Chapter 1

Zoey Archer, the girl Andrew Weston liked, was going to some no-name college.

So before the deadline, he used my password to log into my application portal. He withdrew my applications to the top universities and submitted a new one—to the same college she'd chosen.

"Why?" I asked him.

"She's scared to go so far away on her own. You should go with her. And keep an eye on her. Make sure no one else gets close," Andrew replied, his tone flat.

Before the final cutoff, I logged back in. I withdrew his submission and, with minutes to spare, applied to the farthest university I could find, deep in the south. When the acceptance letter came, I bought a one-way ticket and boarded the plane alone.

*****

An hour before the deadline, I decided to swap out my top-choice reach school for a university in the south.

When I logged in, I saw it. Every single school I'd picked was gone, replaced by the same mid-tier college Zoey had chosen.

My heart dropped. I broke out in a cold sweat as I frantically changed everything back. I hit submit with only three minutes to spare.

When my breathing finally slowed, it hit me. Only one other person knew my password.

I called Andrew. "Did you mess with my applications? You seriously want me, the top student in our grade, to go to a mid-tier school?"

He gave a faint smile. "Zoey gets nervous going to school by herself. You should go with her. She's been treated like a princess her whole life. She'll need help with everything—what to eat, what to wear, even just going to the bathroom."

I frowned.

Zoey's grades weren't great, so Andrew had hired several top tutors and found the best mid-tier college she could possibly get into.

But my SAT score was nearly 200 points higher than hers. I could've gotten into any school I wanted.

Anger burned inside me.

I snapped, "So why didn't you mess with your own application? Of course, you made sure to pick all the top universities for yourself."

Andrew sounded annoyed. "Are you seriously making a fuss over this? The deadline's passed. Like it or not, you're going to that college with Zoey."

Everyone knew I was just Andrew's simp.

If he threw out the breakfast I made, I'd still get him something else, worried he'd go hungry.

Even when Zoey messed up her leg, I was the one busting my ass at the hospital for three months, taking care of her every need.

So, of course, Andrew just figured I was Zoey's babysitter. Wherever she went to college, I was supposed to tag along and look after her.

What he didn't know was why. The only reason I put up with it all was that his family was paying me.

I was just a scholarship kid from a poor family.

Three hundred thousand dollars to play babysitter for a rich boy for three years? Honestly, I couldn't complain.

I only gave him my password because I was still under contract with his family.

Now that it was over, I was finally free.

"Andrew, from now on, we're just strangers," I said coldly into the phone.

I hung up before he could reply.

*****

At the class reunion, Zoey and her crew were there too.

People kept shooting us weird looks, their eyes darting back and forth between us.

I just sat there, totally unfazed.

Suddenly, Zoey got up and walked over, handing me a box of chocolates. She said softly, "Harriet, now that we've graduated, maybe you don't have to steal anymore, okay? If you ever want something sweet, just ask me."

People started whispering among themselves.