He Sold Me for Cheap

To meet my dark web boyfriend, I endured agonizing surgeries, painful orthodontics, and grueling physical training. I transformed myself from the Pierce family's mocked "four-eyed hillbilly" into a total stunner.

But the night before our meeting, I stumbled upon a post on the forum titled "Selling my internet girlfriend for cheap."

The poster was my boyfriend, Julian. He was selling me because he'd hired a hacker to get his hands on surveillance footage of me and found my "brace-faced" appearance disgusting.

Amidst the filthy, mocking comments from other wiseguys, only one ID replied with two words: "DM me."

Staring at the all-too-familiar profile picture, I felt a cold dread wash over me.

The post had been published three months ago.

I stared at the screen, unable to breathe.

A sudden realization flashed through my mind. Three months ago, Julian had been acting completely out of character.

During that time, he suddenly grew incredibly cold. He even brought up ending our relationship during a call, using the excuse that he was bored.

I thought he was just under pressure from his family's turf wars, so I spent a long time begging him not to leave.

I spent all night coaxing and pleading with him, and he finally, reluctantly, agreed to stay.

After that, he demanded we switch to new forum accounts.

He said his old account was being watched by rival factions and he needed a new one with military-grade encryption, so he told me to add his new ID.

I did as he asked without a second thought. For the next three months, he claimed the voice channels on the new network were at risk of being wiretapped.

We only communicated via text and never had a voice call again.

When we first switched accounts, he seemed a bit distant. Even his way of talking and his temper had changed noticeably.

Later, he slowly warmed up again, becoming even more affectionate and understanding than before.

I'd always thought he'd just come around after getting through a rough patch. I never imagined the truth.

I lowered my gaze and looked at the glowing screen of my phone.

That account with the exclusive verification badge had just sent a new message.

"Sweetheart, I know your period is coming up. I had someone drop off some comfort food and painkillers at your door. Remember to eat it while it's hot."

"I'm going crazy with excitement just thinking about seeing you soon. What about you? Are you nervous?"

I stared at those two messages, my fingertips hovering motionless over the screen.

So, this man who sent me sweet nothings every day, the man I was about to meet.

Who was he, really?