My Online Boyfriend Mistook Me for Someone Else—I Left Chapter 12
The reality of our adult lives was that Weston Sterling was an incredibly powerful, busy man. He was aggressively scaling his tech startup, jumping from one high-stakes venture capital meeting to the next.
But the second he discovered I was May, his schedule magically cleared. He started showing up at Columbia University every single day.
The commute from his elite campus to mine wasn’t short by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, like clockwork, his sleek sedan would be parked outside my department building every afternoon.
One Friday evening, my roommate pointed out the window toward the tall figure leaning against the iron gates below. “Seriously, Rainy, you have a heart of pure stone. Look at that man.”
“I did some digging on him. His family is old-money royalty. I took one look at NYU’s forum boards, and literally half the trending threads are tracking his daily moves. The guy is a walking jackpot.”
I let out a soft, detached laugh. “He’s always had an army of girls chasing him. From high school until now, nothing’s changed.”
I perfected the art of dodging him, utilizing every side exit and library back door available.
Until one Tuesday afternoon, a senior from my department cut me off on the main brick pathway, nervously thrusting a crisp white envelope into my hands.
“I… I heard Weston Sterling from NYU has been chasing you,” the senior mumbled, his face turning a furious shade of crimson. “I’ve had a massive crush on you since freshman year, Rainy. I figured if I don’t speak up now, I’ll never get the chance. Have a great term, junior!”
Before I could formulate a polite rejection, he bolted down the pathway like his life depended on it.
I stood there holding the love letter, completely stunned. Just as I unzipped my tote bag to slip it inside, a slender, strong hand reached from behind and snatched the envelope cleanly from my grip.
I snapped my head up.
Weston was standing over me, his dark eyes absolutely swirling with an ominous, dangerous fury. “He was just confessing to you. Are you going to say yes?”
I froze, the words jamming in my throat. Before I could find my voice, he took a step closer, his tone dropping into a fierce, volatile hiss.
“What exactly did I do that was so unforgivable, Rainy? Is there seriously no way back for us?”
“Back then… I felt it. You loved me too, didn’t you?”
I pressed my lips together, looking at his handsome, tortured face, and slowly nodded. “Yes. I did.”
“On the morning I picked up that pocket watch, I genuinely believed the universe was giving us a green light. I thought… maybe we could finally happen. But reality didn’t work out that way.”
His throat bobbed violently, his grip on the stolen envelope tightening until the paper crumpled. “I thought she was you!”
“She had the exact same butterfly hair tie! When you vanished from the app, I was losing my mind. I cornered her, I asked her straight up if she was May, and she looked me in the eye and said yes.”
“Just give me one shot, Rainy. Please.”
I raised my eyes, meeting his desperate, burning gaze for a long, agonizingly quiet beat. Then, I slowly shook my head. “I already gave us plenty of chances, Weston.”
I hadn’t forgotten the endless times I had built up the courage to tell him the truth, only to watch the universe intervene, or watch Cynthia Valentine flawlessly hijack the moment.
And besides… just two hours ago, my phone had rung with an international number.
Wilder Vance had called me from the international terminal. [I’m at the gate. Heading out for the overseas exchange program.]
I had held the phone close, keeping my voice soft. [Have a safe flight. Build a brilliant future out there, Wilder.]
He had let out a low, wistful sigh over the static. [I heard about what happened. With Weston.]
[Over all these years, outside of that brief stint with Cynthia, he’s never let anyone else near him. You were the mystery girl he turned the world upside down for, weren’t you?]
I offered a quiet affirmation. [Yeah. It was me.]
He chuckled softly. [So… that New Year’s night, when you shot me down… was it because of him?]
I thought about it for a long moment, watching the autumn leaves drift past my window. [I guess you could say that.]
The terminal noise on his end was deafening, filling the silence between us. Neither of us spoke, the unsaid weight of the past three years hanging heavy over the line.
Finally, his voice came through again. It carried an unexpected, breathtaking gentleness — a stark, haunting contrast to the wild, arrogant bravado he used to wear like armor back in high school.
[If I come back in a year and you still haven’t ended up with him, and you haven’t let anyone else in…]
[Would you give a guy like me a chance?]
Listening to his steady, transformed voice, I realized something. I couldn’t spend the rest of my youth playing the part of the terrified, fragile girl hiding in the shadows. I needed to give myself a real chance at happiness too.
I let out a soft, genuine laugh. [Sure. Why not?]