The Villain's Glow-Up: Marrying the Heir's Billionaire Brother

Two months into my online relationship, I finally made up my mind. I was going to lose the weight.

Suddenly, a stream of semi-transparent textlike a live chatscrolled directly across my field of vision.

User_Tyler: Wait, why is the villain era starting with a diet? If she actually drops the weight, how is the main girl supposed to steal her spot with the guy?

User_Tyler2: Relax. Sloane is insecure AF. Our gorgeous Tinsley just has to mock her a few times and shell quit. She completely fails in the original plot.

User_Tyler3: Am I the only one who thinks Tinsley is kinda toxic for this? Yeah, Sloane photoshopped her pics to look skinnier, but it was still her face. Tinsley straight-up lied, claimed the photos were hers, and gaslit everyone into thinking Sloane stole them.

User_Tyler4: Plus, Sloane actually has amazing bone structure. If she dropped the weight, she'd be stunninglike, untouchable high-fashion model vibes.

User_Tyler5: The hell are you talking about? In reality, Sloane is 5'5" and pushing 180 pounds. She's a total pig. How does she even have the nerve to date online? Parker is a rich, drop-dead gorgeous heir. Does she really think she's in his league?

I froze for a moment.

A heartbeat later, the rustle of fabric broke the silence. Tinsley poked her head through her bed curtains, a sheet mask plastered to her face. Her gaze dropped, locking onto my desk.

"Whoa, Sloane. You're seriously just eating a kale salad for dinner?" she asked. Her lips curved beneath the wet mask. "I get it, you're on another diet kick. But honestly? You have such a broad frame. Even if you manage to lose the weight, it's not going to look right on you. You should just save yourself the torture!"

Chapter 1

Her voice was bright, but the look in her eyes was heavy with implication. The old me would have burned with humiliation. I would have hidden the salad away, acting like Id been caught doing something wrong.

I would have stammered out pathetic excusesclaiming I just wanted to eat cleaner, that I wasn't actually delusional enough to think I could be pretty.

Truthfully? This wasn't the first time I'd picked up on Tinsley's subtle malice. Whenever I started a diet, she would immediately stand in front of the mirror and complain about how she had somehow lost even more weight.

When I skipped dinner, she would wait until the library was dead silent before loudly projecting across our study table, "Sloane, are you seriously starving yourself again?"

Then she would sigh, shaking her head. "Dieting just seems so miserable. I don't know how you guys do it."

But I always managed to brush the paranoia away. Tinsley was the most gorgeous girl on campusan actual influencer. Why would someone like her waste her energy targeting me?

Until this exact second.

The translucent text scrolled across my vision again, bursting with mocking laughter.

User_Tyler: Hahaha, Tinsley acting like a mean girl is honestly so iconic and cute.

User_Tyler2: Tinsley is 100% sabotaging Sloane on purpose. Remember freshman orientation? Tinsley was standing right there, but the other girls kept telling Sloane how cute she was. Tinsley has been a narcissist since birthof course she hated her for that.

User_Tyler3: Our girl is just insecure and defensive! Honestly, even if a fat pig like Sloane actually lost the weight, she wouldn't possess even half of our Tinsley's beauty.

User_Tyler4: Don't stress, chat. Our girl is prepping her skin right now. Shes about to glam up and accidentally bump into Parker. His obsession with her is going to cure all her insecurities!

I couldn't help but clench my fists. Meeting Tinsley's innocent eyes, for the first time, I didn't scramble to explain myself or just quietly take it.

Caught in a mess of emotions, I pursed my lips. "You never know," I said, my voice shockingly steady. "Maybe I'll actually look good once the weight is gone. I'm going to try anyway."

Instantly, the floating text exploded into a frantic blur.

User_Tyler: Bro, the absolute delusion! She photoshopped twenty pounds off her waist for some guy online, realized she kinda looked like our Tinsley, and now she actually thinks she's hot?

User_Tyler2: Is she purposely trying to trigger Tinsley? This is giving major pick-me energy. The internalized misogyny is wild.

User_Tyler3: I can't breathe. Does every fat girl on the planet secretly hallucinate that there's a supermodel hiding under all that grease?

The chat was practically vibrating with frenzied energy.

It finally clicked.

I wasn't just a college student. I was a character in a trashy romance novel. I was the insecure, overweight roommate of the untouchable campus queen. I was the designated villain.

According to the plot, my crippling insecurities drove me to send highly edited, slimmed-down photos to my online boyfriend. But by some cruel twist of fate, Tinsley discovered the truth.

She realized the guy showering me with expensive gifts was actually Parkerthe gorgeous heir she had been obsessing over for two years.

While she publicly judged my pathetic actions, privately, she made a calculated discovery. My heavily edited face shared a striking resemblance to her own when she had her makeup fully done.

So, Tinsley got an idea. She secretly approached Parker in the real world. She looked him right in the eyes and fed him a flawless lie. She told him I had stolen her photos. She convinced him that she was the girl he had been falling for online.

She engineered a few more perfect setups, completely brainwashing Parker. By the end of her game, he fully believed I was nothing but a vain, pathological liar who used her beautiful roommate's face to trap a rich guy.

Parker blocked me everywhere. He walked right into his perfect, fairy-tale romance with Tinsley.

And the original me? I never even knew I had been played. I assumed Parker had simply discovered I was fat and moved on. Devastated, I quietly transferred out of the university, fading into the background.

I knew heavily filtering those photos was a pathetic mistake. But did that give Tinsley the right to hijack my identity and steal my entire life?

Chapter 2

The words left my mouth. Tinsley froze. She had already turned her back to me, playing the undisputed champion.

A look of surprise and suspicion flashed across her eyes. It vanished just as quickly, replaced by an icy, half-baked smirk. She tossed a glance over her shoulder. "Alright then. Good luck with that."

After that, the dorm was unusually quiet. Tinsley peeled the sheet mask off her face and climbed down from her bunk to wash up. She dropped into her desk chair, unzipped her makeup bag, and began meticulously doing her makeup in front of the mirror.

I kept my head down, drafting a workout schedule in my notebook. Later, I grabbed my trash to toss it out. Passing Tinsley's vanity, my steps faltered.

Since freshman year, Tinsley had built her entire brandboth online and offaround a bold, hyper-glamorous aesthetic. But the girl staring into the mirror wore barely-there makeup. She had even dug out an innocent, flowy white sundress.

She looked exactly like the heavily edited photo I sent my online boyfriend.

Relying on the floating text's relentless spoilers, I grabbed my phone and hunted down Parker's digital footprint. He actually told me his real name was Parker. I just never connected the dots that he was the notorious billionaire heir to his family's empire.

He kept a brutally low profile. But some trust-fund kid in his inner circle practically lived on TikTok, and Parker accidentally made a split-second cameo in one of his vlogs.

A fast-acting follower snapped a screenshot. Despite the heavy pixelation, the raw angles of his jawline and the sharp curve of his lips commanded the frame.

My screen lit up, buzzing against the desk.

TortoiseKeeper: You there?

TortoiseKeeper: Whatcha doing? Missed you.

TortoiseKeeper: Sent a package your way. Go grab it. Hope you love it.

The string of messages was as active and direct as always.

I hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to tell him the truth. I didn't care if this shattered the novel's precious plotline. The comment section could drag me.

They could label me a toxic manipulator for coming clean the exact moment Tinsley was planning her little "accidental" meet-cute.

I accepted all of that. I just couldn't swallow the unfairness of it. I refused to be the stepping stone Tinsley used to elevate herself. I typed out the message and hit send.

Sloane: Are you free right now? Let's meet in person.

Sloane: The corner espresso bar on South Main Street.

The bitter scent of roasted espresso filled the cafe. I stared at the dead silence of our chat log, a sickening weight dropping in stomach. Did Parker even see the text? Why was he ignoring it? What if Tinsley already intercepted him?

A sharp chime from the front door shattered my spiraling thoughts.

A towering figure stepped through the entrance. His expression remained utterly closed off, his dark eyes sweeping the room with freezing indifference. Then, his gaze snagged on me. He stopped dead in his tracks.

I was stunned for a moment. Before I could even process the shift, he closed the distance between us in three massive strides. He loomed over my table, his voice carrying a rough edge of hesitation. "Are you Sloane?"

I tilted my head back, my eyes tracking every harsh angle of his face. The razor-sharp jawline perfectly matched the pixelated leak. His lips looked a fraction thinner, sharper.

But the screenshot was garbage quality anywaya slight mismatch made sense. I offered a stiff nod. "Are you Parker?"

His jaw ticked. He pressed his lips together, dragging the iron chair out and dropping into the seat across from me. "Yeah. I am."

Up close, his sheer size swallowed the space between us. He was very tall, with a prominent brow ridge and a high nose bridge. His sharp, dark eyes carried a strong sense of pressure when he looked at me. "Why did you want to see me?"

Chapter 3

I braced myself against the edge of the caf table. I confessed everything about using the editing app to deceive him before I could lose my nerve.

I kept Tinsley out of it. First, explaining the floating chat box hallucination sounded completely psychotic. Second, if Parker dumped me for catfishing and still fell for Tinsley later? I could live with that.

I just refused to be the collateral damage. I wasn't going to let her brand me as a psycho who stole her roommate's identity.

"So, yeah. That's the truth," I muttered, my vocal cords scraping.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the fallout. But the explosive anger, the disgust, the relentless questioning I had prepared myself for? None of it came. Nothing but the low hum of the espresso machine filled the silence.

My lungs burned. I finally forced my eyes open, peeking across the table. The man just stared blankly at me. His dark eyes remained glued to my face, not even blinking.

"Parker?" I rasped, my brow furrowing.

He blinked hard, violently jolting out of his trance. "Huh? Oh." As if to cover up something, the man picked up his coffee cup.

"You're saying you think you're overweight?" he asked, his baritone voice terrifyingly calm. "Why would you think that?" He set the mug down, his intense gaze locking onto me again. "I think you look perfect. Not big at all. You're actually really cute."

My brain flatlined.

Huh? I sat there, utterly paralyzed. This was completely off-script. The male lead wasn't supposed to act like this.

Right on cue, the translucent chat flooded my vision again.

User_Tyler: LMAO, Sloane is probably sitting there looking at her phone like an idiot. Meanwhile, Parker is literally wrapping his arm around our girls tiny waist! The tension is screaming!

User_Tyler2: Tinsley is a mastermind. Bumping into him while he was distracted by his screen? Faking the ankle twist? And him instinctively catching her? Absolute cinema. Tell me he isn't already obsessed.

User_Tyler3: Hahaha, and then she hit him with the "I have to get back to my campus job" and just sprinted for the bus! Playing hard to get is driving Parker insane.

User_Tyler4: The chase era is officially starting! Im shaking!

The blood drained from my face. I suddenly looked at the man in front of me. "You're not Parker!"

His hand froze on the table. He glanced down at his buzzing phone. When his heavy gaze dragged back up to mine, the previous haze in his eyes had completely evaporated. He leaned back in the iron chair, his posture loose but commanding.

"It appears Parker isn't going to show up today," he stated, his voice steady. "I apologize for the deception. I'm Parker's older brother, Spencer."

"Families in our tax bracket don't tolerate unvetted relationships. Especially" Spencer paused, his jaw tightening. "Online entanglements."

"Dorothea requested I handle the situation. Parker left his iPad at the estate, and his accounts were synced. Your message popped up. I took his place."

Hearing this, I asked with some confusion, "Then why didn't you say so in the beginning?"

Spencer lowered his chin, the harsh cafe lighting casting shadows over his sharp cheekbones. "I apologize. I was caught off guard," he murmured, the rough gravel returning to his voice. "I didn't expect Parker to actually ghost you."

Seeing him like this, I felt a bit embarrassed too. But thinking about how I had wasted half the day for nothing, I couldn't help feeling somewhat deflated.

Chapter 4

I let out a shaky breath, grabbing the strap of my canvas tote. "Forget it. It's fine," I muttered, sliding out of the booth. "I said what I needed to say anyway. This entire situation with Parker is a mess. I'll text him later and officially end things."

"Sloane."

Spencer's voice stopped me dead in my tracks. He looked straight at me with a calm expression. "Parker is still a student, and his family is strict with him. But I operate under different rules."

I froze. "Huh?"

"I entered the company a long time ago," Spencer continued. "I have a say in the family, so I have complete freedom in choosing who I marry."

His expression remained carved from stone, but a stark, heavy flush crept up the tips of his ears. "The truth is, I was captivated the second I saw you. Would you consider me?"

"Unlike Parker, I can guarantee Dorothea and the rest of the board would bless us." He held my gaze, the intensity almost suffocating. "Think about it. I'll wait for your answer."

I pushed open the heavy wooden door to my dorm. High-pitched, piercing laughter immediately spilled into the hallway. Tinsley was holding court with Brooklyn and the other girls.

When she spotted me, her smile stretched a fraction wider, practically splitting her face. "Sloane! You're finally back!" she sang. "Oh my god, you guys. I literally just met the most incredible guy today. He's absolutely gorgeous. Major old-money energy."

She twirled a piece of hair around her manicured finger. "And I'm pretty sure he's already obsessed with me."

She was still wearing that innocent white sundress. With her makeup perfectly done, the resemblance to my highly edited photo was suffocating.

But the crushing devastation I expected never hit. Instead, my heart was surprisingly calm.

"That's great," I replied, my voice completely flat.

Tinsley stared at me for a long time. She scanned my face closely. When she found absolutely zero jealousy, her smile dropped. Bored, she pivoted right back to Brooklyn.

I dropped into my desk chair and unlocked my phone. Thirty minutes ago, a barrage of texts from Parker had flooded my screen.

TortoiseKeeper: Sorry. Got tied up today. Just saw your text.

TortoiseKeeper: Wait, are you working an off-campus job? Don't push yourself so hard.

A notification pinged. He had just wired me thirty thousand dollars. Right below it, a high-def selfie loaded. His face was pure, golden-boy perfectiona completely different vibe from Spencer's suffocating intensity.

TortoiseKeeper: Just in case you forgot what I look like.

The translucent text materialized, scrolling wildly across my vision.

User_Tyler: OMG, Parker actually thinks our girl is his online girlfriend! He feels so bad shes working that he just wired the villain a massive bag.

User_Tyler2: Nooo Parker, you sent it to the wrong account! That money belongs to Tinsley!

User_Tyler3: Chill, chat. Its called plot progression. They had their meet-cute today, and tomorrow he's going to track her down and take her out. The real drama is coming!

User_Tyler4: Hehe, Tinsley is totally going to play dumb. Then she'll just "accidentally" mention how her weird roommate keeps asking for her photos and she doesn't know why

User_Tyler5: Who cares about a few grand anyway? Once Tinsley marries into the family, shell have infinite wealth. Spencer, the workaholic older brother, literally runs the whole empire. Tinsley just gets to lay back, collect dividends, and live her best life with Parker.

My breath hitched at the mention of the older brother. Spencer's ruthlessly sharp features flashed in my mind. A sudden, flustered heat rushed straight to my cheeks.

My fingers scrambled over the glass screen. I instantly hit refund on the massive CashApp transfer.

Sloane: I don't need your money.

Sloane: And I've never had a part-time job.

Sloane: I think you have the wrong girl.

Then I ignored him and turned off my phone.

Chapter 5

Over the next few days, Tinsley meticulously curated her outfits before leaving the dorm. She doubled down on the innocent, girl-next-door aesthetic, wearing flowy fabrics and minimal makeup.

When Brooklyn and the other girls asked about the sudden style switch, Tinsley just tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly. "I just realized this vibe suits me better," she murmured.

I could clearly feel it too. Parker's replies slowed down, and his attitude became noticeably colder. Right before summer break, my screen lit up with a rare notification from him.

TortoiseKeeper: Let's meet up in person.

The translucent chat immediately exploded into a frenzy.

User_Tyler: Its happening! The exact moment Parker officially falls for our Tinsley! Hes taking the initiative!

User_Tyler2: The fat pig sidepiece was too terrified to actually show up, so she instantly rejected him. But our girl tricks her into going anyway! The side-by-side comparison when they stand next to each other? Brutal.

User_Tyler3: Wait, didn't Parker immediately believe Tinsley? He took one look, declared he didn't even know Sloane, and just dragged Tinsley out of there.

User_Tyler4: LMAO yes! Sloane was just left sobbing in the middle of the restaurant looking like an absolute wreck. Pathetic but honestly hilarious.

I lowered my eyes, replying to him:

Sloane: Sure.

Sloane: But I pick the time.

Sloane: Well do it after summer break.

The typing bubble on his end vanished. A long beat of silence stretched out before his reply finally came through.

TortoiseKeeper: Okay. Ill wait.

User_Tyler: Wait, what the hell? Why did the plot just change??

According to the floating spoilers, my parents were supposed to vacation in Europe over the break, leaving me stranded in the dorms. That isolation was exactly what gave Tinsley the perfect opening to destroy me.

This time, I completely ignored the chat. I packed my bags early, moved back home, and completely dropped off the grid. For two brutal months, I locked myself away and threw myself into a relentless, intensive training camp.

I severed all contact with the outside world. The one time I booted up my phone, I saw that Tinsley had sent me many messages. She kept demanding to know where I was and why I bailed on the dorms early. I left her on read.

I scrolled through my Instagram feed, everything looking completely normal. Except for the new contact I had added at the espresso bar. Spencer was apparently addicted to posting stories. My feed was suddenly clogged with high-definition, multi-angle thirst traps of his ridiculously carved abs.

Who was he even posting those for? Rolling my eyes, I killed the app and tossed the phone away.

When summer officially ended, I spent a few days catching up with Charles and my mom after their flight back to the States. Then, I headed back to campus.

The second my sneakers hit the university pavement, the familiar translucent text swarmed my vision.

User_Tyler: Shouldn't the side character be crawling back to campus right about now?

User_Tyler2: Ugh, dragging it out because shes too cowardly to face the music. Its too late anyway. Tinsley spent the entire summer engineering "accidental" run-ins with Parker. Hes already completely obsessed with her.

User_Tyler3: Plot twist: what if Sloane secretly went and lost all the weight?

User_Tyler4: Are you actually joking? Nobody seriously believes a fat pig just magically transforms into a supermodel

User_Tyler5: HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! EVERYONE SWITCH POVS TO THE SIDE CHARACTER RIGHT NOW! GO!

User_Tyler6: !!

A smile formed on my lips. I tore my gaze away from the absolute chaos erupting in the chat and continued my walk toward the dorms.

Meanwhile, completely off my radar, a new thread was detonating on the university's anonymous forum.

Title: [HOT] BOUNTY for this girl's IG/Snap! Will literally pay $$

Posted today at 10:31 AM by User_Tyler

Does anyone know the girl who walked past the South Campus Dining Hall around 10:20 this morning? She was wearing a white sundress and a light grey knit cardigan. [Image Attached]

Sorry for the creep shot! I was too paralyzed to actually go up and talk to her, so I only managed to snap this blurry pic of her back. Please help me out, Im literally in love at first sight! Drop her contact info, heavy cash reward guaranteed!

Chapter 6

User_Tyler: With a picture this blurry, even her own mother wouldn't recognize her

User_Tyler2: Is the OP talking about the girl walking past South Dining Hall toward the East dorms? Long hair, carrying a Burberry backpack?

User_Tyler3: Yes! Exactly her! Bro, do you know her?

User_Tyler4: No I saw her this morning too. Honestly, I was too stunned to speak. She's drop-dead gorgeous.

User_Tyler5: ? Are you guys trolling or what? That's a massive exaggeration.

User_Tyler6: I'm from South Dorm 3. I definitely saw the girl you're talking about. She goes here. I saw her filling out the back-to-school forms in the lobby.

User_Tyler7: OP! I saw her too! Also from South Dorm 3. She is literally ethereal. Flawless skin, insane face cardshe looks exactly like a literal supermodel! My roommate and I went down to grab our DoorDash and literally froze for five minutes. She was already gone before we even processed it. Swear the whole lobby smelled like her perfume

User_Tyler8: Right?! Honestly, I always thought our campus had pretty girls, but today I finally realized the gap between average and actual god-tier beauty They aren't even made of the same material.

User_Tyler9: Wait, who the hell are you guys even talking about? Is this real? I'm so confused. Since when do we have someone like that on campus?

User_Tyler10: Pics or it didn't happen.

User_Tyler11: I can't with you guys. Why would anyone lie about this? She already checked in. You'll see her in class eventually.

User_Tyler12: If this is actually real, we might need to crown a new campus queen.

He was walking too quickly, and we slammed into each other, the brutal impact jarring me. I clutched my forehead. A sharp, irritated click of his tongue hit the air.

I blurted out an automatic apology. Then, the guy froze completely.

I tilted my head up. The breath hitched in my throat. It was Parker.

He looked exactly like the leaked photopure, sun-kissed golden boy perfection. But right now, he stared fixedly at my face, his eyes showing undisguised amazement.

He stayed paralyzed for a long beat before snapping out of it. A deep frown of confusion pulled at his brows. "You"

I didn't have the patience to stick around. "My bad for bumping into you," I cut him off smoothly. "I'm in a rush. See you around."

He instinctively reached out to pull me, but I shook him off firmly but casually.

Right before leaving, I suddenly turned around and smiled at him. "Oh, by the way. Is that Riley on your phone case?" I asked, pointing at his hand. "I absolutely love that character. He carried me through the whole tutorial phase when I first started playing. Seeing him always feels super nostalgic."

I didn't give him a single second to process. I turned on my heel and walked away, never looking back.

My entire history with my online boyfriend, 'TortoiseKeeper', had started in a gaming thread. We bonded over our mutual obsession with that exact character. We talked for hours before finally adding each other. That was the catalyst for everything.

So, I knew the absolute certainty of my strike. I was sure that when I said those words, Parker must have remembered something. Even as I disappeared around the corner, the scorching weight of his stare burned into my spine.

I pushed open the dorm room door. Brooklyn and my other roommate were stunned when they saw me. They swarmed me, their jaws practically on the floor. "Oh my god Sloane?!"

"Ahhh! I literally called it! I knew you would be gorgeous if you lost the weight!" Brooklyn screamed, grabbing my shoulders. "I saw the vision on syllabus week! Nobody is that cute when they're heavier unless they have god-tier genetics!"

Chapter 7

Tinsley was the only one whose face completely dropped. She stayed dead silent for a long beat, her eyes tracking my every move. Finally, her lips pressed into a tight, strained smile.

"Sloane, it's great that you lost the weight," she started, her voice dripping with fake concern. "But don't you think you took it a little too far? You're basically skin and bones. It looks kind of unnatural."

The air in the dorm room instantly froze.

This time, nobody bought into her sweet-girl act. Brooklyn shot her a deeply weirded-out look. "Um, what are you even talking about?" Brooklyn frowned. "Sloane is literally the perfect size. She looks incredible."

Our other roommate let out a short, dry laugh. "Weren't you just crying yesterday about needing to drop to ninety pounds, Tinsley? You're shorter than Sloane. Guess you changed your mind?"

Tinsley's fake smile shattered. She snapped her head down, her hair falling to shadow her face as she completely shut down.

I let the awkward silence hang for a second before turning back to Brooklyn. "Oh, by the way," I dropped the words casually. "I'm finally meeting my online boyfriend tomorrow afternoon."

Tinsleys head whipped up from the corner as she stared fixedly at me. "Meeting him? Where?"

I finished sending a text on my phone and looked up to flash her a perfectly innocent smile. "That new espresso bar right off campus."

Parker sat in a corner booth, wrapped in a flawlessly tailored suit. I pushed open the heavy glass doors. There was a moment of silence in the cafe.

My gaze swept the room, instantly snagging on Tinsley. She was wearing the cafes barista uniforma size too smalland leaning deeply over Parker's table. The tight fabric clung to every curve of her waist as she set down a glass.

Tinsley offered him a sweet, breathy smile. "An iced Americano on the house, Parker."

The translucent text exploded across my vision in a frantic blur:

User_Tyler: Ahhh she knows exactly what shes doing! Our girl looks absolutely stunning!

User_Tyler2: Parker is literally mesmerized right now. LMAO, just wait until that pig Sloane shows up. The contrast is going to be brutal.

User_Tyler3: I can't even handle this tension. I don't even care about the clapback drama, just skip to the fluffy romance era! Feed us the chemistry!

User_Tyler4: Uh. Did you guys not check the side character's POV yesterday?

User_Tyler5: ? Wait, what do you mean? Why would anyone watch the villain's POV?

User_Tyler6: Just switch over and look. Seriously.

I let out a soft laugh, stepping right up to their table. "Hi. Are you TortoiseKeeper?"

Parker shot up from his leather seat. His dark eyes locked onto my face, burning with absolute shock. "It's you