Chapter 4 · I Refused the Setup

Layla jumped, whipping around in a panic. "No way. I was just with—"

"Don't even start with that whole 'we're just friends' routine, or I'll tell the landlord," I cut her off, not letting her finish.

When we signed the lease, the landlord made it crystal clear—no bringing guys home, and it was spelled out in the contract.

Layla knew the rules, so she grumbled, clearly not happy about it.

"Alistair just brought me some late-night snacks. He'll have a drink and head out, don't worry," she said.

Alistair looked annoyed. "What kind of dump is this, with these ridiculous rules? Layla, let me just buy you an apartment. Then we can have fun together at night, no hassle."

Alistair flashed a wicked grin.

I was pretty sure that when he said "have fun," he definitely didn't mean anything PG.

Sure enough, Layla's face turned bright red in a flash as she grabbed her butt.

"No way. I'm a total tomboy, not one of those clingy girls who needs a guy to take care of her. I'm living with my bestie, and that's that," Layla shot back.

She suddenly remembered I was still around and handed me a cup of coffee.

"Scarlett, this coffee is super popular in Ebonville. It tastes amazing. Alistair brought it for you. Give it a try," Layla urged.

Coffee in the middle of the night? Was she trying to keep me up all night?

"I'm not drinking it. Just let Alistair finish it and leave," I said.

I put the coffee back on the table.

Layla looked anxious.

The live chat was even more frantic.

[How can you not drink it? There's sleeping pills in it.]

[Layla really went all out to set up Alistair and Scarlett. She put sleeping pills in both their coffee, and after they're out cold, she'll have to drag them onto the same bed.]

[Honestly, it's all Scarlett's fault for not knowing what's good for her. If she just played along, Layla wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.]

[Scarlett's really lucking out here. Good thing Alistair's coffee only had a tiny bit of sleeping pills. He'll wake up halfway, storm over to Layla, and then...]

[Wait, drugging someone? Isn't that illegal?]

[What's up with Layla? If she likes Alistair, why not just confess? Why does she always pull these sneaky tricks? She pretends to push him away, but she's actually making him jealous and playing hard to get, right?]

I couldn't believe it. A chill ran down my spine.

Layla kept trying to persuade me, but Alistair told her to stop.

Suddenly, the two of them started bickering and getting in each other's way right in front of me.

I quickly took the chance to quietly switch the coffee cups around.

"Alright, stop arguing. I'll drink it, okay?" I said.

I picked up the only coffee without sleeping pills, pretended to take a sip, and slowly made my way back to my room.

It didn't take long before the live chat was full of people flaming me.

Turned out, after Layla and Alistair drank the spiked coffee, the sleeping pills kicked in right as the two of them went to the bathroom together.

All my sleepiness vanished in an instant.

I rushed to the bathroom and saw them side by side, both with their heads leaning over the toilet, snoring like a pair of chainsaws.

I laughed out loud.

After the whole toilet nap fiasco, Layla disappeared for a few days.

Then on Sunday, Layla texted me, saying it was her mom's birthday and invited me to the party.

Layla's mom had always been nice to me, so I agreed.

But when I showed up, I realized it wasn't a birthday party at all. It was a total ambush.

Everyone there was a friend of Alistair and Layla.

Except for me and Layla, the rest were all guys.

[Scarlett's totally stunned now.]

[Layla's so clever. She tricked Scarlett into coming over, lol.]

[Layla's been holding onto that toilet nap grudge for days, and now she's finally getting her revenge.]

[Can't wait to see Layla's crew get some payback for the whole toilet fiasco.]

"Guys, this is my bestie, Scarlett. She's the one I want to introduce to Alistair. Isn't she just stunning?" Layla announced.

Layla took the lead with the introductions.

Her buddies immediately jumped in.

"Not even close to pretty. Layla, your taste is seriously questionable," one of them snarked.

"She looks totally basic. How could you even think about setting her up with Mr. Chapman? I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole," one of the guys scoffed.

"Honestly, you're way hotter than her. If you ask me, you and Mr. Chapman should just hook up," another guy snickered.

"Yeah, seriously. That way, some girls can stop daydreaming about stuff that's never gonna happen," someone else chimed in.

The live chat was absolutely eating it up.

Layla was secretly thrilled, barely able to keep the smirk off her face. "Scarlett, they're just super blunt, but they're not bad guys. Don't let it get to you."

Since I was already here, might as well roll with it.

I kept my cool and brushed off her fake comforting gesture.

"I don't mind. You told me before they had a foul mouth. I thought you were just joking, but turns out you weren't. So all those other things you mentioned, are they true as well?" I said.

I leaned in close to Layla and pointed at the guys who'd just been talking.

I said, "You said the guy in blue only lasts three seconds—fast and flimsy. Looking at him, he really does look like a scrawny loser.

"And that one—he's the cringe simp you mentioned, right? Ugly as hell but thinks he's a stud, always sending you those so-called sexy ribcage selfies that just burn your eyes.

"And that guy over there—he's basically a walking stomach bug, right? Tries to kiss you and get lucky, but just makes you want to puke up last year's dinner.

"And that one..."

After I finished, the whole room went dead silent.

The guys who'd been talking just stared at each other, then looked at Layla like they couldn't believe what they'd just heard.

Layla blurted out before she could even think, "How did you know that? Did Alistair tell you?"

Honestly, it was because she insisted on staying up late every night, loudly chatting with Alistair in the living room—so loud that I could hear every word from anywhere in the house.

After a while, I naturally picked up on a few things.

Layla's reaction just proved I was right.

Chapter 4

Layla jumped, whipping around in a panic. "No way. I was just with—"

"Don't even start with that whole 'we're just friends' routine, or I'll tell the landlord," I cut her off, not letting her finish.

When we signed the lease, the landlord made it crystal clear—no bringing guys home, and it was spelled out in the contract.

Layla knew the rules, so she grumbled, clearly not happy about it.

"Alistair just brought me some late-night snacks. He'll have a drink and head out, don't worry," she said.

Alistair looked annoyed. "What kind of dump is this, with these ridiculous rules? Layla, let me just buy you an apartment. Then we can have fun together at night, no hassle."

Alistair flashed a wicked grin.

I was pretty sure that when he said "have fun," he definitely didn't mean anything PG.

Sure enough, Layla's face turned bright red in a flash as she grabbed her butt.

"No way. I'm a total tomboy, not one of those clingy girls who needs a guy to take care of her. I'm living with my bestie, and that's that," Layla shot back.

She suddenly remembered I was still around and handed me a cup of coffee.

"Scarlett, this coffee is super popular in Ebonville. It tastes amazing. Alistair brought it for you. Give it a try," Layla urged.

Coffee in the middle of the night? Was she trying to keep me up all night?

"I'm not drinking it. Just let Alistair finish it and leave," I said.

I put the coffee back on the table.

Layla looked anxious.

The live chat was even more frantic.

[How can you not drink it? There's sleeping pills in it.]

[Layla really went all out to set up Alistair and Scarlett. She put sleeping pills in both their coffee, and after they're out cold, she'll have to drag them onto the same bed.]

[Honestly, it's all Scarlett's fault for not knowing what's good for her. If she just played along, Layla wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.]

[Scarlett's really lucking out here. Good thing Alistair's coffee only had a tiny bit of sleeping pills. He'll wake up halfway, storm over to Layla, and then...]

[Wait, drugging someone? Isn't that illegal?]

I couldn't believe it. A chill ran down my spine.

Layla kept trying to persuade me, but Alistair told her to stop.

Suddenly, the two of them started bickering and getting in each other's way right in front of me.

I quickly took the chance to quietly switch the coffee cups around.

"Alright, stop arguing. I'll drink it, okay?" I said.

I picked up the only coffee without sleeping pills, pretended to take a sip, and slowly made my way back to my room.

It didn't take long before the live chat was full of people flaming me.

Turned out, after Layla and Alistair drank the spiked coffee, the sleeping pills kicked in right as the two of them went to the bathroom together.

All my sleepiness vanished in an instant.

I rushed to the bathroom and saw them side by side, both with their heads leaning over the toilet, snoring like a pair of chainsaws.

I laughed out loud.

After the whole toilet nap fiasco, Layla disappeared for a few days.

Then on Sunday, Layla texted me, saying it was her mom's birthday and invited me to the party.

Layla's mom had always been nice to me, so I agreed.

But when I showed up, I realized it wasn't a birthday party at all. It was a total ambush.

Everyone there was a friend of Alistair and Layla.

Except for me and Layla, the rest were all guys.

[Scarlett's totally stunned now.]

[Layla's so clever. She tricked Scarlett into coming over, lol.]

[Layla's been holding onto that toilet nap grudge for days, and now she's finally getting her revenge.]

[Can't wait to see Layla's crew get some payback for the whole toilet fiasco.]

"Guys, this is my bestie, Scarlett. She's the one I want to introduce to Alistair. Isn't she just stunning?" Layla announced.

Layla took the lead with the introductions.

Her buddies immediately jumped in.

"Not even close to pretty. Layla, your taste is seriously questionable," one of them snarked.

"She looks totally basic. How could you even think about setting her up with Mr. Chapman? I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole," one of the guys scoffed.

"Honestly, you're way hotter than her. If you ask me, you and Mr. Chapman should just hook up," another guy snickered.

"Yeah, seriously. That way, some girls can stop daydreaming about stuff that's never gonna happen," someone else chimed in.

The live chat was absolutely eating it up.

Layla was secretly thrilled, barely able to keep the smirk off her face. "Scarlett, they're just super blunt, but they're not bad guys. Don't let it get to you."

Since I was already here, might as well roll with it.

I kept my cool and brushed off her fake comforting gesture.

"I don't mind. You told me before they had a foul mouth. I thought you were just joking, but turns out you weren't. So all those other things you mentioned, are they true as well?" I said.

I leaned in close to Layla and pointed at the guys who'd just been talking.

I said, "You said the guy in blue only lasts three seconds—fast and flimsy. Looking at him, he really does look like a scrawny loser.

"And that one—he's the cringe simp you mentioned, right? Ugly as hell but thinks he's a stud, always sending you those so-called sexy ribcage selfies that just burn your eyes.

"And that guy over there—he's basically a walking stomach bug, right? Tries to kiss you and get lucky, but just makes you want to puke up last year's dinner.

"And that one..."

After I finished, the whole room went dead silent.

The guys who'd been talking just stared at each other, then looked at Layla like they couldn't believe what they'd just heard.

Layla blurted out before she could even think, "How did you know that? Did Alistair tell you?"

Honestly, it was because she insisted on staying up late every night, loudly chatting with Alistair in the living room—so loud that I could hear every word from anywhere in the house.

After a while, I naturally picked up on a few things.

Layla's reaction just proved I was right.