Chapter 1
I was scrolling late at night and saw a viral post. It was titled, "Girls, help me check if my boyfriend's place has another woman in it."
Comments were filled with swooning. [So clean? Dream boyfriend material!]
I found it interesting and texted my boyfriend, Flynn Hogan, who was away for business, wanting a picture of his hotel room.
He sent one right away.
I opened it and my smile instantly froze.
It was the same as the one in the post. Same angle. Same bed. Same suitcase.
The internet's "perfect boyfriend"? Turned out he was my boyfriend.
*****
I couldn't let it go, stubbornly flipping back and forth between the two photos.
I scrutinized every detail, from the style of the curtains to the angle of the light glinting off the floor.
In the end, I had to admit they were the exact same photo.
The post was made by an anonymous account with the same city IP as me.
This was literally the only thing they'd ever posted.
Suddenly, I knew exactly who it was—Tanya Yates.
Tanya had been pursuing Flynn for a whole decade.
My heart plummeted.
Tanya posted the photo first. That meant my boyfriend, Flynn Hogan had sent it to her himself.
But Flynn had always treated her like she didn't exist—so why would he suddenly change now?
I didn't hesitate—I dialed Flynn, who was thousands of miles away.
The call connected almost instantly.
I was just about to speak, but before I could say anything, Flynn's voice came through, low and simmering with anger.
He said, "Tanya, how long are you going to keep harassing me with these calls?"
I froze. "Flynn..."
The moment he realized it was me, his tone softened right away.
There was even a hint of guilt in his voice. "Sorry, Megan. I thought it was her calling again."
"She won't stop calling you again?" I asked.
The last time Tanya pulled something like this was right after Flynn and I had just moved in together.
That night, she blew up our phones, dialing from one number after another like she'd lost her mind.
We didn't get a wink of sleep.
Flynn just mumbled a low, tired "Yeah."
"What's gotten into her this time?" I asked.
I thought this would be the easiest question in the world to answer.
However, Flynn just brushed it off.
"It's nothing. She's simply going crazy again. Just ignore her," he said.
Seeing I might be getting suspicious, Flynn quickly explained, "We're working at the same company right now, so she's always around. I'm just trying to keep things civil."
Staring at the two identical photos, I couldn't help but ask, "Is she on this trip with you?"
Flynn sounded seriously annoyed now.
"No! Why would I ever bring her along?" he snapped.
He added, "I was right in the middle of a video conference, and she just wouldn't leave me alone about sending her a picture of my room. I sent it just to get her off my back—she's seriously driving me nuts."
Then Flynn's tone gentled, clearly trying to comfort me.
"Baby, this was the only time I had any contact with her tonight, I swear. Trust me—don't get worked up over it," he said.
Flynn and I had been together for three years and for all those years, Tanya was always getting in the way.
Flynn had warned her off more times than I could count, but she just refused to let go.
She got so pathetic that she'd even show up with a gift and cake on my birthday just so she could see Flynn face to face and squeeze in a couple words with him.
The first time I ever met Tanya was when Flynn set up a special surprise to confess his feelings to me.
He'd carefully planned everything, making it a perfect romantic moment.
Then Tanya just barged in out of nowhere, wrecking the whole romantic atmosphere.
Before I could react, Flynn's face went dark.
He grabbed Tanya and dragged her outside.
When I hurried after them, Tanya was crouched on the ground, sobbing her heart out.
Flynn just stood there, looking totally indifferent, impatience written all over his face.
One of Flynn's friends, worried I might get the wrong idea, quickly explained.
He said Tanya had been obsessed with Flynn ever since high school, and even deliberately worked her way into a university in the same city, just to stay close to him.
Whenever Flynn was even a little friendly to another girl, Tanya would always make a scene and start drama.
Flynn was a genuinely nice guy.
With all his classes and stuff, he never paid much attention to her drama.
But then I came along.
Flynn said he'd never felt for someone else the way he felt for me.
That night was the first time he actually lost his cool with Tanya.
I accepted Flynn's confession on the same night too.
But around midnight, my phone just started blowing up with message after message from Tanya.
Every word she sent was laced with venom and curses.
Flynn was even more pissed off than I was. First thing the next morning, he went straight to confront her.
But he ended up finding out that her grandmother—the only family she had left—had passed away the night before.
Tanya was completely alone in the world now.
Flynn and I just sat there in silence for a long time—neither of us said another word about it.
For the next nine months, Tanya vanished.
When she finally reappeared, she looked skinnier—and her demeanor was much calmer than before.
She'd quit school and set up a food truck right outside the campus.
One day, Flynn and I happened to be walking by.
She rushed over, handing each of us a hot dog.
She lowered her voice and apologized to me. "I'm sorry, Megan. I was really obsessive back then, and I did some things that hurt you. I swear I won't do it again."
Tanya said she'd finally let go.
But as a woman too, I wasn't fooled by her.
Whenever she glanced at Flynn, a mix of pain and jealousy rose in her eyes.
But honestly, I didn't take it to heart.
Tanya was not the kind of girl anyone would feel threatened by—not in looks, not in personality.
She just wasn't someone who could actually make me nervous.
Ten years chasing after Flynn, and she still failed.
There was no way Flynn would ever like her.