My Boyfriend, Mr. Popular

A friend of mine sent me an Instagram video. I clicked on it and watched as a couple playfully doted on each other. The guy fed the girl a strawberry with his mouth, then embraced her lovingly.

I was about to exit the video out of boredom when the guy turned his head, and I froze.

He looked just like my boyfriend, Julian Lawrence.

Julian had been dabbling in social media ever since he graduated, though he was far from famous. His content mostly consisted of selfies, and I'd never seen him post any videos.

However, I checked and confirmed the Instagram account belonged to Julian.

Since when had he started filming couple videos, and with another girl, no less? Not only that, but the way they fed each other with their mouths and kissed while hugging made me feel sick. Did he even think about how I'd feel?

To make things worse, the video had gone viral with over 200,000 views. It was the widest reach Julian had ever gotten on social media. In fact, it was probably beyond his wildest dreams.

I confronted him right away. "Julian, what the hell is this? Who's that girl? Explain yourself!"

Julian hastily took my phone, and his expression faltered for a split second before he regained his composure. He smiled and pulled me into a hug. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"I said, explain yourself." I pushed him away, unamused.

"Her name's Winter York. She just broke up with her boyfriend and asked me to help her make him jealous. There's nothing between us. I swear. You know I wouldn't do that to you, Vicky."

Then, Julian even showed me photos of Winter and her ex, along with their chat logs. His upfront behavior eased my doubts. I figured maybe I was overreacting.

After all, if Julian had feelings for someone else, why would he post a video for me to see?

Still, the thought that over 200,000 people had seen my boyfriend being affectionate with another girl bothered me a lot.

Sensing that I was still upset, Julian added, "We only made the video for fun. I didn't expect it to blow up. Honestly, I don't understand why people are so into these fake videos."

He put extra emphasis on the word "fake", then complained about how he and Winter had zero chemistry despite the comments saying they looked so in love.

"We can film something like that together if you like," Julian suggested as he pulled me in for a kiss on the cheek while recording it on his phone.

I never liked being on camera, so I grabbed his phone and told him to delete it. But Julian refused, saying it turned out cute and he wanted to keep it for himself. After some playful back-and-forth, we were back to normal.

I glanced at the plate of fruits he had cut for me on the table—a nightly routine ever since I started prepping for my exams. He would make sure I had snacks for my breaks, which was thoughtful.

As Julian had always been a kind and considerate boyfriend, I decided to drop the issue and trust him.

But little did I know that my trust would soon be shattered by an even greater betrayal.