Chapter 1

During the first month of summer break, I blew through all my allowance. I didn't dare to ask my parents for more, so I texted my elder brother, Dexter Fleming. [Can you lend me 30 dollars, Dex?] I attached a cute emoji.

Five minutes later, I got a stern reply. [Have some self-respect. Don't call every guy so intimately.]

I sat there frozen, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. I had no idea what to say, so I only replied: [Got it, Dexter.]

I thought he was in a bad mood, so I didn't think much of it.

The next day, my best friend told me I'd been doxxed. A relationship blogger had posted screenshots of my chat with Dexter. She also grabbed photos from my social media and put them out there for everyone to see.

[Ladies, watch out for girls like this. They'll call any guy intimately without shame. Can't come up with 30 dollars? What's the point of you existing? You're so shameless at your age. I seriously wonder what your parents taught you.]

People in the comments started piling on, and some made dirty jokes. [30 dollars? That's a bargain. Sign me up for ten rounds.]

Instead of stopping them, the blogger egged them on and replied, [Aren't you worried about catching something?]

After reading all that, I checked out the blogger's profile. It turned out that she was Dexter's new girlfriend.

My hands were shaking with anger as I sent the screenshots to our family group chat.

Over my dead body would I let her join our family.

*****

As soon as I sent the screenshots, Dexter, who was the group admin, yanked them down.

Before I could resend them, he booted me from the family group chat.

I messaged him a question mark. It only showed one gray check mark.

Dexter had blocked me. Not only on chat, but my calls wouldn't go through either.

I cursed him under my breath and reached for my phone to call my parents.

Right then, the doorbell rang.

I thought my parents must've seen the mess online and come home early, so I rushed to open the door.

But the moment I opened the door, I got slapped right across the face.

Right in front of me stood a woman caked in makeup, waving her phone around. It was Dexter's girlfriend, the blogger, Emmeline Garner.

Two beefy guys stood behind her.

Before I could react, she drove her high heel straight into my stomach.

I hit the floor before I knew what had happened. My period had already left me weak, and the kick made me curl up tighter.

Emmeline and her two goons barged right in without my permission.

She glanced around and then burst into tears, holding up her phone. "Guys, you won't believe this. My boyfriend's been seeing someone else.

"If someone hadn't tipped me off that she was living here, I'd still be kept in the dark."

My head was buzzing, and the pain in my stomach knocked the words right out of me.

The place had been renovated, and the only thing hanging up was my photos. My parents hadn't had time to bring over their marriage certificate from our old place yet.

Emmeline shoved her phone in my face and snapped, "Spill it. How long have you been seeing Dexter? How much did he blow on you? Did he rent this place for you? I'm his real girlfriend.

"You're giving back every cent he wasted on you. You're still young. Why did you choose to be a side piece? Disgusting."

I was getting absolutely roasted.

The hashtag, [Exposing the side chick], shot straight to the top of the trending list, and Emmeline's livestream blew up, with a hundred thousand people watching.

Viewers were eating it up.

[Hell yeah, that's what she deserves. Side chicks are disgusting. I hate their guts.]

[Why didn't you beat her up? She looks sweet and innocent, but she's a side chick. If I were her parents, I'd disown her.]

[She's pretty cute, with smooth skin and a nice face. I saw those chat logs. 30 dollars a time? Seriously? If that's real, I'd book her for a whole year.]

[Tone it down, dude. Do you have a death wish or what?]

[Go, Emily. Take down that side chick. We've always got your back.]

I barely managed to get up from the floor, my face pale as a ghost.

The two guys who came with Emmeline yanked me up off the ground, not a hint of mercy in their eyes.

I was grimacing in pain, barely able to say, "You guys are trespassing. I'm calling the cops."

Hearing this, Emmeline wiped her tears and cracked up. "Call the cops? Seriously? I should be the one calling them.

"You're hooking up with my boyfriend and living in his place. I'm his real girlfriend. Even if the cops show up, they're kicking you out, not me. Get real."