Chapter 1

After being paired with my arch-rival on three hundred trending Twitter hashtags in a single month, I broke down and sent a tearful voice note to my gaming carry slash e-boyfriend.

"Babe, people are saying that jerk and I are a match made in heaven again today! It's driving me crazy!"

He replied in seconds. "Don't listen to those idiots. What do they know about who you belong with?"

That night, my pro-gamer boyfriend carried me through fifteen straight ranked wins and spent two solid hours roasting my nemesis with me.

My mood soared, and I fell fast asleep.

The next morning, the second I opened my eyes, a brand-new hashtag hit the top of the trending page: #EthanVanceAndSummerMillerAtCityHall.

Fuming, I tapped into my boyfriend's chat window, only to be greeted by an automated reply: Away on a three-month business trip. Won't be online.

Before I could even process the devastating blow of my online boyfriend seemingly ghosting me, my manager's call blew up my phone.

"Summer! You will never guess who just signed on as a series regular for your next big primetime reality show!"

"It's Ethan Vance! The superstar who literally never does unscripted TV!"

My ill-fated connection with Ethan Vance started back when we were toddlers in diapers.

Our moms were best friends, and we ended up in the same class from preschool all the way through high school.

He had been gorgeous since childhood—the kind of golden boy teachers adored and girls chased after with love letters.

And I couldn't stand him.

Because he constantly stole my spotlight.

In third grade, when I finally clawed my way to class vice president, he was elected class president.

In middle school, my favorite cool upperclassman only befriended me so I could pass love notes to Ethan.

At our high school graduation, I gave a speech as a student representative. He took the stage right after me, and the applause for him was three times louder.

I thought entering showbiz would send us our separate ways and let us ignore each other for the rest of our lives.

And what happened?

He skyrocketed to A-list superstardom right out of the gate, while I dragged myself through three brutal years just to scrape into the B-list.

Whether the studios were intentionally milking the publicity or fate just had a sick sense of humor, it didn't matter.

Over the past month, our names had been glued together like industrial epoxy.

When our fantasy drama aired, he played the aloof, divine master and I played the wicked villainess. The entire internet cheered: #EthanVanceRidsTheWorldOfEvil.

On the film festival red carpet, I tripped and accidentally yanked his pant leg. The hashtag #SummerMillerPlannedIt trended for three days.

Last month, paparazzi snapped us entering the same exclusive private dining lounge one after the other.

In reality, he had snatched the VIP private room I'd booked six months in advance!

Yet what did the headlines say?

#EthanVanceSummerMillerLateNightRendezvous!

The shippers lost their minds: "Enemies to lovers! The fated tension is off the charts!"

As if!

This month alone, our names stood shoulder to shoulder on the trending page a full three hundred times.

That was more often than I ate meals.

My best friend envied me, saying that being attached to such an ethereal, god-tier face made my clout skyrocket every day.

Only I knew what a conniving jerk Ethan truly was.

Glancing at that damn guy for even one second felt like it shaved ten years off my lifespan.

The most absurd one happened yesterday: #EthanVanceSummerMillerCityHallLeak.

I had literally just gone to the studio next door to City Hall to film a TV segment. Paparazzi lying in wait snapped pictures and spun it into a secret marriage license run.

I was so pissed that I messaged my gaming boyfriend in tears.

"Babe, people are saying that jerk and I are a match made in heaven again today! It's driving me crazy!"

My gaming carry boyfriend was someone I had met online three months ago.

Back then, Ethan had just snatched a luxury brand ambassadorship from under my nose, and I hopped onto the game in a foul mood to blow off steam.

This guy carried the entire match all on his own, so I swallowed my pride and sent a friend request.

After that, we played together almost every night, slowly drifting into an online relationship.

Though he had a sharp tongue in-game and constantly teased me for having garbage mechanics, he was fiercely protective.

Whenever an enemy player messed with me, he was always the first to hunt them down for revenge.

Most importantly, he hated Ethan Vance just as much as I did.

Every time I vented about Ethan, he cursed him out right alongside me, even harsher than I did.

Seeing how angry he got on my behalf always made me feel a lot better.

Last night, when I complained that Ethan wasn't even human, he instantly chimed in with smooth agreement:

"Yeah, an absolute monster. Our baby is the bigger person here; don't lower yourself to that dog's level."

He carried me through fifteen straight ranked stars while roasting my nemesis with me for two straight hours.

He cheered me up so well that I slept peacefully.

Right before drifting off, I even thought to myself that once this media storm blew over, I had to meet him in person.

Then, the moment I opened my eyes the next morning, I took a double hit from the trending hashtag and my boyfriend's auto-reply.

And before I could even reel from the shock of my online boyfriend seemingly running off on me,

I got hit with a third blow: Ethan Vance was joining the exact same reality show as me.

...He was definitely out to ruin my life!