Chapter 1
My boyfriend seemed to have split personality.
One second he would hug me and call me baby. The next second he turned as cold as ice.
I reached my limit and started typing, [Let's break up.]
But on a comedy forum I frequented, I saw a help post. It read: [My girlfriend keeps calling me by my brother's name. Is that normal?
[My brother received the love letter from her, but I chased her. Now she seems about to break up with me. What should I do?
[This is urgent! Any quick guide to getting promoted to boyfriend? Money isn't the issue. I mainly want to piss my brother off.]
Looking at the familiar profile picture, I fell into deep thought.
What kind of ridiculous move was this?
*****
"Let go," Brandon Winter's voice came from above, cold and impatient.
I stiffened, slowly looking up to meet his frosty gaze. Just moments ago, I'd been all smiles, throwing myself into my boyfriend's arms. Now, I'd crashed and burned.
"Brandon?" I asked hesitantly, my heart already sinking.
His glacier-like demeanor returned as he gently pushed me away, sounding distant. "People are watching. Behave yourself."
I swear, I was about to lose it.
Just last night, he was all cuddly on video, acting cute and saying he missed me like crazy. He promised he'd hug me to death when we met. But now, he was staring at me like we were complete strangers.
This hot-and-cold act had been on repeat for the past three months.
I'd had enough.
I clenched my fists, swallowed my anger, and forced out a smile. "Fine, I'll behave."
Brandon gave a curt reply and strode off quickly, didn't even look back. I followed behind, staring at his tall, cold back, my eyes burning with a mix of frustration and resentment.
Back at my apartment, I threw myself onto the couch, grabbed my phone, and opened my chat with Brandon. With shaky hands, I typed: [Let's break up.]
He was the one who chased after me. The love letter he wrote was so poetic and heartfelt, it totally swept me off my feet. But after he won me over, it was like he turned into a completely different person.
Just as I was about to hit send, a notification popped up at the top of my screen.
It was from my favorite forum, "Today's Laughs," where all the meme-loving weirdos hang out.
A blazing red "Hot" tag caught my eye.
It read: [Urgent! My girlfriend keeps calling me by my brother's name. Is that normal?]
My hand shook so hard I nearly flung my phone across the room.
Wait, why did this title look so familiar?
Almost on autopilot, I tapped into the post.
OP: [So here's the deal. I've got a twin brother, and we look exactly the same. Three months ago, this girl wrote my brother a thousand-word love letter. It was so well-written. She made him sound like the rarest gem on earth.
[But my brother's a total blockhead when it comes to dating; he didn't even bother reading it before tossing it. I thought the girl was super cute, so I snatched the letter for myself.]
[Then I posed as my brother, used his social media account to chat with her, and asked her out. When it was time for our first meeting, my brother suddenly had something come up and forced me to go instead.
[I figured, "Whatever, I'm the one who's been talking to her anyway, so why not?" And honestly, I fell for her at first sight. She's so adorable, and when she smiles, she gets these cute little dimples.
[After that, we naturally ended up together. But my brother, that jerk, keeps sticking his nose in whenever he wants. If he's in a good mood, he lets me go on dates and enjoy all the lovey-dovey stuff.
[But if he's pissed off or his experiments aren't going well, he shows up with an ice-cold face and acts all indifferent to my girlfriend. Now she thinks I've got some kind of split personality, since I'm always hot and cold with her.
[Today, my brother stepped in for me again, and when he got back, he was bragging about how my girlfriend tried to hug him, but he pushed her away. I was so mad I almost got into a fight with him!
[My girlfriend hasn't talked to me all day, and she's not replying to my texts. I'm pretty sure she's about to break up with me.
[What should I do? If I'm really the stand-in, how do I take over and become the actual boyfriend? Is there a guide for this? I'll pay, whatever it takes. I just want to drive my brother nuts.]
The thread was already blowing up with over a hundred replies.
[Holy crap, this is the drama of the year.]
[Wait, so your girlfriend has no idea you two are twins? She thinks she's dating your brother, but it's actually you the whole time, and your brother shows up occasionally to play the ice-cold CEO?]