Bright Futures

William fell in love with my roommate at first sight.

He took a photo of her and sent it to the university's notorious trust-fund group chat.

Anyone know this girl? Ten grand for her Instagram handle.

A reply came almost immediately. I do.

But the guy made a typo and sent my handle instead.

And so, William and I ended up in an online relationship for the entire winter break.

It was only when the spring semester started and he saw me in person that he realized the mistake.

After a long, agonizing silence, he offered a compromise.

"Let's break up, and you help me get Seraphina. Once it's done, I'll give you a blank check. Write whatever number you want, deal?"

01

William's tone was incredibly sincere.

Though we went to the same college, this was the first time he had ever looked at me in person.

But I had secretly stared at him hundreds of times before.

In my memories, he was always detached, carrying an air of effortless indifference as if nothing in the world could ever truly catch his eye.

Yet now, for Seraphina, he was being shockingly generous.

He had laid down a blank check.

"Don't worry," he said. "The second I get back, I'm going to have a little talk with Nate."

I knew who Nate was.

One of the most notorious trust-fund playboys on campus.

He was the one who had given William my contact info by mistake.

I clenched my fists, forcing my racing heart to quiet down.

"It's fine."

"I'll do it."

There was nothing to hesitate about.

I loved William, yes.

But I was also desperately, agonizingly broke.

Still, I never imagined that my very first romance would end in such a humiliating, pathetic way.

A sudden gust of icy wind swept over us, and I instinctively pulled my knitted scarf tighter around my neck. William glanced down at me, his eyes dark as midnight.

He let out a soft sigh.

"I'm sorry."

Suddenly, I remembered the day he added me. It had been a snowy day just like this one. I had just stepped off the train back home, standing in the freezing cold, reading his request over and over again.

We had gone to the same high school. Long ago, I had memorized his profile picture and username.

And now, we were already juniors in college.

Six whole years of quiet, invisible yearning.

My hands had been trembling when I finally accepted his request.

His first message came through almost instantly: Hey, I'm William. I saw you this afternoon, and I really wanted to get to know you.

That single moment was the happiest of my entire life.

Only now did I realize that from beginning to end, it had been nothing but a beautiful, cruel illusion.

02

After getting Seraphina's permission, I handed her contact info over to William.

She wasn't strikingly beautiful, but she was bright, bubbly, and always laughing. Ever since the semester started, she had no shortage of admirers.

But obviously, none of them could compare to William.

Clutching her phone, she chatted with him while looking at me in confusion. "How do you even know William?"

I remained quiet for a moment.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth.

"We just happened to have each other's contacts. We've never actually talked."

Seraphina relaxed, letting out a breath.

"I'm so nervous. I don't even know what to say to him. Do you really think he likes me?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

With that, I grabbed my textbooks and left the dorm.

But when I reached the library lobby, my phone buzzed with a text from William.

I want to ask her out for dinner tomorrow. Do you know if she has any allergies, or what she likes to eat?

I took a deep breath.

I unlocked my screen and scrolled upward.

Not long ago, he used to call me "sweetheart."

During those two months, we talked from morning till night. He knew every little detail about me.

Before we met, knowing I had a sweet tooth, he had even spent hours learning how to bake those fancy French pastries I loved.

But Seraphina's tastes were the exact opposite of mine.

She hates sweets. She loves spicy food.

A long silence stretched before his reply came.

Got it.

Looking at that single word, I locked my screen.

Sometimes, life feels incredibly fickle.

Just a few days ago, he was whispering sweet nothings to lull me to sleep, saying things that made my heart race.

I'm no gentleman, Benjamin. You'll find out soon enough when we finally meet.

But when we finally met, all he had for me was a quiet apology.

03

William didn't text me often anymore.

He only asked occasionally about Seraphina's preferences.

I played my part dutifully.

As long as I knew the answer, I told him the absolute truth.

One evening, I returned to the dorm to find Seraphina lying in bed, her face pale and flushed.

I pressed my hand to her forehead.

She was burning up.

Right then, my phone buzzed with a message from William.

Is Seraphina in the dorm? I've been calling her, but she isn't picking up.

I quickly texted back, telling him she had a high fever.

William replied almost instantly.

Help her downstairs. I'm driving over right now.

I agreed.

But I was small, and she was heavy.

Dragging her down the stairs took every ounce of my strength.

By the time we reached the lobby and I saw William, my grip slipped.

My wrist slammed hard against the heavy door frame.

Seraphina stumbled, nearly crashing to the floor.

Seeing this, William rushed over, his face pale with worry.

He frowned, his voice cold and sharp.

"Benjamin."

"You almost dropped her."

Numbing pain shot through my wrist, but I forced myself to whisper, "I didn't mean to."

William didn't even look at me.

He scooped Seraphina into his arms and carried her to his car.

I stood there in the cold, watching his taillights fade into the night.

I stood in the exact same spot for a long, long time.

So this was what it felt like to watch the boy you loved cherish someone else with everything he had.

04

For a while after that, William didn't contact me at all.

Once Seraphina returned from the clinic, she spent every evening on FaceTime with him.

Our other two roommates would occasionally pop into the frame or chat with him in the background.

Only me.

I always kept my distance, never making a sound.

Yet he used to call me like that too. Back then, I truly believed we were going to write a beautiful story together.

One night, Seraphina was in the shower, leaving her phone on her desk.

It rang repeatedly.

She called out from the bathroom, "Benjamin, can you grab that for me?"

I looked at the screen.

William's name flashed across it.

He had called several times already, likely worried that she was sick again.

After a brief hesitation, I swiped to answer.

William's voice came through the receiver, incredibly gentle.

"Seraphina?"

A bitter ache swelled in my chest. I bit my lip and said, "She's in the shower."

The line went quiet. Then, his voice shifted, absolute and certain.

"It's you."

There was no way he wouldn't recognize my voice.

"Yeah," I murmured.

Silence stretched between us.

I had delivered the message. I was about to hang up when he suddenly spoke again.

"I didn't mean to snap at you the other day."

I held the phone, the plastic cold against my ear.

I didn't know what to say.

After what felt like an eternity, I managed to squeeze out two words.

"It's fine."

He probably didn't expect such a flat response after all that waiting.

He let out a soft, dry laugh. "Okay."

That night, a new message from William appeared on my phone.

It felt almost like an olive branch.

Thanks for the help the other day.

William's devotion to Seraphina was flawless.

He showered her with gifts.

Flowers, designer bags, jewelry.

So many that her closet could barely hold them all.

Yet Seraphina still seemed frustrated.

"He's incredibly sweet to me," she complained to our roommates. "But it's been over a month, and he still hasn't made us official. Am I supposed to make the first move?"

Our other roommates asked curiously, "Have you guys kissed or hugged yet?"

Seraphina shook her head. "No."

She paused, looking troubled. "Honestly, we haven't even held hands."

I sat in my corner, listening quietly, saying nothing.

In the silence, one of the roommates spoke up.

"I heard William's never been in a relationship before. He's rich, gorgeous, and he's never pursued anyone like this. You need to lock him down, girl. Make it official."

But I remembered. During the winter break, we had only been talking for two weeks before he confessed his feelings to me. I figured he had probably learned his lesson after getting burned by his mistake with me, so he wanted to take things slow this time.

Still, they would be together soon.

I didn't expect to run into him the very next evening.

05

William and a few guys were playing basketball on the campus courts.

I was just passing by when a stray ball slammed hard into my forehead.

The guy who threw it came running over, breathless.

Seeing the bruising swelling on my forehead, he grabbed my arm. "Damn, I am so sorry. Let me take you to the clinic."

I looked up.

The afternoon sun was blinding.

As the guy got a clear look at my face, he froze.

Right then, William walked up from behind him.

His face was incredibly dark as he called out, "Nate."

It clicked.

The guy who had hit me was Nate.

The one who had given William my contact info by mistake.

William's gaze fell on Nate's hand gripping my arm. His expression was cold, devoid of any warmth. "You're just taking her to the clinic. Is it really necessary to grab her like that?"

Nate let go of me instantly.

In the end, both of them walked me to the campus clinic.

Fortunately, it was nothing serious.

The entire time, Nate kept asking me questions.

Does it hurt?

Do you want some water?

William simply stood aside, silent and brooding.

When we were about to leave, Nate pulled out his phone, acting casual. "Can I get your Instagram? Just in case you feel dizzy later and need anything."

I blinked, caught off guard.

Before I could answer, William let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"She's Benjamin. The girl you accidentally set me up with over the break. You already have her contact info."

Nate swore under his breath. "Holy crap, that was you? I completely forgot when I added you."

"You and Seraphina both have the last name Somers, I got you two mixed up. I thought your name was Seraphina Somers."

I bit my lip.

"A few weeks ago, I helped coordinate that campus event. You were supposed to be featured, so I reached out to you online."

The event had been canceled, so we never actually met in person.

Nate's face lit up with a grin.

"Ah, right! I remember now."

"Well, I guess we were fated to meet after all."

06

That night, not long after I got back to the dorm, I received a text from Nate.

Are you feeling any better?

I typed back, Yeah.

The screen immediately showed "typing..."

It stayed like that for four or five minutes.

Finally, his message came through.

William almost beat the crap out of me for that mistake. I wanted to apologize to you earlier, but he wouldn't let me. Said it was in the past and told me to keep my mouth shut so I wouldn't upset you.

But now that we've finally met, I figured I really owed you a proper apology.

I thought about it for a moment, then replied.

Don't worry about it.

After sending it, I went to take a shower.

When I came back out, there was a box of expensive pastries sitting on our shared table.

The packaging looked incredibly high-end.

Seraphina, who was applying a face mask, looked up.

"William bought them, but I don't really do sweets. Feel free to have some, they smell amazing."

I glanced over. The other two roommates already had portions sitting on their desks.

Maybe it was because of the hot shower, but my throat felt incredibly dry, my voice sounding raspy.

"I'm on a diet. No thanks."

07

Things progressed smoothly between Seraphina and William.

But it wasn't long before she found out about the mix-up.

It started at a party they went to.

Someone got drunk and let it slip.

"Hey, we heard you and that fake girl share a dorm. What's she like? No way she's as pretty as you, right?"

"But who knows, Nate's been talking about her nonstop lately..."

Seraphina came back to the dorm absolutely fuming. In front of everyone, she slapped me hard across the face.

She warned me to stay far away from William.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but my phone buzzed with a text from William.

Seraphina found out. She has a temper. Just let her have her way this once, okay? Consider it a favor to me.

During winter break, while we were on a voice call, my grandmother had suddenly fallen and hit her head.

In my absolute panic, William had stepped in. He immediately contacted the hospital and arranged for a top specialist.

He had been so apologetic: I'm out of town and can't get back. I wish I could be there with you.

He didn't know that just having his help was enough to make me endlessly grateful.

And now, he wanted me to return that favor.

I stared at the screen, then quietly typed back.

Okay.

Then I turned to Seraphina and apologized.

After the lights went out, the other two roommates were still whispering comforts to Seraphina.

"Some people look so innocent, but they're doing dirty things behind your back."

"Seriously. How can anyone try to steal someone else's guy?"

Seraphina let out a small, self-satisfied laugh. "Well, he's not my boyfriend just yet."

I lay in bed, my cheek burning painfully.

It would definitely be swollen tomorrow.

Yet none of that hurt half as much as William's text.