Chapter 1

My roommate set her sights on my boyfriend and ordered me to hand him over to her.

She claimed she had severe depression, and that my boyfriend was the radiant light meant to save her soul, the only reason she had left to live.

When I flatly refused, she blasted the whole story across the internet.

Online strangers immediately rallied around her: [You didn't do anything wrong! Does having a crush require someone else's permission?]

[They're just dating, not married. Go for it, girl! Chasing true love isn't a crime.]

[If you don't go wild while you're young, when will you?]

Looking at the flood of comments, I let out a cold sneer.

Since you want that light so desperately, I'll make sure you get scorched by the harsh light of justice.

On the first day of college move-in, my boyfriend, Luke, drove me to campus.

Two other girls had already moved into our dorm suite. We introduced ourselves and learned their names were Hannah and Chloe.

Just then, a small, skinny girl walked in.

Her eyes immediately locked onto Luke, darting up and down without shame.

Later, after Luke left, she came over to exchange names, her tone dripping with fake warmth:

"Hey, Harper, was that your brother? He's gorgeous! Does he go here, or is he already working?"

I smiled politely. "He's my boyfriend. He's a college student too."

"Oh, so you guys are high school sweethearts!" She looked me over from head to toe.

"Which college does he go to? What's his major?"

I didn't really want to share, but she kept prodding. Since she was my roommate, I didn't want to make things awkward right off the bat.

So I told her his school, his major, and his full name.

"Luke. Wow, that's such a hot name."

I didn't think much of it at the time, assuming she was just being curious.

A week later, when Luke and I met up on the weekend, he told me a girl from my college had sent him a love letter.

A bit surprised, I asked who it was.

Luke handed me the handwritten note. The signature at the bottom read: Tiffany.

It was my roommate.

The memory of move-in day rushed back—her endless questions about Luke's school and classes. She wasn't just being nosy; she had targeted my boyfriend from the start.

The letter was filled with dramatic, overflowing declarations of affection.

If Luke had been single, I might have brushed it off as a harmless crush.

But he was already taken, and she knew we were dating.

This was a blatant attempt to steal him away!

Fuming, I took the letter straight back to the dorm to confront her.

"Tiffany, you wrote a love letter to my boyfriend. What is your problem?"

Tiffany froze when she saw the letter.

Her brow furrowed in rage, and she let out a piercing, high-pitched screech: "Why do you have that?!"

She snatched the letter out of my hand.

"Why are you going through other people's stuff? How trashy can you be? You call yourself a college student? That's a total violation of my privacy, you know that?!"

I sneered, "You're trying to steal someone's man and you think you have the moral high ground?"

Tiffany clenched her fists and snapped, "So what if I sent him a note? I'm just being brave and pursuing love!"

Hannah and Chloe chimed in, pointing out how trashy and wrong her behavior was.

Tiffany spun around, yanked open her desk drawer, and pulled out a medical diagnosis sheet.

*Slap!* She slammed it onto the desk.

"I have clinically diagnosed depression! I didn't want to bring it up, but you guys are forcing my hand!"

"I finally found a sliver of hope in this miserable life, and you're trying to crush it too?!"

I found it utterly ridiculous.

"Your 'hope in life' is stealing someone else's boyfriend?"

Hannah tried to de-escalate, telling her to apologize and promise never to do it again.

Tiffany pouted, unrepentant. "I'm just following my heart. What did I do wrong?"

"Everyone is equal when it comes to love."

Chloe pulled me aside and whispered, "Harper, she has depression. Maybe just let it go for now? What if she does something crazy?"

I figured I'd cross whatever bridge when I got to it; I wasn't scared of her.

Still, looking at Tiffany's smug, unremorseful face, I knew this wasn't going to end easily.