"I was a princess in a tower of my own making. Then they found the real one. When the actual Ainsworth heiress came home, I became the family’s dirty little secret: the placeholder daughter. To make things less excruciatingly awkward for everyone, I volunteered to move out of the Greenwich mansion and into a campus dorm. I also broke off my engagement. “You’re breaking up with me again?” Carter Hayes had asked, his voice a low drawl over the phone. “This time it’s real, Carter.” “Oh?” A soft chuckle, drenched in the kind of confidence that came from a lifetime of never being told no. “I don’t accept.” And so began Carter’s grand, ridiculously public campaign to win me back. It was a blitzkrieg of wealth and romance. Cartier jewels arrived at my dorm’s mailroom like Amazon packages. A sea of imported roses flooded the main campus quad, and a fireworks display, extravagant enough for New Year’s Eve, lit up the entire city skyline one Tuesday night. Drones danced in the dark, forming my name in glittering lights while the whole student body watched from below, gasping and filming on their phones. But I refused to see him. I held my ground until my roommate, Ashley, cornered me between my desk and the door, her expression a mask of pure annoyance. “Penelope, can you please stop stringing Carter Hayes along?” she demanded. “You two are broken up. So, would you mind if I went after him?” In that exact moment, the world tilted. Strange, translucent lines of text flickered into existence in my vision, hovering in the air like comments on a livestream. 【YES! This is the energy! Our girl is so freaking bold!】 【LMAO, watch the ice queen’s face crack. She turns down his proposals just to play games, and now she’s about to lose him for real. Serves her right.】 【Penelope is the worst kind of user. She says they’re broken up but loves the attention of him begging. Total parasite.】 【I’m so done. My heart breaks for Carter!】 1 The sudden appearance of the comments left me utterly frozen. “What’s with that look?” Ashley scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Don’t act like I’m stealing your boyfriend. You’re exes, Penelope. Let him go. You don't own him.” 【Seriously. He’s an ex. She has no claim on him anymore.】 【This is why I love Ashley. She’s all action, no games. She sees what she wants and goes for it.】 【Does Penelope really think that just because they dated, Carter has to stay single forever? Get over yourself.】 【Typical. Women who are like dogs with a bone. They don't want the toy, but they'll be damned if another dog plays with it.】 【Don't you worry, babies. Carter will realize soon enough that Ashley is his true soulmate!】 Ashley arched an eyebrow, her tone deceptively casual. “Look, I’m trying to do this the right way. So I’m asking you one last time: you and Carter are over. Correct?” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. The truth was, I had no idea what we were. A week ago, we were the couple everyone envied. Now, I was the imposter daughter, and the real heiress, Claire Ainsworth, was back. Claire claimed I had stolen her life. She wanted me out of the family home as repayment for the twenty years of charity they’d shown me. The sight of me sent her into fits of tears so violent she’d once fainted and ended up in the hospital. My parents—our parents?—were terrified, and the house had become a war zone. I was the bomb that had detonated their lives. I didn’t want to make it harder for anyone. So I packed my bags, moved into this tiny dorm room, and ripped my own heart out by telling Carter it was over. But Carter refused to let go. He was pursuing me with the kind of flagrant, over-the-top gestures that made it impossible to ignore him. To say I wasn’t tempted, that my resolve didn’t waver, would be a lie. But a cold, hard truth kept pulling me back: the engagement was to the Ainsworth heiress. That wasn’t me. I was a fraud. I had to let him go. I just never imagined that Ashley, of all people, would throw herself into this tangled mess. I could only manage a bitter, ironic smile. That man was walking, talking pheromones. 2 “That’s between Carter and me.” It was a private matter, and the last thing I wanted was to dissect it with her. Ashley, however, was not satisfied. “God, can you stop being so melodramatic? You’ve been ‘breaking up’ for a week. Does that sound normal to you? It sounds like you never meant to break up at all.” Suddenly, her eyes widened as if she’d discovered a brilliant, hidden truth. “Oh my god. You really are stringing him along, aren’t you?” She let out a theatrical gasp. “Everyone was saying it, and I actually defended you. I can’t believe I was so stupid. You’ve really disappointed me, Penelope.” Her eyes narrowed, raking over me with a newfound contempt. “Playing the victim while secretly pulling the strings. You’re more calculating than I thought, Penelope.” The comments exploded in a torrent of vitriol. 【No doubt about it. She’s keeping him on the back burner. Classic move.】 【Ashley has her number. She saw right through the fake princess act.】 【Penelope is a vanity monster. Carter showering her with expensive gifts makes her look good. Everyone on campus envies her, thinking she’s got it made—even without the Ainsworth name, she’s still got the Hayes fortune to fall back on.】 【You guys don’t get it. This is all for Claire’s benefit. The more Carter obsesses over her, the more valuable she looks. It’s a slap in the face to the real heiress and makes the Ainsworths think twice about cutting her off completely. She's a stone-cold bitch!】 Just then, my phone buzzed. An unknown number. I knew it was him. After I broke up with him, I had blocked him everywhere. For the past week, he had called me from a new number every single day with terrifying patience. I was about to decline the call when Ashley’s hand shot out, snatching the phone from my grasp. She answered it and put it on speaker. Carter’s deep, magnetic voice filled the small room. “Well, well. Finally decided to pick up for me, Princess?” His tone was laced with a lazy, confident smile. “I’m downstairs.” As if on cue, a wave of excited screams erupted from the courtyard below. I glanced out the window. A sleek, black Bentley was parked at the curb, its trunk wide open, revealing an opulent bed of perfect, crimson roses. Nestled in the center of the flowers was a velvet box, open to display a breathtaking diamond necklace that glittered under the campus lights. Carter himself, dressed in a tailored khaki trench coat, leaned casually against the car door, his phone to his ear. His face was so devastatingly handsome it felt like a crime. Ashley’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, and her voice suddenly turned breathy and sweet. “Carter? It’s me.” 3 There was a distinct pause on the other end of the line. “Who is this? Why do you have Penelope’s phone?” “It’s Ashley. Penelope’s roommate? We met at her birthday party last year.” Carter’s voice immediately cooled. “And?” “And if I hadn’t answered, Penelope was about to hang up on you.” “What is your point?” he asked, his tone clipped. “My point is, she’s not going to get back with you. You should stop wasting your time. You two just aren’t right for each other.” A dry, humorless laugh echoed from the phone. “...And I should be wasting my time on you instead?” Ashley’s smile was audacious, predatory. “You could. I’d let you.” 【OH MY GOD, I SHIP IT! A confident queen who knows what she wants!】 【Yesss, Ashley wants! Ashley gets!】 【If I were Carter, I’d fall for a girl like that in a heartbeat. That kind of confidence is magnetic.】 The silence on Carter’s end stretched on. It was so long I thought he’d hung up. So long that the triumphant smirk on Ashley’s face began to falter. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice tinged with a new, intriguing amusement. “Oh?” he said slowly. “Interesting.” Ashley’s eyes lit up, shining like she’d just been handed a galaxy of stars. 【A-H-H-H! HE SAID INTERESTING! HE’S INTO HER!】 【I knew it! Who could possibly resist our brave, straightforward queen?】 【The ice princess must be absolutely losing her mind right now. Hahaha, her little games backfired spectacularly!】 She wasn't wrong. I was losing my mind. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible fist, a dull, crushing ache that stole my breath. “So… Carter, should I come down?” Ashley asked, her voice trembling with barely concealed excitement. “Yeah,” he replied, his tone crisp and decisive. Ashley ended the call and flashed me a victorious smile, dangling my phone like a trophy. “See, Penelope? This is what men want. That whole ‘playing hard to get’ thing is so last century.” With that, she spun around and began frantically tearing through her closet. “Which one? Is the V-neck too much? No, no, this little white dress. It’s more… innocent.” She shimmied into the dress and quickly applied a full face of makeup with practiced hands. Just before leaving, she paused in front of me and did a little twirl. “What do you think? Do I look good?” I said nothing. She didn't care. A dismissive smirk played on her lips. “You had your chance, Penelope. Don’t blame me for taking it.” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “From now on, Carter is mine.” Then, she clicked out of the room on her heels, a proud peacock off to claim her prize. The comments resumed their relentless assault. 【Go get your man, Ashley!】 【I bet Penelope looks like she just swallowed a gallon of sour milk. LOL.】 【She has no one to blame but herself. Too late for regrets now!】 I walked slowly to the balcony. Below, Ashley had already reached Carter’s car. She was smiling, her face tilted up as she spoke to him animatedly. Carter was looking down at her, a faint smile on his lips, his gaze focused and intent. It was a look I’d never seen from him before. A gentle look. He reached into the trunk, pulled out a single rose, and handed it to her. Ashley took it, her delight obvious. Then, she rose onto her tiptoes and planted a quick, bold kiss on his cheek. The screams from the onlookers intensified. And Carter… he didn’t pull away. He didn't even flinch. He simply raised a hand and playfully ruffled her hair. My fingers gripped the iron railing of the balcony, my knuckles turning white from the pressure. So this was it. All my pain, all my attempts to be logical and do the right thing—it was all just a joke to him. He wasn’t exclusively mine. He could turn his affection to someone else in a heartbeat. 【Hahaha, she's watching from the balcony! Seething!】 【Look at her face, it’s like her whole world is ending. So satisfying to watch.】 【Keep looking, bitch. He’s not yours anymore.】 My phone vibrated in my pocket. A text message. It was from Claire, the real Ainsworth. “Did you see that, Penelope? Without the Ainsworth name, you’re nothing. Even Carter doesn’t want you anymore. You must be feeling pretty pathetic right now. It looks good on you.” I stared at the text, then back down at the picture-perfect couple below. Something inside me, something I had been suppressing for weeks, finally shattered. Why? Why was I the one who had to retreat, only to be vilified by everyone? Why did I have to be the one to sacrifice everything for their comfort, only to be left with nothing but scars? Why did they get to steal my entire life and then stand back and laugh at my despair? The comments continued to mock me. 【Just give up. A supporting character should know her place. Just be a stepping stone for the main couple’s love story.】 【Exactly. Why does she have to be so obnoxious?】 They wanted me to suffer. They wanted to see me break down, to watch me hide in a corner and cry. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. I turned and walked back into my room, straight to the suitcase I hadn't fully unpacked. It held the relics of my former life: the most beautiful, most expensive clothes and jewelry I owned. I pulled out a stunning, floor-length red gown Carter had given me for my last birthday. Then, I sat at my small desk, and with a steady hand, I applied the most exquisite, dramatic makeup I knew how. The girl in the mirror was a stranger. Her eyes were sharp, her lips were the color of blood, and she carried herself with the pride of a thorny, untouchable rose. This was Penelope Ainsworth. The girl who had been cherished, who could have anything she ever wanted. They wanted a villain? Fine. I would give them one. I would become the villain who would bring them all to their knees."
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