Fatal Reflection The Price Of Emulation

The moment Kai started mimicking me was the moment I realized he knew exactly how much my father deposited into my account every monthseventy thousand dollars, no strings attached.

First, it was the hair. Id spent three hundred dollars at a boutique salon for a textured, silver-ash crop; the next week, Kais shaggy black hair was gone, replaced by the exact same cut and color. Then the ink. I have a custom geometric sleeve on my left forearm; Kai spent three days wandering through twenty different tattoo parlors with a photo of my arm until he found someone unethical enough to copy it. He bought the same Off-White hoodies and the same limited-edition Jordans, even if it meant skipping meals and working three campus jobs just to afford the monthly payments.

I thought he was just a pathetic sycophant. A "copycat" in the literal sense. But a month later, I was dead. A sudden, aggressive illness tore through me in weeks. As I took my final breath, my parentsthe people who had supposedly adored medidn't even look at my bed. They were stroking Kais head, calling him by my childhood nickname.

I died in a state of absolute, shattered confusion.

As a lingering spirit, I followed Kai. He moved into my penthouse. He slept in my bed. He wrapped his arms around my girlfriend, Maddy, and whispered, "Thanks, babe. If you hadn't funneled me his money to pay for the transformations, I never would have been able to trigger the System. Ive stolen his fate. Everything he was is mine now."

The System. That was the glitch in the universe.

Then, the world blurred and snapped. I opened my eyes, and I was back. It was the afternoon Kai was planning to copy my newest look.

The click of a camera shutter followed by a bright flash cut through the lecture hall. Kai scrambled to hide his phone, his face flushing a guilty red.

Beside me, my friend Jordan leaned in, whispering, "Chase, man, you want me to check his phone? Hes been snapping photos of you all week. Its getting creepy, like hes a freaking stalker. Im about to lose it."

I shook my head, my gaze cold. "Leave it, Jordan. Its fine."

In my past life, I had confronted him right then and there. Id demanded he show me the photos. But Kais phone had been wiped clean, and I ended up looking like the rich bully harassing a poor, scholarship student. By that evening, however, his hair had been transformed into a perfect replica of mine. From that day on, people started mistaking his silhouette for mine.

Thinking about his "System," I pulled out my phone and texted my private stylist.

Hey, Im bored with the silver crop. Design me something high-concept. Something so intricate and difficult that no one else could pull it off. Theres a massive bonus in it for you.

She replied instantly with a photo of her team. Seven top-tier stylists were already in a huddle, sketching out a new look for me.

I smiled, dimmed the screen, and turned to Jordan. "Lets go get a haircut after this. Call Nate, too. My treat."

"Sweet," Jordan grinned. "But were not freeloading today. Nate and I will cover dinner afterward."

I was about to agree when Kais shrill voice cut through the air behind us.

"Where are you guys going for dinner? Why wasn't I invited? We live in the same dormwhy are you icing me out? Chase, is it because Im not rich? Do you really look down on me that much?"

He spoke loudly enough to draw the attention of every student in the room. As the eyes of our peers shifted toward us, Kais expression morphed into one of practiced vulnerability. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"I know you guys come from money," he said, his voice trembling for the benefit of the audience. "Im just a guy from a small town trying to make it. I just wanted to be your friend."

His version of "being a friend" involved tagging along to expensive dinners, ordering the steak, and then "forgetting" his wallet every single time. If we pressed him to Venmo us, hed launch into a monologue about his struggling mother and his empty bank account. Eventually, we just stopped asking him to come.

I was ready to tear him apart when Maddy, my girlfriend and the class president, stormed over.

"Chase! I told you, I can't stand it when you act like a brat," she snapped, her eyes flashing with a self-righteous fire. "Just because your family has money doesn't mean you can treat people like theyre beneath you!"

"Kai might not have your trust fund, but hes worth ten of you," she continued, standing protectively in front of him. "He worked his tail off to get into this university. You have no idea what it's like to actually struggle..."

Listening to her talk about my "dirty money" while she stood there wearing the five-hundred-dollar Tiffany necklace Id bought her for our anniversary made my stomach churn.

If it weren't for my familys "dirty money," Maddy would still be back in her crumbling hometown, likely pressured by her parents into a marriage of convenience to settle their debts. I was the one who convinced my parents to increase her "scholarship" fund. I was the one who bought her the designer bags she used to cultivate her "old money" aesthetic.

She wasn't grateful. She loathed the scent of my wealth even as she inhaled it, and in my last life, she had been the one funding Kais "replacement" project with my own allowance.

I looked at herreally looked at herand felt nothing but disgust. I pulled out my phone and sent a one-line email to my fathers office: Terminate all charitable sponsorship for Madeline Vance, effective immediately.

She can be a "self-made" woman with Kai now.

Seeing me on my phone, Maddys rage hit a boiling point. "Chase Montgomery! Are you even listening? Do you have no remorse?"

"I can't be with someone this arrogant, Chase. If you don't apologize to Kai right now and make it up to him, Im..."

"Youre what?" I asked, looking up.

She raised her voice, sensing the crowd was on her side. "Im breaking up with you!"

In the past, those words would have sent me into a panic. Two years ago, she had pulled me out of a lake when I was cramping and nearly drowned. I felt I owed her my life. I had been her puppet ever since. But after experiencing a cold, lonely death, I was done being a "grateful" little boy.

"Fine. Lets break up," I said casually.

The room went silent. Maddys jaw dropped.

"But," I continued, standing up and towering over her, "since you hate my money so much, I assume youll want to be rid of the 'burden' it caused you. Over the last three years, Ive spent roughly forty thousand dollars on your personal expenses, tuition top-offs, and 'gifts.' I want it back. Transfer it to me by tonight."

She blinked, her composure wavering. She clearly thought I was just throwing a tantrum, playing a game of chicken. She thought I was too "generous" to ever actually follow through.

"Fine," she hissed, trying to save face. "I don't need your pocket change anyway."

Kai looked panicked. He needed that money to keep up the charade. "Wait! Chase, man, be a man! You don't ask for money back after a breakup. Thats low."

"Besides," Kai added, looking at Maddy, "did Maddy never spend anything on you? I bet she spent more! Youre just trying to take advantage of her!"

Maddy knew exactly how much she had spentor rather, hadn't. She looked nervous but tried to play it cool. "Its fine, Kai. If Chase is this desperate for cash, Ill give it to him. Im not like him."

She gave me a pointed look, a silent command to stop before I embarrassed her.

In the past, I would have swallowed my pride to protect her "dignity." Now? I pulled up my bank app and scrolled through the history.

"Lets see," I said loudly. "May 2023: You bought me a single rose. August: You bought a silver stud earring that you ended up wearing yourself. October: A ceramic mug. Total spent on me in three years? About eighty-five bucks."

I looked her in the eye. "Do you want me to read the list of what I bought you in front of the whole class? Or should I just post the itemized receipts to the campus forum so everyone can see what a 'self-made' woman you really are?"

Maddys face went pale. She saw the look in my eyesthe warmth was gone. I was serious.

"Its just forty grand," she spat, her voice trembling. "Ill send it."

She pulled out her phone, her thumbs stabbing at the screen. "There. Its sent. Don't ever talk to me again!"

She was bluffing. I didn't get a notification. Kai, not realizing she was faking the transaction, grabbed her phone, trying to "cancel" the imaginary transfer.

"Maddy, wait! I don't see the confirmation. Which app did you use? Let me stop it!"

I nearly burst out laughing. Maddys face turned a violent shade of purple. She hissed at him to shut up and tried to pull him away.

I stepped into their path. "Maddy, if youre going to send it, send it. Stop the theatrics. I haven't received a cent. Why are you pretending? You hate my money, yet you seem to love living off it like a parasite."

I held up my phone, showing the empty notification tray to the room.

Trapped by her own lies and the eyes of her peers, Maddy finally realized I wasn't backing down. "The Wi-Fi must be slow! Ill do it again!"

This time, the "Ding" of a successful wire transfer echoed in the quiet room. She looked physically pained, like Id reached into her chest and pulled out her heart.

"See?" she yelled. "I don't care about your money! I can buy whatever I want!"

I smiled at the balance on my screen. "Great. Moneys here. Were done. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

I turned to leave with Jordan, but Maddy grabbed my sleeve.

"You still haven't apologized to Kai for bullying him! You can't just leave!"

That reminded me. Kai still had his little smear campaign running. Luckily, I always insisted on the private booths at my family's restaurant, and those booths had high-def security cameras.

I made a quick call to the restaurant manager. Two minutes later, I dropped a video link into the class group chat.

"You want to know why we don't invite him?" I asked the room. "Watch the footage. See for yourselves."

In the video, while Jordan and I were in the restroom, Kai was seen stuffing several expensive bottles of wine into his backpack and then arguing with the server, claiming we had already paid a tip that we hadn't. It was clear, pathetic, and undeniably him.

By the time we reached the salon, the group chat was exploding.

Holy crap, is he serious? Hes literally stealing? And then he complains about being 'bullied'?

Id stay away from that guy too. Hes a total leach.

Kai tried to damage control, posting crying emojis and claiming Id edited the video. Nobody bought it. He started spamming my phone with texts, begging me to "clarify" the situation.

Then Maddy joined in.

Chase, Im so disappointed in you. It was just a misunderstanding. Do you have to ruin Kais reputation over something so small?

Hes traumatized. You need to apologize, give me back the money, and send another fifteen thousand as compensation, or I will NEVER forgive you. We will never get back together.

Her entitlement was almost funny. Did she really think she was still the prize?

I felt a surge of adrenaline. I blocked her number. But just as I was about to put my phone away, a notification popped up. It was a "Shared Payment" alert from my Apple Wallet.

Maddy had just spent four thousand dollars at a high-end hair salon.

I felt a cold shiver of rage. I scrolled through the past six months of the "Family Sharing" account Id forgotten to de-link.

Boxer briefs. Luxury condoms. Romantic AirBnBs.

They had been using my money to fund their affair for over a year.

I didn't hesitate. I took screenshots of every single "couples" expense and posted them directly to the class chat, tagging both of them.

Nice one, Maddy. Using my shared credit card to buy condoms for your side piece? Real classy.

And then: Hey Kai, how do those silk boxers feel? Hope theyre comfortable, because they were bought with my 'dirty money.' You two deserve each other.

I unlinked the accounts, then called every club, gym, and lounge where I had a membership. "No one but me is authorized to use my cards or name. Period."

On the other side of town, Kai was sitting in a stylists chair, halfway through a chemical perm. Maddys face went white as her card was declined for the remaining balance. She tried the "Shared Pay" again and again, but it was dead.

The stylists eyes narrowed. "Ma'am, the transaction isn't going through. Do you have another way to pay?"

Kai was sweating. "Maddy, just pay it! We have a date later, remember?"

Desperate and humiliated, Maddy had to drain her own savings. When the "Payment Successful" chime finally rang, she screamed. "Why is it so expensive? Its just a perm!"

The stylist scoffed. "This is a premium salon, honey. Four thousand is standard for a rush job. If you can't afford it, don't come in."

Maddy felt the sting of the insult, her face burning. Then she saw the 99+ notifications in the group chat. She nearly fainted.

I, however, was having a great time.

An hour later, I stepped out of the salon. I now sported a sharp, classic undercutthe "Old Hollywood" slick-back. Jordan had gone platinum blonde, and Nate had gotten a modern permed fringe.

I looked at my reflection and smiled. I couldn't wait to see Kais face tomorrow.

The next morning, I was walking down the hall when I heard someone call my name. I turned to see a class officer waving at a guy with a silver-ash crop.

Kai turned around, a smug grin on his face. "Oh, sorry! Everyone keeps mistaking me for Chase today. I guess we just have that same vibe, you know?"

I stepped forward, my new haircut catching the light. "We don't have the same 'vibe' at all, Kai. For one, my skin isn't that sallow, Im three inches taller, and I don't look like Im wearing a costume. Stop lying to yourself."

The officer blinked, looking at my new hair. "Whoa, Chase! That looks incredible. Way better than the old style. You look like a movie star."

Jordan chimed in, "Yeah, its a custom look. Very unique. Anyone trying to copy this would just look like a pathetic fanboy."

Kais face turned a muddy shade of red. "What is that supposed to mean? You think Im trying to be him? Why would I want to be a spoiled brat like him?"

He glared at my hair, his eyes burning with jealousy. "It looks stupid. That slicked-back look doesn't suit you at all. You look old."

I didn't get angry. I just ran a hand through my hair and grinned. "I like it. Thats all that matters."

I brushed past him, but he followed me like a stray dog. "Maddy won't like it! She loved your hair the way it was. You should change it back..."

He dragged Maddy over to prove his point. "Right, Maddy? Tell him he looked better before."

Maddy looked at me, her eyes lingering on my sharp jawline and the way the new style made me look sophisticated, dangerous. Her face flushed, and she couldn't find her words.

Kai huffed and stormed into the classroom.

"Hes losing it," Nate whispered to me during the break. "I overheard him on the phone. Hes got an appointment with a tattoo artist this afternoon. And get thisthe reference photo he sent was that sleeve you posted on Instagram two days ago."

I realized then that Kai was still stalking my socials. I was about to block him, but a better idea struck me.

"You know what? I think its time for a new 'tattoo,' don't you?"