My college roommate faked an entire study-abroad trip.<\/p>\n
At least, that’s what I believed.<\/p>\n
Her name was Chloe.<\/p>\n
We’d been roommates since sophomore year.<\/p>\n
We shared everything.<\/p>\n
Late-night pizza.<\/p>\n
Exam stress.<\/p>\n
Relationship problems.<\/p>\n
Secrets.<\/p>\n
She knew everything about my life.<\/p>\n
Including my engagement to Daniel.<\/p>\n
When she announced she was going to study abroad for the semester, I was genuinely excited for her.<\/p>\n
The day she left, I drove her to the airport.<\/p>\n
She hugged me tightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ll miss you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’d better.\u201d<\/p>\n
She cried.<\/p>\n
I cried.<\/p>\n
We took pictures.<\/p>\n
Then I watched her disappear through security.<\/p>\n
I thought that was the beginning of her adventure.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t.<\/p>\n
Three weeks later, I noticed something strange.<\/p>\n
Daniel had stopped answering my texts as quickly.<\/p>\n
He said work was exhausting.<\/p>\n
He said he needed space.<\/p>\n
I didn’t think much of it.<\/p>\n
Then one evening, I went to his apartment.<\/p>\n
He wasn’t home.<\/p>\n
I sat on the couch and turned on the smart TV.<\/p>\n
It automatically connected to the internet.<\/p>\n
Then something popped up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome back, Chloe.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I froze.<\/p>\n I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n Another profile appeared.<\/p>\n Chloe \u2014 Recently Watched<\/strong><\/p>\n My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n I clicked it.<\/p>\n There were dozens of shows.<\/p>\n Watched over the previous three weeks.<\/p>\n At Daniel’s apartment.<\/p>\n I called him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is Chloe’s Netflix profile on your TV?\u201d<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n Then he said,<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHer profile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI honestly don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n I hung up.<\/p>\n Something was wrong.<\/p>\n I called Chloe.<\/p>\n She answered from what sounded like a busy caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLondon.\u201d<\/p>\n I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn’t say anything.<\/p>\n She continued talking.<\/p>\n Then I heard something in the background.<\/p>\n A television.<\/p>\n The same notification sound I’d heard on Daniel’s TV.<\/p>\n My heart started pounding.<\/p>\n \u201cChloe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you in London?\u201d<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n Then she hung up.<\/p>\n I drove to Daniel’s apartment.<\/p>\n He wasn’t there.<\/p>\n But the door wasn’t fully closed.<\/p>\n I walked inside.<\/p>\n And froze.<\/p>\n There were two suitcases near the bedroom.<\/p>\n One belonged to Chloe.<\/p>\n I knew because I’d helped her pack it.<\/p>\n Then I saw her shoes.<\/p>\n Her clothes.<\/p>\n Her toothbrush.<\/p>\n Her laptop.<\/p>\n She hadn’t gone abroad.<\/p>\n She’d moved in with my fianc\u00e9.<\/p>\n I sat on the floor and cried.<\/p>\n For hours.<\/p>\n Daniel finally came home.<\/p>\n He stopped when he saw me.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease let me explain.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re living with Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n He didn’t deny it.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThree weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’ve been lying to me every day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t know how to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n I laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn’t know how to tell me you’re living with my roommate?\u201d<\/p>\n He looked away.<\/p>\n \u201cI love her.\u201d<\/p>\n That sentence destroyed whatever was left of my trust.<\/p>\n I removed my engagement ring.<\/p>\n Placed it on the table.<\/p>\n And walked out.<\/p>\n I thought that would be the end.<\/p>\n It wasn’t.<\/p>\n A month later, I received an invitation.<\/p>\n It was from Chloe.<\/p>\n Couples Housewarming Party!<\/strong><\/p>\n I stared at it.<\/p>\n The address was Daniel’s apartment.<\/p>\n There were dozens of names on the guest list.<\/p>\n Our entire friend group.<\/p>\n People who knew me.<\/p>\n People who had watched me get engaged.<\/p>\n People who had comforted me after the breakup.<\/p>\n And somehow, Chloe and Daniel thought they could throw a party in the apartment where they had betrayed me.<\/p>\n Then I noticed the last line.<\/p>\n \u201cCan’t wait to celebrate our new beginning!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I almost deleted the invitation.<\/p>\n Instead, I decided to go.<\/p>\n Not to make a scene.<\/p>\n Not to scream.<\/p>\n Not to throw anything.<\/p>\n I had discovered something else.<\/p>\n Something they didn’t know I knew.<\/p>\n Something they desperately wanted to keep hidden.<\/p>\n So I walked into the party.<\/p>\n The room went silent.<\/p>\n Every conversation stopped.<\/p>\n Chloe’s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n Daniel nearly dropped his drink.<\/p>\n I looked around.<\/p>\n Our friends stared at me.<\/p>\n Someone whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n I ignored them.<\/p>\n I walked past the food.<\/p>\n Past the decorations.<\/p>\n Past the couples laughing awkwardly.<\/p>\n And straight toward the hallway.<\/p>\n Chloe followed me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n I didn’t answer.<\/p>\n She grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n \u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at her.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m going to the bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n Her face changed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n I smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s exactly why I’m going.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel stepped between us.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease don’t do this.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should have thought about that before you lied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Then I opened the bedroom door.<\/p>\n Everyone followed.<\/p>\n The room was decorated.<\/p>\n New furniture.<\/p>\n New bedding.<\/p>\n Pictures of Chloe and Daniel together.<\/p>\n But that wasn’t what I came to show them.<\/p>\n I walked toward the closet.<\/p>\n Opened it.<\/p>\n And pulled out a box.<\/p>\n Chloe’s face went white.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n I opened the box.<\/p>\n Inside were photographs.<\/p>\n Letters.<\/p>\n And a stack of documents.<\/p>\n I handed the first photograph to one of our friends.<\/p>\n It showed Chloe and Daniel together.<\/p>\n But it wasn’t from the last three weeks.<\/p>\n It was dated six months earlier.<\/p>\n Another photograph.<\/p>\n Four months earlier.<\/p>\n Another.<\/p>\n Eight months earlier.<\/p>\n They had been together long before Chloe ever announced her study-abroad trip.<\/p>\n Our friends began whispering.<\/p>\n I pulled out a printed email.<\/p>\n It was from Daniel to Chloe.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce she believes you’re gone, we can finally move in together.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Someone gasped.<\/p>\n Chloe began crying.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s not the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at her.<\/p>\n \u201cThen tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n She couldn’t.<\/p>\n I pulled out another document.<\/p>\n A lease application.<\/p>\n Chloe had listed Daniel as her partner.<\/p>\n The date was seven months earlier.<\/p>\n Before my engagement.<\/p>\n Before the study-abroad story.<\/p>\n Before anyone knew.<\/p>\n I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn’t just cheat.\u201d<\/p>\n He said nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou planned it.\u201d<\/p>\n One of our friends asked,<\/p>\n \u201cWhy did you invite all of us?\u201d<\/p>\n Chloe started crying harder.<\/p>\n Daniel answered.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought everyone would eventually accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n I laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou thought I would be too embarrassed to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked down.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n I shook my head.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was your mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Then I pulled out the final document.<\/p>\n It was a hotel receipt.<\/p>\n Six months earlier.<\/p>\n A room booked for two.<\/p>\n Chloe and Daniel.<\/p>\n The same weekend Daniel had told me he was visiting his parents.<\/p>\n The room had been paid for with a joint card.<\/p>\n My former friends stared at them.<\/p>\n The room became completely silent.<\/p>\n Finally, someone said,<\/p>\n \u201cYou two lied to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Chloe whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cWe were going to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the time was right.\u201d<\/p>\n I smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s what Daniel told me too.\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody laughed.<\/p>\n I walked toward the door.<\/p>\n Then Daniel called after me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy did you come?\u201d<\/p>\n I turned around.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you thought humiliation belonged to me.\u201d<\/p>\n He stared at me.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it doesn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at Chloe.<\/p>\n \u201cYou wanted everyone to believe you were the victim of a complicated love story.\u201d<\/p>\n Then I looked around the room.<\/p>\n \u201cThey deserve to know what actually happened.\u201d<\/p>\n I left.<\/p>\n Outside, I finally breathed.<\/p>\n My hands were shaking.<\/p>\n But for the first time in months, I wasn’t ashamed.<\/p>\n I hadn’t lost anything that was truly mine.<\/p>\n A man who could betray me wasn’t my future.<\/p>\n A friend who could deceive me wasn’t my friend.<\/p>\n And an apartment built on lies wasn’t a home.<\/p>\n The following weeks were messy.<\/p>\n Several people stopped speaking to Chloe and Daniel.<\/p>\n Some apologized to me.<\/p>\n Others admitted they’d suspected something but hadn’t wanted to get involved.<\/p>\n I didn’t blame them.<\/p>\n I just moved forward.<\/p>\n I found a new apartment.<\/p>\n Changed my phone number.<\/p>\n Focused on school.<\/p>\n And slowly rebuilt my life.<\/p>\n Months later, I heard that Chloe and Daniel had broken up.<\/p>\n Apparently, living together wasn’t nearly as romantic as they’d imagined.<\/p>\n They argued constantly.<\/p>\n Trust became an issue.<\/p>\n And eventually, Daniel accused Chloe of being dishonest.<\/p>\n The irony wasn’t lost on me.<\/p>\n When I heard, I didn’t feel happy.<\/p>\n I just felt relieved.<\/p>\n Because I finally understood something.<\/p>\n I didn’t need revenge.<\/p>\n The truth had already done everything for me.<\/p>\n They thought the party would be the moment they announced their perfect new life.<\/p>\n Instead, it became the night everyone learned how their relationship had really started.<\/p>\n I walked into that apartment expecting to feel humiliated.<\/p>\n I walked out feeling free.<\/p>\n And the room they desperately didn’t want me to enter?<\/p>\n It wasn’t a bedroom.<\/p>\n It was the room where they had hidden the truth.<\/p>\n Once the door opened, there was nowhere left for their lies to hide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My college roommate faked an entire study-abroad trip. At least, that’s what I believed. Her name was Chloe. We’d been roommates since sophomore year. We shared everything. Late-night pizza. Exam … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-keang007"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21433,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21388\/revisions\/21433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}