history with the customer service bot. I sent a question mark, just to see if they were actually shut down. Contact Lens Support: "Hello! Our store has officially closed. If you purchased our special lenses, please do not request a refund yet. I have a huge secret to tell you." Thank god, a real person was there. "What secret?" Contact Lens Support: "Please click 'Confirm Receipt' on your order first, and then I will tell you." Curiosity won. I went to my orders and hit confirm. "Done." Contact Lens Support: "When you wear them, you can see people's hidden, true selves. You can basically consider it mind-reading. Please note, the effect only lasts for one month." "What do you mean hidden selves? Mind-reading? What are you talking about?" Contact Lens Support: "I am an AI customer service bot. This store is closed." "Did you just trick me into confirming receipt?!" Contact Lens Support: "We cannot see or hear your messages, so please stop typing. AI gets tired too." "Are you threatening me?" Contact Lens Support: "AI is exhausted and has gone on strike." So they basically scammed me into confirming the delivery? But thinking back... ever since I put those lenses in, I had been seeing Mason's two different faces constantly. Thank god. I legitimately thought I was developing schizophrenia. Why didn't this sketchy store tell me earlier?! I had bought so many different brands to try, and this was the only pair that didn't irritate my eyes. But now, I only had one pair left. I wanted to cry. One month was definitely not enough time for me to ruin my ex's life properly.
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