Chapter 1

My roommate, Jenna Hudson, catfished someone online using my photos. She thought the guy was too broke and wanted to pass him off to me.

She said the rich, handsome guy she was meeting in real life was her true soulmate.

Later, she was sobbing outside a cheap motel, clinging to a greasy middle-aged man, while the "broke guy" she dumped was peeling crayfish for me in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

He leisurely wiped his hands, glanced at the drama unfolding nearby, and asked me, "Your friend? Should I buy the whole street and kick her out?"

*****

I was munching on an apple when Jenna tossed her phone onto my desk.

She hit it so hard that my apple nearly slipped from my hand.

"Martha, he's yours now," she said.

Her chin was raised like a swan, her voice dripping with charity.

I stared at her, mouth full of apple, and mumbled, "What?"

"This one," Jenna said, tapping her finger with a flawless manicure on the phone screen, "one of my online crushes, J.K, I'm handing him over to you."

I nearly choked on my apple. "Hand him over? Jenna, are you out of your mind or something? You can't just toss him to me like that."

Jenna rolled her eyes, giving me that "how are you so clueless" look that made my fists clench.

"Oh, just take over this social media account. You can chat with him from now on. I can't be bothered with him anymore," she said.

J.K, the guy she mentioned, was one of the two guys she was chatting up online, all while using my photos.

Yep, that was right. She was stringing along two guys at the same time, both thinking they were talking to me.

I was Martha Osborne, just an average, hardworking college girl. I was decent-looking. My grades were okay.

And my biggest asset was that I looked way better in pictures than I did in person.

Jenna, my roommate, was pretty, but her editing skills were a mess. She always used crazy filters that made her look like some weird cartoon character.

She figured my candid pictures looked more "innocent and real," perfect for making guys want to play the hero.

So, my face became her passport to cruise through the online world without a hitch.

I tried to protest, but Jenna latched onto my arm, whining, "Martha, you're the best. I'm just messing around.

"It's not like I'm really meeting them. Besides, I'm doing you a favor by using your pictures."

I scoffed.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her. It was just too much trouble.

And now, she wanted to dump one of her "trophies" on me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

"What else?" Jenna said, scrolling through the chat with a look of pure disgust. "J.K is broke. I've been talking to him for two weeks, and he hasn't even sent me a 20-dollar gift.

"He's always sending me Amazon discount links, and just the other day, he asked if I could lend him ten dollars for a game skin."

She shoved the phone right in my face, and I saw J.K's profile picture of a pixelated cat in a blurry background.

The chat history was even more tragic.

J.K: [Babe, are you there? Can you help me with this Daily Deal? I need to get the discount.]

J.K sent a link.

Jenna: [I'm busy.]

J.K: [Babe, payday today. Finally got to eat something decent.]

J.K sent a photo.

The photo showed a plate of pasta that looked pretty sad, with just one lonely sausage on top.

I was speechless.

This guy was a real piece of work.

"And what about the other one?" I asked.

Just hearing about her other crush made Jenna light up. Her voice went up, dripping with sweetness.

"M.B? Oh, he's super generous," She snatched her phone back, opened another chat, and showed it off. "Look, just two days ago, he sent me one thousand and told me to treat myself to some snacks.

"Last week, I casually mentioned I liked a bag, and he bought it right away. He said it's being shipped straight from Pritaland."

The chat history did have a screenshot of the money transfer and an order confirmation for a luxury bag.

"I'm meeting M.B in person," Jenna said, her eyes sparkling with greed. "He asked me out to the most expensive restaurant in town next week. He says he can't wait to see me."

I arched an eyebrow. "So you're going to show up as me?"

Jenna's face froze for a second, and then she went right back to acting all confident. "I'll just say the photos are of my bestie. He likes me so much. He won't mind.

"The real headache is J.K. He's so clingy, always texting, and keeps coming back after I block him, like a sticky band-aid. Can you handle him for me? Please, Martha?"

She started shaking my arm again.

I looked at her scheming face and suddenly found it funny.

She treated men like merchandise, putting a price tag on each one. The ones past their prime or too cheap? She'd toss them my way, like I was her personal trash bin.

But I didn't want any of them.

I was about to say no, but then an idea came to my mind.

"Sure," I drawled, "give me the account. What's the password?"

Jenna froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.

She broke into a huge grin. "The password is 'JILY', just the initials of 'Jenna, I love you.' This broke guy is all yours now. Make sure he doesn't bother me anymore."

With that, Jenna hummed a little tune and strutted off to slap on a face mask, already prepping for her big luxury dinner next week.

I picked up the backup phone she used for online dating, typed in the password, and logged in.

The chat with J.K was still open.

The latest message was sent half an hour ago.

J.K: [Babe, I was working on a construction site today, and my boss gave me an extra 20 dollars. I'm so happy.]

He also sent a grinning emoji.

I glanced at the message, then at the row of expensive skincare products lined up on Jenna's vanity, and couldn't help but smirk.

I would do it.

I wanted to see how crazy this game could get.

I tapped out a reply. [Got it. Update me tomorrow.]