An app had been making the rounds online lately—one that let you text your future self.

Right before the final paper of the SATs, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and fired off a message: [Future me, do I end up marrying Liam Tinsley?]

The screen flickered, and a reply from an "Unknown Number" popped up almost instantly: [Yes. You had a big, grand wedding.]

I clutched my phone and typed back fast: [And Mia Thompson was my maid of honor, right? She's my best friend!]

The response came just as quickly: [She was. But she wasn't just the maid of honor, she slept with Liam on your wedding night.]

My smile froze mid-expression.

Then a second message hit: [Truth is, you didn't need to go through all that trouble tanking your scores just to match his. He bombed the math section on purpose—so he could end up in the same city as Mia, who was at the bottom of the class.]

[He pushed you to turn down that top-tier university—not for your sake, but because he didn't want Mia to feel inferior next to your grades.]

The pre-exam warning bell cut through the air.

But I was frozen, my body ice-cold, unable to move.

One last message slammed into my screen: [If you don't believe me, head straight to the motel behind the school after the test. You'll see the truth for yourself.]

The proctor walked in and told everyone to turn in their phones.

I mechanically powered mine down and dropped it into the storage bag on the podium.

I made my way back to my seat. The test booklet came down the row—white pages, black print, packed with questions—but my mind was completely consumed by those text messages.

Just the night before, Liam Tinsley had held my hand with that earnest look still fresh in my memory.

"Bree, I completely bombed today's exam. There's no way I'm getting into a top-tier college now.

"For the last test, could you just turn in a blank answer sheet? That way, you, me, and Mia could all end up at the same community college together. We'd never have to split up.

"If you stay here with me for college, I swear I'll be devoted to you and only you for the rest of my life."

Back then, I was so moved I'd agreed without a second thought. For him, I was ready to give up the college I'd dreamed of.

But now, that text was telling me he'd bombed the math section on purpose. For Mia.

Mia Thompson was my best friend. Petite, soft-spoken, sweet—but her grades were an absolute disaster. Liam was always calling her clueless, saying she was pitiful, telling me I should look out for her.

Had they been sneaking around behind my back all along…?

"The exam has begun. Please keep an eye on the time." The proctor's voice rang out from the front of the room.

I snapped back to reality and looked down at my answer sheet.

If I left it blank, I'd be giving him exactly what he wanted—staying behind at some community college with him.

I tightened my grip on my pen. The tip pressed hard into the paper, leaving a dark blot.

If those texts turned out to be fake, and I scored high, I could always apologize to him later.

But what if they were real? Was I really going to throw away twelve years of blood, sweat, and tears for some cheat who'd been playing me?

No.

I took a deep breath. My eyes stung, but my hand stopped shaking. I poured every ounce of my ability into that test. My pen flew across the page in a frantic scratch. Every single line I'd planned to leave empty—I filled it all. I didn't hold back a single point.

The final bell rang out across the entire campus.

The SATs were over.

Outside the exam hall, an explosion of cheers went up—some kids were tearing up their study guides, others were hugging and crying.

I retrieved my phone. As soon as it powered on, two texts popped up one after another.

Liam: [Babe, how'd it go? You left it blank, right? My mom suddenly dragged me back to my grandma's place out of town—won't be able to hang with you and Mia tonight, sorry! XOXO! I'll make it up to you!]

Right after that, there was a message from Mia.

Mia: [Bree, my period hit me out of nowhere, and I'm cramping like crazy, so I'm just gonna head home and lie down. Was really looking forward to eating together tonight, ugh. You two go on your date—don't worry about me.]

My grip on the phone tightened. Somewhere inside me, I already knew the answer.

If it hadn't been for those text messages, I probably would've sent Mia a sympathy note and ordered her some hot tea, then told Liam to drive safe with all the understanding in the world.

I slipped past the crowds of celebrating students, walked out the school gates alone, and broke into a run toward the street behind the campus.

The wind whipped past my ears. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might tear through my ribs.

I had to see for myself.

The hallway of the budget motel reeked of cheap air freshener. The worn carpet squished under my feet, soft and unsettling.

Following the check-in records, I stopped outside the room. My chest heaved.

And from inside—I could hear voices.

"Liam... easy..."

Mia's voice came through—soft, coy, dripping with a sweetness I'd never heard from her before.

Then came Liam's heavy, ragged breathing.

"Mia, you're killing me... you're tighter than I ever imagined..."

I stood there in the hallway, and it felt like every drop of blood in my body had frozen solid.

The noise from inside grew louder. The bed frame creaked under the strain, groaning like it was about to give out.

Mia let out a breathy little laugh. "Liam... Bree turned in a blank test for you today. Doesn't this feel a little... wrong?"

Liam chuckled softly. "She's the one I'll marry—I can't live without her. But Mia... you're the only one who can satisfy me physically.

"She's too innocent. Like a plank of wood. She blushes just from a kiss—nothing like you. You actually know how to let go."

Mia giggled. "Then why'd you make her give up Stanvord University just to stay here with you?"

"That's different." Liam's voice carried a flicker of hesitation. "She loves me that much. She can't function without me. I have to keep an eye on her."

"You're terrible... you only love my body, don't you..."

"My heart's yours too. Now turn around, babe..."

Then came the sickening sound of skin slapping, mingled with labored breathing.

I dug my nails into my palms so hard they broke skin. The pain was the only thing keeping me grounded.

Liam's voice was low and hoarse, thick with urgency and desire.

And suddenly, he felt like a complete stranger.

Growing up, he'd always been a little older than me, but everywhere I went, he followed. The adults used to tease him, calling him my "kept boy," and he'd always grin and fire back, "You bet! Bree's going to be my wife someday!"

So for the first half of my life, nearly every milestone came with Liam by my side.

Until high school, when Mia entered the picture—and she and Liam couldn't stop butting heads.

Mia couldn't stand to see me upset. Every time Liam showed up, they'd be at each other's throats, chasing and bickering like it was World War III.

I always ended up in the middle, playing peacemaker, pleading with both of them—because they were the two most important people in my life.

Eventually, the three of us became inseparable. Even though they still clashed like oil and water the moment they were in the same room, always circling around me with their petty fights, I genuinely believed those were the happiest days of my life.

At my coming-of-age ceremony, I officially said yes to Liam's confession. We promised to go to the same college together. Our friends teased us until both our faces burned red—everything felt impossibly perfect.

Around that same time, Mia's mood took a nosedive. She seemed drained, hollow.

I was so worried I stayed by her side constantly, even neglecting Liam in those early weeks of our relationship.

Looking back now, I realized I'd missed every single one of Mia's forced smiles.

My thoughts snapped back to the present. My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe.

I turned and walked away without a sound.

The moment I stepped out of the motel, the sunlight hit me so hard I had to squint.

I didn't shed a single tear.

From this day forward, the Bree who would've thrown away her entire future for Liam—she was dead.

When I got home, I walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and let the cold water blast my face.

Then my phone buzzed on the sink.

It was another text from that "Unknown Number."

[If you hadn't gone to that motel today—if you'd never found out the truth—then seven years from today would be your wedding night.]

I dried my hands and stared at the screen.

[That night, you'd booked out the biggest hotel in the city. But right before the ceremony was over, Liam got a call.]

[Mia had overdosed on sleeping pills. She was being rushed to the hospital to get her stomach pumped.]

[Liam went berserk. He shoved you aside without even hearing the vows through, and tore out of there straight to the ER.]

The texts unspooled like a curse, one sentence at a time before my eyes.

[He left you alone in the bridal suite, still in your gown, while you became the laughingstock of the entire city's social circle.]

[That whole night, he stayed by Mia's hospital bed. When she woke up crying that she didn't want to live anymore, Liam lost his mind with guilt. In a cheap motel right next to the hospital, they slept together.]

[When you confronted him afterward, he had the nerve to say: 'Bree, you're my wife now. You have everything that comes with that title. Mia has nothing—she only has me. I just felt sorry for her. Can you stop being so petty about it?']

Reading those words on the screen, I felt a suffocating, twisting pain in my chest.

If I'd really been that stupid in the original timeline—if I'd actually turned in that blank test and stayed local with them—then I wouldn't have just lost my hard-earned scores and the prestige of a top-tier university. I would've become nothing more than a doormat and a stepping stone in their twisted little arrangement.

They would've bled me dry of every last bit of value, and then, in the middle of some grand, humiliating spectacle, I would've lived out a miserable existence.

How terrifying.

Until that moment, the armor I'd been clinging to finally shattered. The tears came—silent, unstoppable.

Memories surged through my mind like a tidal wave, and every detail I'd once willfully ignored now turned into a knife aimed straight at my heart.

The way Liam looked at Mia—so focused, so intent. The way he came alive around her, so vivid and real.

And I'd been the fool, standing by and watching, interrupting, over and over again—right up until today, when I found them tangled together, naked and gasping.

I wiped my face and got up off the floor.

Enough. It was finally, truly enough.

That night, Liam called.

His voice sounded tired. "Babe, I just got back to my grandma's place. Long day.

"Oh, and you never answered me earlier—you did leave it blank, right? Don't worry, even if your score's low, we can still get into the same community college."

I listened to his hollow words, and the image of him pressing Mia into that motel bed flashed through my mind. My stomach turned.

I said, flat and even, "Of course, I left it blank. For our future, I didn't write a single word."

I hung up, stared at my expressionless reflection in the mirror, and let out a cold, quiet laugh.

The two weeks before SAT scores came out were supposed to be the best time for graduating seniors—pure, carefree celebration.

Liam kept texting me, begging me to follow through on the graduation trip to the mountains we'd promised each other.

"Bree, we're about to start college. This is our first real trip as adults."

His voice in the voice message was warm and full of anticipation. "I've got it all planned out—we'll see the lake, drive the scenic highway, take so many beautiful pictures of you."

A bitter ache spread through my chest. I texted back a single, flat: [Okay.]

This relationship needed to end, one way or another.

The day we left, I dragged my suitcase to the airport terminal right on time.

From a distance, I spotted Liam—and next to him, Mia, wearing a little floral sundress.

When Mia saw me, she bounded over and looped her arm through mine like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Bree, you're here! Liam said the more the merrier, so he invited me along. You don't mind, do you?"

I pulled my arm free and looked at them both with a blank face. "I don't mind. Let's go check in."

At the self-service kiosk, Liam pulled out his ID and printed two boarding passes.

One for him. One for Mia.

I stood to the side, watching the screen flash, "No booking information found for this passenger."

I turned to Liam.

"Where's my ticket?" I asked, my voice even.

Liam smacked his forehead and shot Mia a frustrated look. "Mia, I told you the day before yesterday to send Bree's info to the travel agent and book all three together. You didn't?"

Mia planted her hands on her hips and fired back with faux outrage, "Oh, so now it's my fault, Liam?! I told you—Bree always books first class when she travels. I didn't want to overstep and put her in economy without asking."