I Catfished My Brother’s Worst Enemy

For the few days I was giving my older brother the silent treatment, a petty kind of rage simmered in my chest.

To get back at him, I secretly made a burner account to mess with him online. Riding on my deep understanding of how guys operate, I easily finessed a ridiculous amount of money out of him. The second the funds cleared, I blocked him across all platforms and deleted the account without a single ounce of guilt.

The very next morning, my brother was grinning in the living room like an absolute idiot.

He proudly announced that his sworn enemy, Sebastian, had just been played by a gold digger. The girl took the money and vanished, and Sebastian was currently turning the internet upside down trying to hunt her down. My brother practically choked on his own laughter, gleefully adding that Sebastian was a notoriously vindictive guy who held massive grudges, meaning this poor girl was completely screwed.

I had originally planned to confess my prank to my brother right then and there. Hearing those words, my entire body went ice cold, freezing me to the floor.

Seeing my face turn the color of printer paper, Connor assumed I was still holding onto our previous argument. He immediately softened his tone to coax me.

"Still mad at your big bro, kiddo? Look, I swear on my life I will never use your expensive face wipes to clean my sneakers ever again, okay?"

My lips literally trembled. I could barely form a cohesive sentence. "That girl who took the money, do you know what her username was?"

"No clue about her real name. Her handle was something weird though, like Hot Sprite or Warm Fanta."

It was Hot Cocoa.

I mentally filled in the blank, completely dead inside.

Connor finally caught onto my weird vibe. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Riley, since when do you care so much about Sebastian's love life?"

I bit my lower lip, guilt eating me alive as I forced out a smile that definitely looked more like a grimace. "I am just so happy for you."

Connor beamed, aggressively ruffling my hair. "Glad to see you still have a heart and finally forgave me. Oh right, didn't you text me earlier saying you had a huge announcement? What's up?"

"Nothing major. Just that Mrs. Higgins' toy poodle downstairs finally hooked up with the golden retriever next door."

Connor looked utterly blank. "That is your huge announcement?"

"Yep. That is it."

"Something is off." Connor squinted, giving me a full ocular pat down. "You are definitely hiding something. Spit it out. Did you break one of my limited edition gaming figures?"

"You are literally so annoying, Connor!"

I yelled to cover up my massive guilt and bolted back to my bedroom like my life depended on it.

Locking the door behind me, my hands shook as I opened my messages and pulled up the chat log I had already dumped into the blocked folder.

Back when I was plotting my revenge against Connor, I knew adding him directly would be way too obvious. I went through hell to track down his gaming ID instead. I started by playing dumb in the lobbies, letting him carry me in matches until we got close enough to exchange numbers.

When I saw the profile did not match Connor's usual aesthetic, my smooth brain thought he was just using a secret account to hide his online dating habits from our parents.

Who could have predicted that I had the wrong gaming ID from the very beginning.

Honestly, looking back now, Sebastian dropped plenty of clues.

Those pictures he posted that were meant only for my eyes. The unbuttoned dress shirts, the razor sharp abs playing peekaboo, and those notorious grey sweatpants that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. That heavily sculpted chest belonged to an entirely different species than my brother's string bean physique.

But I was blinded by my own petty revenge. I convinced myself my brother was stealing pictures of internet models to catfish girls online.

So I happily fed into his ego with the most pathetic hype messages.

[Oh my god, your body is insane! Send more, I am obsessed!]

But that was not even the worst part. The worst part was how greedy I got.

I really should have realized it sooner. Connor was the cheapest guy on the planet. He would not even buy me a dollar soda at the gas station. How could he suddenly have endless cash to throw at me?

[Babe, this dress is so pretty.]

[Send the link.]

[Out getting a fancy dinner with the girls today!]

The guy did not even blink before sending a massive transfer. [Put the dinner on me. Buy yourselves some iced coffees with the change.]

[Do you think this gold necklace looks good on me?]

That text was accompanied by a dozen carefully angled pictures of my collarbones, making absolutely sure my face was entirely out of frame.

[It looks perfect. You look perfect in everything.]

Another giant deposit hit my bank app, the string of zeros literally making me dizzy.

By the end of it, the guy on the other end of the screen had turned into a soulless ATM machine.

[Today is our fifteen day anniversary. That is exactly 21,900 minutes together.]

[Transfer received: 21,900]

As the amounts grew more and more unhinged, I started having nightmares that Connor was secretly selling his organs on the black market to fund this. I panicked and decided to pull the plug on the whole prank.

Who could have possibly known that the guy I was treating like an absolute sugar daddy was not even related to me!

This was supposed to be a petty sibling rivalry. A little pouting, a little begging, and it would be water under the bridge.

Now it had escalated into a full blown federal felony.

That night, I tossed and turned in my dorm bed until the sheets were twisted into ropes. When I finally managed to close my eyes, the nightmares hit.

A damp, dimly lit basement.

Sebastian had me tied to a metal chair, a terrifying smirk playing on his lips as he stepped closer. The suffocating pressure radiating off him was unbearable.

I shrunk back like a terrified little quail, sobbing uncontrollably. "I confess! I did it all! I killed the dinosaurs, I punched the hole in the ozone layer, I sank the Titanic! Please just let me get a burger!"

I dragged myself to my 8 AM lecture the next day with massive dark circles under my eyes. The second class ended, my best friend Hailey dragged me kicking and screaming to the campus basketball courts.

Just as we reached the sidelines, a perfect three pointer swished through the net. Game over.

Hailey flushed red, practically sprinting over to hand Connor a bottle of water. "It is okay, you played amazing! Your footwork was so good today."

Connor glared viciously at the opposing team. "Sebastian is a piece of trash! He gets his heart broken by some online scammer and decides to take it out on me! They were already up by twenty points, but he just had to sink that last buzzer beater to show off. Arrogant jerk."

Hearing the name Sebastian made my actual scalp go numb.

Following Connor's furious gaze, I shakily looked toward the other side of the court.

It was a literal wall of tall, athletic guys with broad shoulders and narrow waists. The sheer amount of testosterone over there made my head spin.

"Which one is Sebastian?" I asked in a whisper.

Connor let out a bitter scoff. "The ugliest one over there. Stop looking, you will burn your eyes out."

He suddenly turned to Hailey. "Hey, you have something stuck to your eyelid."

Before Hailey could even process what was happening, Connor's completely dense brain commanded his hand to reach out and violently rip off her fake eyelash.

Hailey stood there in absolute stunned silence.

Right at that horrible moment, the winning team started strolling over toward us.

"Wow, still crying over that internet girl, Seb?"

"I am telling you, people who catfish for money should be tossed in a cell and forgotten about."

Connor, incapable of keeping his mouth shut, immediately fired back with maximum sarcasm. "Well if it isn't our resident Romeo. Word on the street is you got played so hard you don't even have a shirt left on your back."

Sebastian cast a lazy, indifferent glance our way.

His eyes were as cold and deep as a frozen lake. He had a strong brow bone, deep set eyes, and lashes so impossibly long they cast shadows on his cheekbones. His skin was pale, his nose straight, and his thin lips were pressed into a tight line. He radiated this untouchable, icy perfection.

"Ugly as sin, right?" Connor leaned in and whispered loudly in my ear.

This time, even Hailey could not bring herself to agree with him.

When Sebastian's gaze briefly swept over me, my heart stopped. I scrambled to hide behind Connor's broad back, praying the concrete would open up and swallow me whole.

"Sore loser," one of Sebastian's teammates fired back.

"Who are you calling a loser? Step up right now, one on one!" Connor's temper ignited instantly.

"Let's go! Whoever loses is buying the whole court drinks!"

The two of them shoved each other all the way back onto the court. Hailey, terrified Connor was going to get into a fistfight, hurried after them.

By the time I realized what was happening, the sidelines were completely empty. It was just me. And Sebastian.

"You are Connor's sister?"

His voice was cold, drifting down from above me.

"Um. Yeah." I did not dare lift my head.

"What is your name?"

The guy was relentless. His gaze slowly dropped, finally locking onto the shiny gold necklace resting against my collarbone.

His eyes darkened with something completely unreadable.

But my chin was practically glued to my chest. All I could think about was mapping out an escape route. I missed the shift in his expression entirely.

"Um. My brother told me not to talk to bad boys."

That was an actual quote from Connor. Even though Sebastian's hair was just a shade lighter than pure black, maybe a dark chestnut in the sun, it was enough for Connor to label him a delinquent.

The second the words left my mouth, I spun around and bolted. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might shatter them.

I ran until my lungs burned. Leaning against a brick wall, gasping for air, the sheer panic finally set in.

With shaking fingers, I pulled Sebastian out of my blocked contacts and typed a desperate message.

[Please do not call the cops. I am begging you. I will pay you back every single cent.]

The reply came through in a millisecond.

[Where are you? Let's meet.]

I almost dropped my phone in a puddle.

[We broke up. There is no need to see each other in person. I told you I am going to pay you back. Give me ten days. I will sell everything I own if I have to.]

Sebastian: [Do you honestly think I care about the money?]

[What was the reason for the breakup?]

I held my phone, staring blankly at the screen. I racked my brain trying to come up with a single flaw a wealthy, gorgeous guy like Sebastian might have. I came up completely empty and had to pull the craziest excuse out of thin air.

[Look, I am just a little messed up in the head. I only like toxic guys who treat me like garbage. You were way too nice to me. You were too clingy. I hate it. It lacks a challenge.]

The moment I hit send, I wanted to slap myself across the face.

While I was waiting in agonizing suspense, a totally random message popped up on my screen.

[Are you close with Connor?]

Seeing that name, my hand violently twitched. The phone slipped through my fingers and smacked hard against the pavement.

The moment I picked my phone back up, my hands were shaking like leaves in a hurricane.

Those words flashed on the cracked screen like a death sentence. [Are you close with Connor?]

A thousand different ways to die flashed through my mind.

Confess that I am his sister? Absolutely not. That was basically a suicide mission. Sebastian would multiply his hatred for Connor and dump it all directly onto me. If that happened, paying him back would be the least of my worries. I would be lucky to keep all my limbs attached.

Tell him we barely know each other? Then why was I standing right next to him at the basketball court?

In a moment of pure, desperate genius, my fingers flew across the keyboard.

[Close? Oh we are close all right! Connor is an absolute scumbag! He played me, broke my heart, and borrowed a ton of money he never paid back. I want to ruin his life!]

As long as I stood on the same side of the battlefield as Sebastian, we were basically brothers in arms!

After sending the text, I held my breath, staring unblinkingly at the screen.

After what felt like a literal century, the phone buzzed.

Sebastian: [Oh? The enemy of my enemy is my friend.]

I let out a massive breath. I was just about to send a cute meme to seal the deal when another text popped up.

[Since you hate him so much, meet me at the campus track tomorrow at 8 AM. We can discuss how to destroy him together.]

[If you do not show up, I am going to the police.]

I stared at the little red notification bubble, my vision going dark.

This was not a strategy meeting. This was a trap.

Early the next morning, I arrived fully geared up.

Sunglasses, a medical face mask, a baseball cap pulled low, and a massive black hoodie that Connor would never catch dead on me. I looked exactly like a bank robber preparing for a heist.

I crept toward the edge of the track and spotted Sebastian instantly.

It was impossible to miss him. Even wearing a basic white T shirt and dark sweatpants, he stood in the morning mist looking like a glowing deity.

Every single girl jogging past him physically slowed down, their eyes practically glued to his face.

I took a deep breath, hyped myself up, and dragged my feet over to him.

"Hey. Morning." I lowered my voice, trying to fake a raspy, smoker tone.

Sebastian turned around. His eyes slowly scanned my ridiculous outfit, an eyebrow ticking up. "Are you planning a burglary?"

I forced a dry laugh. "Just avoiding the sun. Skincare is a priority, you know."

He ignored my awful excuse. Long, elegant fingers casually spun a plastic water bottle as he spoke with a lazy drawl. "When are you paying me back?"

I knew it!

I immediately slapped on an expression of pure agony. "Look man, you know my situation. That jerk Connor ruined my life and drained my bank account. Things are really tight right now. But I swear, the second I get a paycheck, it goes straight to you! Can you just give me a few days of grace?"

Sebastian looked at me with a half smile that sent a shiver straight down my spine.

He suddenly took a step forward.

I panicked and stepped back, my spine hitting the freezing metal of the chain link fence.

He planted one hand on the fence right next to my head, leaning in close. The crisp, clean scent of mint and pine instantly wrapped around me.

"I can give you a grace period."

His voice was low, carrying a dangerous, careless edge. "But I do not take bad deals. Until your debt is cleared, you work for me to cover the interest."

I swallowed hard. "Work doing what?"

"You are on call. You fetch my coffee, you hold my bags, and..." He paused, his gaze dropping to the tiny sliver of my eyes visible above the mask. "You help me put on a show."

"A show?" I was completely lost.

"Connor played you, right? Well, he has been a thorn in my side for a long time." Sebastian's lips curved into a smirk that screamed pure villainy. "Be my girlfriend. We are going to make him lose his mind."

I stared at him.

Dude, what is wrong with your brain?

If I actually started dating him, Connor might lose his mind, but I would literally lose my life!

"Look, I do not think that is a good idea." I weakly tried to fight back. "I mean, I hate Connor, but I am still healing from my last traumatic relationship..."

"Three thousand." Sebastian dropped the number casually.

"What?"

"Three thousand dollars knocked off your debt for every day you play the part."

My spine instantly snapped perfectly straight. I spoke with absolute righteous conviction. "Deal! When do I clock in? Does my current uniform meet the company standards, boss?"

Are you kidding me? In the face of that kind of money, my dignity meant nothing. Connor meant nothing.

If Sebastian paid enough, I would personally wrap Connor in bubble wrap and ship him overseas.

A flash of amusement danced in Sebastian's eyes. He reached out and smoothly pulled my sunglasses off my face.

The sudden morning glare made me squint.

"No hiding when you are with me." He hooked the glasses onto the collar of his own shirt. "And change that embarrassing screen name."

I nodded like an obedient puppy. "Yes boss. Whatever you say boss."

Just like that, I became Sebastian's contract girlfriend and full time maid.