My Roommate Discarded Her Billionaire Daddy

My roommate thought her online boyfriend was too much of a paternal freak, so she decided to hand him over to me.

Hes constantly checking my location, even policing what I wear. The internet says guys like this are dark, obsessive typesthe kind who end up trapping you in some twisted, forced-romance scenario, Brianna complained, tossing her phone onto her duvet.

She looked at me with a pitying smirk. Since you grew up without a father, I figured youd actually enjoy an old man with a savior complex and a need for control.

I was half a second away from slapping the taste out of her mouth when a flicker of glowing text drifted across my visiona stream of digital comments, like a live-chat feed from another dimension:

[Girlie, dont overthink this! Older men have the looks, the money, and more stamina than a frat boy. Give him a little sugar, and hell give you the world.]

[Sure, hes forced. Forced to buy you a penthouse, forced to cook you five-star meals, forced to get you into an Ivy League school.]

[Its fine. This side character is just a bridge. Once he realizes hes been talking to someone else, hell fly across the ocean just to find our girl. Thats when the real possessive drama starts!]

My hand, which had been raised high to strike, softened. I lowered it gently and patted Briannas cheek.

Thank you, I said, my voice sweet as honey. Ill make sure to take very good care of him.

It wasnt about the moneyat least, not entirely. It was mostly because I really, really wanted to get into Yale.

The moment I got the login for Briannas burner account, I changed the password.

As soon as I logged in, the screen exploded with notifications.

[Are you there? Why arent you answering?]

[You missed your morning seminar. Why has your GPS been stuck at the dorms all day?]

[Pick up the phone.]

The last message was sent two hours ago:

[Ive already booked a flight back to the States. Youd better have a damn good explanation for this silence.]

I scrolled through their chat history. Brianna was righthe was an older man, constantly traveling for business. They didn't talk much, but when they did, he was hyper-focused on her life. He asked what she ate, what she wore, and if she was studying.

He kept pushing her to transfer out of our mediocre community college, to aim for a Masters, then a PhD. He didn't just lecture, though. He sent money. Five thousand dollars at a time, just because.

For a normal college student, that was a fortune. For Brianna, it wasn't even enough for a new designer bag. Shed tried to ask for more, but hed shut her down.

[Ive done the research. The average students living expenses don't exceed two thousand. Five is more than enough.]

[Don't be flashy. Stay humble at school so you don't invite unnecessary envy.]

Those two sentences were enough for Brianna to write him off as a stingy, lecturing bore. Her loss, my gain.

It had been two days since she last replied, and he was clearly spiraling. I pulled up the keyboard and typed out a frantic apology.

[Im so, so sorry! Ive had a brutal fever the last two days. I was completely out of it, and I ended up dropping and breaking my phone.]

Less than three seconds later, the phone vibrated with an incoming voice call.

I took a sharp breath, declined it, and typed: [My throat is so raw, Ive lost my voice...]

The chat went silent for a few beats. Then, a notification popped up.

A transfer of 0-000,000.

[Was it because I didn't give you extra spending money last time? Are you angry?]

I stared at the zeros on the screen, my fingers trembling. One hundred grand. Who said this man was stingy? This was the most generous man Id ever encountered.

I didn't accept the money. I typed back: [I don't want the money.]

Him: [Then what do you want?]

I stared at the text, my heart hammering against my ribs.

[I don't want to be in school anymore.]

The chat box went dead. Immediately, the "bullet comments" flashed before my eyes:

[The gold-digger is showing her true colors. She wants to be a caged bird already.]

[Too bad he hates lazy women. He likes them ambitious.]

[Just wait. He wont reply. Men like him have zero respect for girls who just want a free ride.]

My chest tightened. I quickly added another message:

[What I mean is... I want to drop out and retake the SATs. I want to aim higher. I want to get into Yale. Can you help me?]

The seconds ticked by. One minute. Two. I was starting to sweat, certain hed figured out I was an impostor. Then, a single bubble appeared.

[Okay.]

The next morning, I got a call. The man on the other end identified himself as Mr. Miller, an executive assistant for a Mr. Bennett Crawford. He told me to gather my transcripts and meet him at a high-end coffee shop off-campus to discuss my "Ivy League roadmap."

Brianna had never shared her real ID with him, so I was terrified of being caught. But Mr. Miller barely blinked when he looked over my papers.

Do you have a target school? he asked.

I felt a flush creep up my neck. I want to go to Yale.

Mr. Miller looked surprised. The bullet comments went nuclear.

[Is she serious? Does she think Yale is just a place you decide to go to?]

[She thinks she can just buy an Ivy League degree lol.]

[Girl, stay in your lane at community college.]

I knew how ridiculous it sounded. But for a girl from a dead-end town in the Rust Belt, Yale was the dream. The only reason I was at this community college was because Id missed my finals senior year due to a high fever. My parents refused to let me retake them. They told me to get a degree fast so I could start working to pay for my younger brothers tuition.

Even with that fever, my scores were still higher than Briannas.

I expected Mr. Miller to laugh, but he just nodded. Understood. We will tailor the plan for Yale, Ms. Jade.

He explained the strategy. First, Id drop out of this school. Since the quotas for top-tier admissions were brutal in my home state, he would establish my legal residency in a high-performing district. Then, hed hire a team of elite private tutors for one-on-one prep.

I was stunned. Residency in a better district? Private tutors? If Id had a private tutor in high school, I wouldn't have spent my nights crying over AP Physics.

Mr. Miller, I whispered. How much is all of this going to cost?

Don't worry about the finances, Ms. Jade. Mr. Crawford will handle everything.

After the meeting, Mr. Miller took me to a luxury mall. He said Mr. Crawford had instructed him to buy me a new wardrobe and the latest phone.

During the shopping trip, I learned a bit more about the "old man." His name was Bennett Crawford. Hed started his own firm, which Mr. Miller described as a "small startup" expanding overseas. He wouldn't be back for at least six months.

I did a quick search on my new phone for "Bennett Crawford."

"Small startup" was the understatement of the century. When I saw the name Crawford Global, I nearly choked. The mans net worth was more than all the trust-fund brats in Briannas orbit combined. And his face... he wasn't some decrepit old man. He was striking, with a sharp jawline and eyes that seemed to see through the screen.

[Its over. Now that she knows who he is, shell never let go.]

[Get away from him! Bennett belongs to Brianna!]

[Don't worry, once he realizes shes a fake, hell toss her out like trash.]

The word trash hit me like a cold shower. Eventually, Bennett would come looking for Brianna. Until then, I had to be the perfect girlfriend. I had to treat him like a god.

In a fit of panicked gratitude, I sent him a flurry of romantic texts. My thumb moved faster than my brain, and I sent:

[Thank you for everything, Daddy. Im going to work so hard for you. Ill make you proud.]

The moment I realized what Id sent, I tried to unsend it, but it was too late. Id leaned too hard into the "Daddy" thing. Surely hed see through me now. My Ivy League dream was dead before it started.

Then, a voice note popped up.

Youre welcome, sweetheart.

His voice was deep, a low baritone that sent a shiver down my spine. I could tellhe liked the "Daddy" title. He liked it a lot.

When I got back to the dorm with my designer shopping bags, Brianna was waiting.

Jade? Who was that guy dropping you off? And what is all this?

I hesitated. Its... that guy you gave me. The online one.

Briannas brow furrowed. She looked pissed. What did you do? When I was with him, he only gave me five grand a month. How did you get all this in one day?

Id anticipated this. I opened the bags and showed her the most basic items. It looks like a lot, but its mostly just high-street stuff. This tee was on sale, these jeans were cheap... the whole haul was under two grand.

Her face softened, but only slightly. Are you lying? I saw the car. That was a hundred-thousand-dollar Mercedes at least.

Its a company car, I said, my voice steady. Hes just an executive assistanta high-end errand boy. His boss lets him use the car for errands sometimes.

Brianna scoffed. I knew it. I thought he was actually rich for a second. She rolled her eyes. Still, for someone like you, an errand boy is a catch. He spent a lot on you today, so you owe me. Buy me dinner.

I ignored the insult. Of course. What do you want?

Ill think about it. Im bringing a few friends, you don't mind, right?

I nodded. Within two hours, the rumor that Id been "picked up" by a stingy old errand boy had spread through the entire dorm. I didn't care. I was leaving soon anyway.

I packed my things and sent a photo of my new outfit to Bennett.

[Daddy, I love the clothes Mr. Miller picked out. Which one should I wear tomorrow?]

Bennett: [The first one.]

From that day on, I reported everything. I asked what to wear, where to go, and sent him my location without being asked. I even texted him when I was drinking a glass of water. It turned out he was controllingand the more I obeyed, the more generous he became.

Mr. Miller was efficient. Within a week, my withdrawal from the college was processed. When the girls in the dorm saw me packing, they swarmed.

Jade, are you crazy? my other roommate, Megan, asked. At least get the associates degree. What are you going to do for work?

Exactly, Taylor added. Don't be stupid. Men are unreliable. If he dumps you, youll have nothing.

Before I could speak, Brianna chimed in with a smirk. Oh, leave her alone. Jade is going off to live the good life. She turned to the others. Even if he is a bit of a penny-pincher, hes still better than what shes used to. Its her choice. Haven't you heard of respecting someone's journey? Let her be.

I kept my head down and continued packing. Brianna was rightrespect the journey. She just had no idea where mine was headed.

I moved into a sprawling estate with a butler, a private chef, and a 24-hour on-call doctor. I lived in luxury, but I kept my social media "persona" humble. I posted about being a "trad-wife," pretending I was cooking and cleaning for my boyfriend every day. I posted photos of "gifts" I found on Pinterestcheap $20 trinketsclaiming hed bought them for me.

Brianna commented on every post: So jealous!

But in our old group chat, she was telling everyone: [Jade is so pathetic. Shes basically his unpaid maid, and she thinks shes going to be a trophy wife.]

The bullet comments were equally toxic:

[This girl is so shameless. All of this should belong to Brianna.]

[Shes literally gaslighting her roommate so Brianna doesn't find out the truth and take him back.]

I didn't care. Their words couldn't take away the residency papers Mr. Miller handed me on my third day.

Ms. Jade, your new residency and registration are complete.

I gripped the folder, my hands shaking. My parents had spent years trying to get my brother into a district like this. Id done it in a week.

Next came the tutors. A former Ivy League admissions officer for English, a math genius who wrote the textbooks, a linguistics professor for prep... I set my schedule from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Bennett saw the schedule and was furious. He forced me to stop at 9:00 PM, saying Id have a mental breakdown. I wanted to tell him that where I came from, 11:00 PM was an early night. But I didn't argue. He was "Daddy," after all.

The months blurred by in a fever of study and "good girl" reporting. Suddenly, it was time for the exams.

The night before the SATs, the bullet commentswhich had been quiet for a whilesuddenly went wild.

[The Big Boss is back!]

[Here we go! Hes going to find out shes a fraud and kick her to the curb!]

[I cant wait to see her face when she realizes she cant take the test because hes done with her lol.]

My heart stopped. Bennett was back? Now?

I grabbed my bag and ran for the door. I didn't care about the money or the house, but I had to take that test. I had to get into Yale.

I yanked the door open and slammed straight into a broad, solid chest.

I looked up, trembling, into a face that was even more handsomeand far more intimidatingthan the photos. Bennett Crawford looked down at me, his expression unreadable.

Where are you going?