Chapter 1 · Accidental Ties: A Transfer of Fate

It was September move-in week, and the sycamore leaves had just begun to turn gold.

Emma Lane stood outside her dorm, gripping the handle of her suitcase as she dialed the number labeled "Big Bro" for the third time.

"Bro," she groaned into the receiver, her voice dripping with strategic sweetness. "My favorite brother in the entire world. Listen, my Venmo is literally at zero, and the ladies at the dining hall are starting to give me pity looks."

There was a two-second beat of silence on the other end before a cool, deep voice replied, "How much?"

Emma's eyes lit up. She did the math at lightning speed. "Ten hundred bucks! Or, honestly, five hundred bucks would work! My sorority has a huge event this month, and I still haven't cleared my cart at the campus bookstore..."

"Send me your number," he said, keeping it brief.

"You're a lifesaver! I love you!" Emma chirped. She hung up and refreshed her app, and sure enough, a notification popped up for a $1,000 transfer. The memo simply read: [Get a real meal.]

Without giving it a second thought, she screenshotted the transaction and posted it to her Instagram Story. The caption read: [Shoutout to the best big brother for feeding me!]

The image showed the transfer record. She had blurred out the exact amount, but the memo "Get a real meal" stood out clearly.

In less than three minutes, her notifications blew up.

Her roommate, Sophie West, commented: [Wait, isn't your brother abroad right now? Did he suddenly move time zones?]

Her best friend, Erika Potter, from high school remarked: [Since when did you get such a sweet brother? Last I checked, your actual brother only messaged you to make fun of your weight.]

Emma froze. A strange, prickling sensation crawled up her neck as she realized something was off.

With trembling fingers, she tapped open her call history. The number she had dialed wasn't her brother's. It was off by a single digit. She had just fleeced a total stranger.

*****

Emma frantically redialed the number. The call was answered the very instant it connected.

"Um, I am so sorry. I called the wrong number," Emma stammered, her words tripping over each other in a blur of panic. "I'll send the money back! Right now! I'll refund it immediately!"

Another brief silence followed.

"Don't worry about it," the calm voice replied. "Consider it a loan. You can pay me back next month."

"But I can't do that," Emma gasped, choking back a sob. "We don't even know each other. And it is so much money..."

A faint laugh drifted through the receiver, and Emma wondered if she had imagined it. "Then consider it an investment. Eat well. Don't go hungry. I have to go."

The line went dead.

Emma stared at her phone, feeling as though the world were about to crumble.

"So, not only did you dial the wrong number, but you also managed to get a month's worth of living expenses from a total stranger?" Sophie's jaw dropped as she listened to Emma's tearful confession.

Julie Shaw, another roommate, leaned in, her eyes shining. "And he told you not to pay him back right away? Who is this modern-day saint? Was it a guy? Did he have a nice voice?"

"A guy," Emma mumbled, burying her face in her hands. "His voice was amazing. But that is not the point. The point is, it is a thousand dollars. How am I ever going to pay that back?"

"First, you need to find him," Sophie, the practical one, said. "You have his number. We should be able to figure out who he is."

Following a frantic effort, the trio ran a partial-match search through the university's internal registry, and at last, one name surfaced: Landon Carter.

He was a sophomore majoring in Computer Science, with the student ID 20250216. In the photo, he possessed sharp, clean features and a straight, high-bridged nose. There was a distant coolness in his gaze. His striking look made him stand out instantly in any crowd.

"Landon Carter," Julie said, sounding out the name before gasping. "Emma, you accidentally called Landon?"

"Who?" Emma blinked, totally lost.

"He's the face of the Computer Science department. The captain of the basketball team. The winner of last year's national coding competition," Julie explained, shaking Emma's shoulders in excitement. "He is a legend on the university forums.

"Countless upperclassmen and freshmen have a crush on him. And you asked him for money?"

Emma felt the world spin. It was over. She was truly done for. Not only did she owe a handsome stranger a thousand dollars, but that stranger was also one of the most popular guys on campus.

She imagined the death stares she would get from his legion of admirers.

"I have to go pay him back," Emma said, jumping to her feet. "Right now."

Standing behind a sycamore tree in front of the computer science building, Emma clutched an envelope containing one thousand dollars in cash, feeling like a common criminal.

"Do you think he will even see me?" she asked Sophie for the tenth time.

"You have been waiting here since noon, and his class is about to end," Sophie said, pointing to the stream of students pouring out of the building. "Look, is that him?"

Emma followed her finger.

Chapter 1

It was September move-in week, and the sycamore leaves had just begun to turn gold.

Emma Lane stood outside her dorm, gripping the handle of her suitcase as she dialed the number labeled "Big Bro" for the third time.

There was a two-second beat of silence on the other end before a cool, deep voice replied, "How much?"

"Send me your number," he said, keeping it brief.

"You're a lifesaver! I love you!" Emma chirped. She hung up and refreshed her app, and sure enough, a notification popped up for a $1,000 transfer. The memo simply read: [Get a real meal.]

Without giving it a second thought, she screenshotted the transaction and posted it to her Instagram Story. The caption read: [Shoutout to the best big brother for feeding me!]

The image showed the transfer record. She had blurred out the exact amount, but the memo "Get a real meal" stood out clearly.

In less than three minutes, her notifications blew up.

Her roommate, Sophie West, commented: [Wait, isn't your brother abroad right now? Did he suddenly move time zones?]

Her best friend, Erika Potter, from high school remarked: [Since when did you get such a sweet brother? Last I checked, your actual brother only messaged you to make fun of your weight.]

Emma froze. A strange, prickling sensation crawled up her neck as she realized something was off.

With trembling fingers, she tapped open her call history. The number she had dialed wasn't her brother's. It was off by a single digit. She had just fleeced a total stranger.

*****

Emma frantically redialed the number. The call was answered the very instant it connected.

"Um, I am so sorry. I called the wrong number," Emma stammered, her words tripping over each other in a blur of panic. "I'll send the money back! Right now! I'll refund it immediately!"

Another brief silence followed.

"Don't worry about it," the calm voice replied. "Consider it a loan. You can pay me back next month."

"But I can't do that," Emma gasped, choking back a sob. "We don't even know each other. And it is so much money..."

A faint laugh drifted through the receiver, and Emma wondered if she had imagined it. "Then consider it an investment. Eat well. Don't go hungry. I have to go."

The line went dead.

Emma stared at her phone, feeling as though the world were about to crumble.

"So, not only did you dial the wrong number, but you also managed to get a month's worth of living expenses from a total stranger?" Sophie's jaw dropped as she listened to Emma's tearful confession.

Julie Shaw, another roommate, leaned in, her eyes shining. "And he told you not to pay him back right away? Who is this modern-day saint? Was it a guy? Did he have a nice voice?"

"A guy," Emma mumbled, burying her face in her hands. "His voice was amazing. But that is not the point. The point is, it is a thousand dollars. How am I ever going to pay that back?"

"First, you need to find him," Sophie, the practical one, said. "You have his number. We should be able to figure out who he is."

Following a frantic effort, the trio ran a partial-match search through the university's internal registry, and at last, one name surfaced: Landon Carter.

"Landon Carter," Julie said, sounding out the name before gasping. "Emma, you accidentally called Landon?"

"Who?" Emma blinked, totally lost.

"Countless upperclassmen and freshmen have a crush on him. And you asked him for money?"

Emma felt the world spin. It was over. She was truly done for. Not only did she owe a handsome stranger a thousand dollars, but that stranger was also one of the most popular guys on campus.

She imagined the death stares she would get from his legion of admirers.

"I have to go pay him back," Emma said, jumping to her feet. "Right now."

Standing behind a sycamore tree in front of the computer science building, Emma clutched an envelope containing one thousand dollars in cash, feeling like a common criminal.

"Do you think he will even see me?" she asked Sophie for the tenth time.

"You have been waiting here since noon, and his class is about to end," Sophie said, pointing to the stream of students pouring out of the building. "Look, is that him?"

Emma followed her finger.