I Catfished a Billionaire Using My Bully’s Photo Chapter 03

I Catfished a Billionaire Using My Bully’s Photo Chapter 03

The big boss only visited once every six months.

And the moment he walked in, he zeroed in on an intern — a young, pretty one.

My coworkers smelled blood in the water.

They swarmed.

Talia toyed with her hair, her voice syrupy soft as she answered their questions.

“I don’t know Mr. Shaw at all. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him, actually.”

Then, like a lightbulb had gone off, she added, “Oh! Wait — Mr. Shaw was a senior at my high school. I was the school beauty back then, you know. A lot of guys had crushes on me. So maybe…”

She trailed off, letting the sentence hang there.

The old-timers jumped on it immediately, spinning some romantic fairy tale about a secret crush that stretched all the way from high school to the office.

For a moment, the whole room buzzed with that giddy, gossipy energy.

“Oh, stop it, you guys!” Talia cut them off, her voice full of playful reproach — but the smug smile tugging at the corners of her eyes gave her away.

I couldn’t hear a word they said after that.

I just stared at the search results on my screen, frozen.

Back then, my mom worked as a housekeeper for Talia’s family.

Talia lost a bet and talked my mom into stealing my diary — the one filled with all my secret, unspoken feelings — and then posted the pages on the school bulletin board.

She took photos and shared them online.

Every student who walked past pointed at me, laughing under their breath.

I was so angry my teeth ached.

So I stole Talia’s photo and her name and started wreaking havoc online.

Got destroyed zero-twenty-eight in a game?

I turned on my mic and announced my name was Talia.

Some stranger online threatened to hunt me down and beat me?

Without missing a beat, I told them my name was Talia.

Every time I stirred up trouble, every time anyone asked, I just said I was Talia.

I had this ugly, vicious little hope that someday, someone would track her down and give her the beating she deserved.

But before that ever happened, I met Ethan.

Ethan was well-mannered.

Sincere.

Polite.

Insanely generous with his money.

His only real flaw?

He was way too intense.

Don’t let the polished, above-it-all look fool you.

I knew exactly what he was like behind closed doors.

During those two years online — except for right when we first met — I often stayed up late listening to him over voice chat during those two years.

And when that switch flipped, it was like he’d been possessed.

The elegant, refined gentleman act?

Completely gone.

That cool, proper voice of his would shift completely, saying things far more direct than usual.Not a single line ever repeated.

I’d get so flustered I’d finally snap and tell him he had no shame.

He never got mad.

He’d just chuckle low under his breath and soothe me right back into a puddle.

Then, at some point, Ethan seemed to sense something was off.

He started insisting — firmly — that we meet in person.

That was when it hit me.

I’d been using Talia’s identity the entire time.

I scrolled back through our chat history in a panic, my hands shaking.

And when I saw those words — “My name is Talia” — my heart just… stopped.

All those whispered words in the dark.

All that tenderness traded through a screen.

Every moment that made me feel like I was loved.

All of it, built on a lie.

I hadn’t even given him my real name.

That night, I lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

It felt like a giant fist had closed around my heart and was squeezing.

I regretted it.

I regretted it so much.

Why — why had I ever said I was Talia?

I buried my face in my pillow and cried.

I don’t know how long I cried.

When I finally looked up at my reflection — eyes swollen, face a mess — it hit me all over again.

I was just so… ordinary.

No striking features like Talia.

No wealthy family backing me up.

Not even a shred of her confidence or flair.

Just an ordinary face.

An ordinary person.

Without Talia’s photo, someone like Ethan — a guy like that — would never, ever look twice at someone like me.

A nobody.

someone who felt completely insignificant

In the end, I forced down that bitter, aching knot in my chest.

I sent him one last message — “I’m sorry” — and then I blocked him.

Deleted him.

Gone.

Three days after I cut contact, Ethan sent me an email.

Six words.

That was all.

“Talia, don’t leave me.”

Every word was soaked in pleading.

Lost.

Bewildered.

Abandoned.

Too bad.

I wasn’t Talia.

The memory snapped me back to the present, and I shivered involuntarily.

When I looked up, all my coworkers were staring at me.

I forced a stiff smile.

“What? What’s going on?”

Everyone just smiled, saying nothing.

Only Talia walked over, her expression pure innocence.

“Evelyn, weren’t you listening? Everyone wants to try that new bubble tea place. Would you mind going to grab some for us? It’s only three or four blocks — you can hop on a bike, super easy.”

Old-timers bullying interns was nothing new.

But Talia could seamlessly blend in with them, and that had everything to do with how Ethan had treated her earlier.

I looked at her.

Then at the people behind her — lined up, ready to pounce the moment I said no.

Finally, I nodded.

“Fine.”

Talia was delighted by my compliance.

She turned back to the group with a beaming smile.

“Don’t feel bad, everyone. Evelyn’s mom used to be our housekeeper, so she’s been doing this kind of thing since she was little. Running errands is kind of her specialty. Seriously, if any of you need a favor, just ask her. She loves it.”

Every time Talia landed somewhere new, she found a way to bring up that my mom had worked as a maid in her house.

It had been this way for years.

I was used to it by now.

Honestly, I wanted the fresh air anyway.

I ignored her, turned away with my phone — and accidentally bumped straight into a man.

I looked up.

It was the secretary who’d been tailing Ethan earlier.