The Night Before the Meetup

Hours before her first real-life date, a college student learns her online boyfriend's photos were stolen from the internet. When he messages her to delay their meeting, she is relieved to have time to attend a prestigious guest lecture at her university in Silverwood City. Having snagged a front-row seat to see the renowned academic, she is shocked to look up and realize the speaker is the exact, stunning man from her boyfriend's "fake" pictures. Is it a coincidence, or a deeper mystery?

Chapters

Chapter 1

: A Single Photo

The night before we were supposed to meet for the first time, my roommate told me the photo my online boyfriend sent was fake.

"Someone who uses a fake photo to date you online must be insecure and too ugly to show his face!"

The next day, my online boyfriend messaged me: "Sorry, something came up last minute. Can you wait for me for half an hour?"

I breathed a sigh of relief because I'd just gotten a notification about an expert lecture.

I heard the speaker was a huge name in the academic world. When the university found out he was coming to Silverwood City, they spent a fortune to hire him for this lecture.

I made sure to grab a seat in the front row. The moment I looked up—

'How could this person look exactly like the "fake photo" my online boyfriend sent me?'

I was in an online relationship, and my boyfriend sent me a picture of himself.

Drop-dead gorgeous!

I couldn't contain my excitement.

But my roommate immediately threw cold water on my excitement.

"There's no way a guy that handsome exists in real life. And even if he did, a guy like that wouldn't need to date online. Someone who uses a fake photo to date you online must be insecure and too ugly to show his face!"

I started to panic a little. "It can't be that bad..."

My roommate was completely confident. "Use your head. If you were a guy and looked that good, would you have trouble finding a girlfriend?"

After all, I'd been talking to him for so long and had a really good impression of him. I didn't think he was the kind of person my roommate was describing.

Seeing I wasn't convinced, my roommate said, "If you don't believe me, just ask him to meet up. I guarantee you he won't dare to show his face!"

I pursed my lips and sent him a message: "Are you free tomorrow?"

In the few seconds of his silence, my heart was in my throat.

DING-DONG. The notification sound chimed.

My online boyfriend replied, "What's up for tomorrow?"

With trembling fingers, I typed out my message: "We've been talking for so long, let's meet up tomorrow, okay? How about here at Crestview University? Can you meet me on the athletic field?"

As soon as I sent it, he went silent.

My roommate rolled her eyes. "See? What did I tell you?"

The words were barely out of her mouth when he replied, "Okay. Tomorrow at 2 p.m. I'll be waiting."

A weight lifted from my chest. I glanced at my roommate. "See? I told you he wasn't like that."

My roommate was still being stubborn. "We'll see for sure when you actually meet him tomorrow."

To prepare for meeting my online boyfriend, I woke up extra early the next day. I made sure to get everything else out of the way before I started getting all dolled up.

I thought our meeting would go smoothly, but then he sent me another message: "Sorry, something came up last minute. Can you wait for me for half an hour?"

I was actually relieved when I got the message because I'd just received a notification about an expert lecture.

I heard the speaker was a huge name in the academic world, Ian Grayson. When the university found out he was coming to Silverwood City, they spent a fortune to hire him.

I didn't want to miss such a great learning opportunity.

A half-hour delay was perfect. It meant I could attend the expert's lecture.

After getting his message, I quickly sent him a one-word reply: "Okay."

Then I rushed to the lecture hall and made sure to grab a seat in the front row.

'Romance is one thing, but my studies couldn't fall behind.'

The big shot hadn't even arrived yet, but the students were already buzzing with excitement about the lecture.

"I heard the expert just got back from overseas not too long ago and won the highest award in his field!"

"And most importantly, I heard he's around our age! And he's handsome!"

"Someone caught a glimpse of his face this morning and was totally floored."

...

Amidst all the chatter, I remained perfectly calm, keeping my head down and preparing my materials.

'After all, I'm a taken woman now. It doesn't matter how handsome some other guy is.'

Suddenly, the classroom fell silent.

A set of rhythmic footsteps slowly approached the lectern.

When I looked up, my mind went completely blank...

'How could this person look exactly like the "fake photo" my online boyfriend sent me?'

Continue to next part

After three years of silent devotion, Elena is shattered to discover her billionaire husband, Marcus, has been maintaining a secret affair with his former flame. Choosing self-respect over a hollow marriage, she files for divorce and vanishes to reclaim her own life. Marcus initially welcomes the freedom, but as Elena’s absence grows, he is haunted by the void she left behind. Now, he must face the devastating cost of his betrayal while she finds her strength.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.6

Ditched at Our Seventh Engagement

8.6

After a decade together, the modern romance Ditched at Our Seventh Engagement follows a woman facing her seventh failed ceremony. Sawyer Patterson is ready to leave once more for his childhood friend, Mathilde Payne, who claims to have a fever. When the protagonist begs him to stay just long enough to exchange rings, Sawyer lashes out, dismissing their ten-year history as he abandons her yet again. Finally pushed to her limit, she decides this betrayal is her last.

Modern Romance

8.9

His Unwanted Wife: The Hidden Tech Genius

8.9

For seven years, I hid my MIT Ph.D. and my identity as a top haute couture designer to be the perfect, obedient wife to billionaire Cornelius Lambert. But on our anniversary, while I waited at home with a cold dinner, I found him at a Michelin restaurant with his childhood sweetheart, Halle. My seven-year-old son sat between them, laughing loudly. "Mom is too boring. I wish Aunt Halle was my real mom." Cornelius didn't defend me. He just smiled and affectionately ruffled the boy's hair. When I finally packed my bags and left, I accidentally triggered an old AI robot prototype Cornelius had given me years ago. A hidden recording played his voice from the very night he proposed. "Why marry her? Because she's easy to control. Halle doesn't want to settle down yet, so Cassidy is just a perfect, temporary shield." Later, when I caught them being intimate in a dark parking garage and snapped a photo, Cornelius watched with cold, dead eyes as his massive bodyguard shoved me against a concrete pillar. My arm was torn open, blood dripping onto the floor, as they forced me to delete the evidence of his affair. For seven years, I filed down every sharp edge of my brilliance for a man who saw me as nothing but a pathetic, disposable placeholder. My heart turned to absolute ice. He thought I was just a weak, powerless housewife. But he forgot who he was dealing with. As his luxury car drove away, I pulled up the hidden command terminal on my phone and recovered the encrypted cloud backup of the photos. I looked at my lawyer with a bleeding arm and a cold smile. "Let's go. Now, we have a weapon."

Billionaire Modern Romance Sci-Fi

7.2

Love's Shadow, A Billionaire's Tears

7.2

He broke my heart ninety-nine times, but it was the last one that finally killed my love for him. At his family's party, his new girl theatrically stumbled, pulling us both into the pool. My heavy gown dragged me down, and I gasped for air, reaching for him. But he shoved right past me. He saved her. Through the chlorinated water, I heard his voice, sharp and clear for everyone to hear. "Your life is no longer my problem." The world went silent. My love for him died in that pool. But the final humiliation came a week later, at a high-stakes poker game. He kissed her in front of everyone, a brutal, public execution of my worth. Then he looked straight at me, his voice booming across the silent room. "She's a much better kisser than you ever were." Later that night, I overheard him talking to his second-in-command. "I'll keep her around long enough to make Ellie jealous. Give it a few weeks. She'll come crawling back, begging me to take her back. She always does." My love, my pain, my heartbreak—it was all just a game to him. So I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I went home, opened my laptop, and applied to a university in New York. This wasn't a threat. This was a burial.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.3

My Ex's Betrayal, My Mother's Ashes

9.3

I sacrificed my dream career for my fiancé, only to find him cheating with his older investor-a betrayal that led to my mother's death. He reached a new level of cruelty when he dumped my mother's ashes in the trash and conspired to have my wedding dress disintegrate off my body at the altar. I vanished for five years, building a new life with a new family, but now he's found us-and just saved my daughter's life to force his way back in.

Modern Mystery Romance

7.3

She Cheated With A Pawn: The King's Wrath

7.3

My wife, Elena, walked into the Grand Boardroom and placed a possessive hand on her lover's chest. Julian, a low-level associate I’d only hired as a favor to her, sat in my chair with his muddy boots on the polished mahogany table. He blew smoke in my face and laughed. "You're just a figurehead now, Dante. The Syndicate belongs to Elena. And since I'm the one keeping her happy at night, it belongs to me too." Elena looked at me with cold eyes, delivering the ultimate betrayal without a shred of remorse. "I'm pregnant, Dante. It's Julian's. We need the Moretti name for the baby, so sign the transfer papers and leave." She believed the power of attorney documents I signed while delirious with fever had given her my empire. She thought the mercenaries standing behind her were loyal to her checkbook. She truly believed she could fire a Don like a mid-level manager caught stealing office supplies. But she didn't know that in our world, loyalty isn't bought with stolen money. And she certainly didn't know what was actually in the leather folder she was holding. I looked at the traitor and the rat, feeling a strange, lethal sense of calm. "You want to talk about papers?" I tossed the real file onto the table, watching their smiles falter. "You didn't sign a transfer of power, Elena. You signed a Renunciation of Protection." I signaled my Enforcers, and the room exploded into motion. "Now," I said, staring at Julian's terrified face. "Let's see how much the streets respect you without my name."

Mafia Modern Romance

The Night Before the Meetup

Chapter 1

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