How Can I Text Like Billie Eilish To Impress My Friends?

When Vera Sinclair’s longtime boyfriend dumps her for the heiress she unknowingly replaced, she’s devastated but not broken. For years, she played the role of the perfect girlfriend, filling in the gaps while he pined for another woman. But now? She’s done being second best. Just when she thinks she’s free, a powerful billionaire, Asher Donovan enters the picture with an intriguing proposition. He needs a fiancée to silence his family’s constant matchmaking, and Vera, with her newfound indifference to love, is the perfect candidate. But Asher isn’t just any billionaire, he’s her ex’s former business rival, the one man who can make her ex regret ever letting her go. As Vera steps into the world of high society on her own terms, she realizes that being a “substitute” was never her destiny. She was meant to be someone’s first choice. And this time, love might just come with the sweetest revenge.

An app had been making the rounds online lately—one that let you text your future self. Right before the final paper of the SATs, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and fired off a message: [Future me, do I end up marrying Liam Tinsley?] The screen flickered, and a reply from an "Unknown Number" popped up almost instantly: [Yes. You had a big, grand wedding.] I clutched my phone and typed back fast: [And Mia Thompson was my maid of honor, right? She's my best friend!] The response came just as quickly: [She was. But she wasn't just the maid of honor, she slept with Liam on your wedding night.] My smile froze mid-expression. Then a second message hit: [Truth is, you didn't need to go through all that trouble tanking your scores just to match his. He bombed the math section on purpose—so he could end up in the same city as Mia, who was at the bottom of the class.] [He pushed you to turn down that top-tier university—not for your sake, but because he didn't want Mia to feel inferior next to your grades.] The pre-exam warning bell cut through the air. But I was frozen, my body ice-cold, unable to move. One last message slammed into my screen: [If you don't believe me, head straight to the motel behind the school after the test. You'll see the truth for yourself.]

Every year on the day the SAT results are released, I spend the entire day kneeling at my mother's grave. Three years ago, I fell for a phone scam and transferred all of the tuition money she had saved through years of diligently saving up to the scammers. Unable to take the sudden blow, Mom suffered a fatal heart attack. After she passed away, debt collectors began showing up at our door. Only then did I learn how much money she had borrowed just to keep us afloat. I have no choice but to give up my admission offer from Jaloria College. Working five jobs a day, I finally repay every last debt today. On the subway ride to the cemetery, I suddenly come across a streamer whose voice sounds strangely familiar. She blabs, "How do you teach kids the value of earning money? In my experience, extreme circumstances work the best. I deliberately created a scenario for my daughter where both her parents are supposedly dead, and she inherited a million dollars of my debt. "She's almost finished paying it off now. Tell me, can your kids do that?" Someone in the comments section questions her methods, saying it is too insane. She only grows more smug as she gloats, "So what? She's the one who was stupid enough to get scammed. I was just teaching her a lesson. As a reward for doing so well, I'll tell her the truth on her birthday five days from now. Any sensible child will understand their parents' good intentions." As she gestures animatedly, a crescent-shaped birthmark on her wrist comes into view. It's identical to my mom's. My hands tremble as I create a new account. I switch the profile picture to a man in a suit and change the background to luxury cars and mansions. Then, I send her an expensive virtual gift. While she excitedly thanks me, I leave a comment. "You're absolutely right, ma'am. If only I had a smart woman like you around to help me raise my children."

I looked at him, smiling back, thinking it was all a game, but deep down, I felt the pulse of something far more real. His hand brushing down to my waist, teasing my ability to give in. And in that quiet, I didn’t know it yet, but my body was about to betray me completely, as I melted into his burning touch. He looked into my eyes, leaning slightly closer than I expected. "Can I kiss you?" Roy asked, almost like he was at the verge of smashing his lips against mine. ******* Hailey Queen was done playing nice after her ex humiliated her, dumped in front of the whole school and took her step sister to prom. Now it’s her turn to ruin his perfect little world. And what better way than to show up with the school’s hottest new obsession—Royd Williams, the cold, mysterious hockey captain everyone wants but no one can have. *******Trigger warning****** Smut**Smut**

“I don’t like you,” I tell him. Fredrick smiles like I just said something funny. “That’s not true.” “Yes, it is,” I deny. “No,” he says softly, stepping closer, “you just don’t want to understand me and admit it.” I laugh. “I understand you perfectly. You’re annoying. You’re always right. And you make everyone look bad.” He looks right into my eyes. “And yet… you keep looking at me.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I thought my biggest enemy was Fredrick Larsen. My perfect, annoying coworker who always wins every fight. We fight in every meeting. We argue over every project. I just can’t stand him. But at night, I become “A”. A secret writer who writes stories under a secret name. And I talk to a stranger who is one of my followers online called “K”. His words feel like magic. He sees deep into my heart, understands my fears, and makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. We share secrets, dreams, and even our hidden desires. Slowly, I start falling for this stranger I’ve never met. But I received the greatest shock of my life one night at the company party where I accidentally saw Fredrick reading something on his phone with keen interest. I moved closer and saw my story open on his screen with my apple profile picture right there. My stomach drops. Now I know the truth. “K” is Fredrick. The man I fight every single day… is the same man who made my heart race every night. Fredrick raises his head and steps closer, his eyes burning into mine. He smiles like he already knows everything. He tilts his head, calm as ever, but his voice is softer now. “Should I call you A… or Dylan?”

When I started college, my new roommate secretly used my phone to take a selfie. She sent it to the guy I was in an online relationship with and added the caption: [Baby, do you think I'm beautiful?] My boyfriend replied with a giant question mark, followed by a voice message full of curses. "Just thinking about dating someone with that face makes me want to puke!" "Let's break up, you ugly freak. Stay far away from me!" By the time I got out of the shower and tried to explain, I realized he had already blocked me. My roommate, holding her own phone, smugly told me, "The streamer I've had my eye on just added me. He says he wants to start an online relationship." When I looked at the account, I saw it was none other than my ex-boyfriend.