My Exs Rival Is My Roommate

The golden boy of our campus dumped me the day we graduated. He didnt just break my heart; he packed it in a suitcase and flew across the world with his childhood sweetheart, leaving me in the dust of our shared college town.

Ive spent three years convinced he did it just to destroy me.

So, imagine my surprise when, after a thousand days of silence, he has the absolute audacity to show up in front of me again. All I can say iswow. You really have a death wish, don't you?

I was downtown at the weekend night market, trying to move the last of my inventoryhigh-end, leak-proof period intimates. It wasnt the "glamorous" career my parents expected after my degree, but it was mine. My best friend, Maddie, nudged me hard, her eyes fixed on a spot across the square.

"Check out the guy at ten o'clock," she whispered. "Hes been staring at you for ten minutes."

I looked up, and the world slowed down. Even under the harsh neon hum of the streetlights, amidst the swarm of people, Chase stood out like a sharp blade. He still had that effortless "bad boy with a trust fund" energyarrogant, magnetic, and so handsome it felt like he belonged in a different zip code than the guy he was standing next to.

Maddie elbowed me again. "Hes definitely looking at you. Do you know him?"

I let out a cold, sharp breath. "I thought I did. But usually, when people die, they have the decency to stay buried."

Maddie blinked, confused. "Die? Who died?"

I should have checked my horoscope today. Seeing my ex was definitely not in the stars.

"Hes coming over!" Maddie hissed.

I straightened my shoulders, cracking my knuckles. If he wanted a fight, I was more than ready to give him one.

But he didn't even look at me. He stopped right in front of Maddie and asked, "How much for the stock?"

He was treating me like I was invisible. Fine. Two can play at that game. I reached out, clamped my hand over Maddies mouth before she could speak, and flashed him a smile that was 100% fake.

"Three times the price on the sign," I said.

Chase finally turned to me. His brows archedthose perfectly groomed, infuriating brows. "The sign says twenty."

"The sign is for customers I actually like," I replied flatly. "Buy it or get lost."

But Maddie, a literal traitor for a handsome face, shook me off and blurted out the actual price. She wasn't about to let me scare off a guy who looked like hed walked off a Ralph Lauren billboard.

Chase gave me a looksomething between a smirk and a challengeand then looked back at Maddie with a devastatingly soft expression. "Ill take the whole box."

I froze. Why would a man like him buy a bulk box of period underwear? Was it for her? His little "girl next door"?

A bitter, metallic taste filled my mouth. He was really doing this right in front of me.

I forced myself to pack the box while listening to them exchange contact info. My blood was boiling. Youre really going to hit on my best friend right here?

I slammed the box into his chest, cutting off their conversation. "Cash or Venmo, Romeo?"

Chase took the box with practiced ease, passing it to his friend. "Three years, and youre still as prickly as ever."

"Funny," I snapped back. "Im sure your childhood sweetheart is much more 'docile.'"

The light in his eyes vanished. His lips thinned into a hard line, and his voice dropped an octave, heavy with warning. "Take it out on me if you want. Leave her out of it."

Whatever fire I had in me died instantly, replaced by a cold, hollow ache. He was still protecting her. He hadn't changed, and neither had his priorities. If I hadn't spent three years toughening my skin, I would have burst into tears right there.

"If you don't want to hear me talk about her," I said, my voice trembling with a forced calm, "then don't bring your pathetic face back into my life."

His expression darkened as he walked away. I stared at his retreating back for a long time before finally turning to Maddie.

"That was my ex," I said.

"What?! The 'Golden Boy' who ditched you for the girl next door and fled to Europe? He has the nerve to show his face here?"

"Apparently. And apparently, you really like his face."

Maddie winced. "Hey, don't be mad. I didn't know! A hot guy is a hot guy, I was just doing my job."

I pulled at the corner of my mouth. I couldn't blame her. I was the one who fell for that face first.

I was the one who chased him.

In college, Chase was the star of the finance department, the guy every girl wanted. I met him when he was emceeing a campus gala. I was a last-minute fill-in, playing drums for an indie rock band.

I saw him through the hazy stage lightstall, lean, and radiating a restless sort of power. He looked like a wild horse that refused to be broken. I knew right then he was exactly my type.

I didn't play games. I went straight for the throat.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Id intercepted him backstage, still in my punk gear, looking like trouble.

He looked surprised, then his lips curled into a playful grin. "What if I said no?"

"Then you have one now."

People nearby gasped. I didn't care. To me, if you liked something, you took it. Life was too short for anything else.

But Chase shook his head, his tone teasing. "Piper, right? I'm not interested."

Honestly, being rejected in front of a crowd stung. But I only let it sink in for a second. "The announcer didn't say my name on stage. How do you know who I am?"

He froze. I leaned in, grinning. "Playing hard to get? I can work with that. Just don't make me wait too long. Im not known for my patience."

I waved goodbye and walked away, already knowing I had him.

We were together soon after. It was effortless. We matched each other's energy, our tempers, our interests. Every day felt like a new adventure, and I was already mapping out a lifetime with him.

Then, graduation approached. And he told me he was going abroad for a Master's. With her.

To this day, I can't find the right words for that feeling. Betrayal, abandonment, a profound sense of "why wasn't I enough?" All of it tangled together until I nearly broke. I lost twenty pounds in three months. I couldn't sleep without medication.

So, seeing him three years later, looking polished and successful and fine, all I could think was: Chase, you really have some nerve.

My mood was in the gutter by the time I got home. I tried to bolt for my room, but my dads voice stopped me mid-stride.

The atmosphere in the living room was... off. No TV. No phones. My parents were sitting on the sofa like a pair of judges at a tribunal.

I had a bad feeling about this.

"Where have you been?" my dad asked, his voice low.

"You already know, don't you?" I sighed, leaning against the wall.

He slammed his hand on his knee, his face turning a deep shade of red. "What is wrong with your attitude? If the neighbors hadn't told us, we wouldn't have known! Selling... those things at a street stall? Youre a grown woman with a degree, out there shouting in the streets for change? Have you no shame?"

"Shame?" I crossed my arms. "Dad, what century is this? Why should I be ashamed? The women who buy them aren't ashamed, so why should the person selling them be?"

"Don't you talk back to me!" He stood up, pointing a finger. "You quit a respectable corporate job for this? Piper, have you lost your mind?"

"If I have, I probably got it from you," I snapped.

"You!"

My mom stepped in, trying to play peacemaker. "Alright, thats enough. Both of you. My head is killing me. Piper, go to your room. Your father is just frustrated."

I looked at my dad, his chest heaving with anger, and for a second, I felt a pang of guilt. I wanted to apologize, to tell him I was just trying to find myself, but the words felt like they were glued to the back of my throat.

I turned and walked away. As I shut my door, I heard his voice, heavy with disappointment. "She wasn't like this. What happened to her?"

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Maddie.

Hey... The ex-from-hell just messaged me. He wants to know if were going back to the square tomorrow night. What do I say?

I stared at the screen for a long time.

Tell him well be there, I typed back. And if he shows up, tell him the price just went up ten times.

As a member of the "unemployed and lost" club, sleeping until noon was my only hobby. Usually, my parents left me alone, but today, the banging on my door started at dawn.

"I get it! I'm sorry! I won't sell the underwear anymore, okay?" I yelled into my pillow. I was lying, of course, but I needed the noise to stop.

The banging continued.

I lost it. I hauled myself out of bed and ripped the door open, eyes squeezed shut. "I said Im sorry! If I go back to the square, I hope I gain fifty pounds and break out in hives! Are you happy now?"

Silence.

I opened one eye. My dad was standing there, looking livid. Typical.

But then I realized there was someone else behind him. A stranger. A tall, handsome man who was currently tryingand failingto hide a smirk.

"Is this how you act in the morning? Ridiculous," my dad grumbled. He shoved me aside and turned to the stranger with a smile I hadn't seen in months. "Harrison, this is your room. Stay as long as you need."

Harrison was tallwell over six feetand his presence seemed to make my room feel suddenly tiny. He was gorgeous in a very different way than Chase. He had sharp, elegant features, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and looked like the kind of man who never had a hair out of place.

"Thank you, sir," Harrison said, his voice a smooth, rich baritone. "Moving back to the States was a bit sudden, and I haven't had time to find a place. I'll move out as soon as my apartment is ready."

"Don't be silly. Consider this home. Your father and I go way back, and since hes still overseas, I'm happy to look after you."

I was reeling. "Wait. Dad. Youre giving him my room? Where am I supposed to sleep?"

My dad gave me a cold look. "You can sleep in the study."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"You have a problem? Fine. Move out. You do nothing but stress me out anyway."

The old man knew exactly where to hit. I glared at the intruderHarrisonwho just looked back at me with a mask of polite innocence. It made me want to scream.

I grabbed my favorite throw pillow and stormed off to the study. This was going to be a nightmare.

I didn't wake up again until evening. I stumbled out of the study, ready to complain about being hungry, when I heard laughter from the dining room.

I froze at the doorway.

"Harrison, have some more of this duck. Its my specialty," my mom was saying, her voice brimming with affection.

"Hes so polite, isn't he? If only I had a son like you, Id be the happiest woman alive," she continued.

"Were not that lucky," my dad added. "Harrison is a brilliant surgical resident. Hes here to study with the best at the university hospital. Truly a young man with a future."

I felt a lump in my throat. How long had it been since this house felt this warm? Ever since Id quit my job, the air here had been thick with sighs and unspoken disappointments. Even my mom, who used to spoil me, seemed tired of me lately.

"Wheres Piper?" my mom asked. "I should wake her for dinner."

"Leave her," my dad snapped. "Sleeping her life away while everyone else works. Shell wake up when shes hungry. Youve spoiled her too much."

"Why is this my fault again?"

I swallowed the bitterness and stepped into the room. "What's for dinner?"

The room went quiet. I ignored the tension, grabbed a bowl, and started eating. I could feel Harrisons eyes on meobserving, analyzing.

What are you looking at? I thought. Do you think I'm beneath you because your parents are proud of you and mine aren't?

I reached out and snatched a piece of duck right from under his chopsticks. I gave him a defiant look. Don't think just because my dad likes you, Im scared of you.

He narrowed his eyes slightly but moved on to another dish. I spent the rest of dinner "accidentally" taking every piece of food he aimed for. It was childish, and I knew it, but it was the only power I had.

"Piper!" my dad barked. "Eat properly."

The duck lost its flavor instantly. I poked at my rice until my dad spoke again.

"After dinner, take Harrison downtown. He just got back to the country and needs to pick up some essentials."

"I have plans," I said.

"What plans? Selling more rags?"

I bit my tongue. "Fine. Hey, new guy. You don't actually want me to go, right? You can find a Target on your own."

I gave Harrison a look that clearly said Say no.

He looked at me, then at my dad, and smiled politely. "Actually, Id appreciate the help. Thank you, Piper."

I stared at him. This guy is doing this on purpose.

I dropped Harrison off at the mall entrance. "Go buy whatever you need. I'll be over there."

I pointed to my usual spot in the square and immediately started setting up my stall. Harrison looked at the boxes of "luxe leak-proof intimates" and his eyebrow twitched. "This is what you do?"

"You got a problem with it?"

He just looked at me with a deadpan expression and walked into the mall without a word.

Half an hour later, Maddie still hadn't shown up. I was about to call her when I saw her walking toward mewith Chase. They were laughing.

I felt like Id been slapped. "You guys are together?"

Maddie didn't even notice my tone. She was glowing. "Piper! Chase says it's his birthday today. He wants us to come to his party!"

I looked from her to Chase. Since when were they on a first-name basis?

"I don't think were the kind of people who go to each other's birthday parties anymore," I said to Chase, my voice dripping with ice.

I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes, and it gave me a sick sense of satisfaction.

Maddie grabbed my arm. "Come on, Piper. Its his birthday. Don't be so mean."

Chase this, Chase that. She sounded like his girlfriend.

I turned to her, my eyes blazing. "Maddie, are you serious right now?"

She knew everything. She knew the nights I spent crying on her floor. She knew the pills I had to take just to stop the shaking. And now she was asking me to go celebrate him?

She flinched. "If you really don't want to go, I won't go either," she stammered.

The implication was clear: Im only saying no because you're making me.

I had let so many things slide with Maddie. I let her take credit for my ideas at our old job. I let her be the "pretty one." I let her borrow money she never paid back. But Chase? Chase was the one thing she couldn't have. He was my scar.

"Maddie, do you think I'm an idiot?"

"I didn't... Piper, don't misunderstand..."

She looked at Chase for help. And of course, he stepped in like a knight in shining armor. "Don't blame her. It was my idea."

I laughed, a harsh, jagged sound. "Blame her? Who even are you, Chase? You think you matter enough for me to care who you talk to?"

His jaw tightened. He looked like he was about to snap, but then his expression softened. "Piper..."

"Looks like tonight isn't a good night for business."

Harrison appeared out of nowhere. I don't know how long hed been standing there, but his face was set in a hard mask as he stepped up beside me.

Chase stared at Harrison, his eyes widening with a mix of shock and rage. "What the hell are you doing here?"

They knew each other?

Harrison didn't answer. He didn't even look at Chase. He just looked down at me. "Ready to go home?"

There was a strange urgency in his voice. I nodded, almost hypnotized. He immediately started packing up my things.

Chase grabbed my wrist. "What is your relationship with him?"

I yanked my hand back. "None of your business."

"Are you living with him?!" Chase sounded horrified.

Living with him? Technically, yes.

A petty part of me wanted to twist the knife. "Yes. We are."

Chase looked like hed been punched in the gut. I turned to Harrison and gave him the first real smile Id ever offered him. "Lets go, babe. Let's go home."