I Catfished a Billionaire Using My Bully’s Photo Chapter 09

I Catfished a Billionaire Using My Bully’s Photo Chapter 09

I practically fled into the bathroom.

Turned on the faucet, let cold water rush over my fingers.

My heart still hadn’t settled.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

I looked up.

In the mirror, I saw a figure.

Black shirt.

Sleeves rolled.

Hands in his pockets.

Standing in the doorway, unhurried.

Waiting.

My scalp prickled.

I forced a smile onto my face.

“Mr. Shaw — you, um, here for the bathroom too?”

He narrowed his eyes.

His answer was flat.

Direct.

“No.”

“Huh?”

Before I could process it, he’d already closed the distance, stopping just behind me.

His voice was low.

“What are you running from?”

I shook my head frantically.

“Nothing, I—”

“Evelyn.”

He folded his arms and met my eyes in the mirror, his tone perfectly even — like he was asking about the weather.

“Is there any part of my body you haven’t seen?”

My brain short-circuited.

The faucet kept running.

In the mirror, my face had gone paper-white.

Only one thought was left in my head.

He knows.

He knows everything.

Even with the answer already settling in my gut, I still clung to a shred of denial.

My voice shook.

“You… you know?”

Ethan didn’t answer right away.

He just looked at me for a long moment.

Then, suddenly, he smiled.

“Know what?”

All my spiraling emotions slammed into a wall.

I hesitated.

And behind me, he just kept getting quieter.

His breathing softened.

The tight knot of dread in my chest slowly began to loosen.

Then, without warning, he spoke again.

“Is it fun, Evelyn? Lying to me?”

The air seized in my lungs.

I spun around.

His expression had gone completely dark.

He stepped forward.

Then again.

Closing in.

“I knew the same day I moved Talia to my office.

And that night, when I saw you — it hit me even harder.

So I had someone look into it.”

His voice was low, controlled, but there was something fraying at the edges.

“Talia isn’t Talia.

You are.

No wonder I could never find you.

No wonder you left without a backward glance.

No wonder you blocked me.

No wonder you never answered a single one of my emails.”

He paused, jaw tight.

“You’ve been lying to me from the start.

Your name.

Your identity.

Everything.

Including your feelings — all of it, lies.”

I was scared — genuinely scared of this version of him.

My body shrank back involuntarily.

I burned with shame and couldn’t speak.

He stopped.

His throat worked, like he was forcing something down.

“Evelyn. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Strange.

The moment everything was laid bare, I thought I’d panic.

I thought I’d be terrified.

I thought I’d run.

But when those words came out of his mouth, something inside me just… settled.

I even felt a strange, quiet sense of peace.

“I’m sorry, Ethan.

It’s all my fault.

Whatever you want to do to get back at me — I’ll take it.

I was greedy and pathetic to pretend to be Talia and lie to you.

I’m not a good person.

I’m sorry.

I’m really, truly sorry.”

His lips pressed into a thin line.

As my apology hung in the air, his fists slowly clenched.

Knuckle by knuckle.

Tighter.

Until they went white.

Veins rose on the backs of his hands.

He was holding back.

Barely.

I thought, A guy like him — golden, untouchable — and I made a fool out of him.

That look on his face… he probably wants to hit me.

I closed my eyes.

But then I heard him speak again.

One word at a time.

“And? Besides an apology — everything else I just said. Is there really nothing you want to argue with?”

What else?

Oh.

Right.

The money.

I opened my eyes and licked my dry lips.

“Right — and the money I took from you.

I used it all for tuition.

I’ll pay you back as soon as I’ve saved enough.

And if you want to call the police, I’ll cooperate—”

“Evelyn!”

His voice spiked, startling me, then dropped again, trembling.

“Do you seriously think, between you and me — the most important thing is a few goddamn dollars?”

I blinked.

My brain lagged.

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Money… money doesn’t stink.”

The veins at his temples bulged.

He looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

I bit my lip, thought for a second, then slowly shook my head.

“Ethan, I have nothing to argue.

I’m sorry.

It’s all my—”

Before I could finish, he grabbed my hand.

He was barely holding it together.

His eyes had gone red.

“So you really have nothing to argue.

Then those feelings you had for me — those were all lies too?

Every single one?”

I stared into his eyes.

“Wh… what?”

“What was I to you?

Did you ever — ever — actually like me?

You never did, did you?”

I was completely lost.

I could see his beautiful mouth moving.

I understood every word individually.

But strung together, they sounded like another language entirely.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

I’d imagined a hundred versions of this moment.

Him furious.

Him disgusted.

Him telling me, cold and clipped, to get the hell out of his sight.

Him destroying me as payback.

But never — never this.

Standing there like a wounded puppy, asking if I’d ever liked him.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

I lied to him.

Shamelessly.

I didn’t deserve this.

My stunned silence seemed to cut him deeper than anything else.

He squeezed his eyes shut — hard — then let go of my wrist.

“Fine. I get it.”

It took a beat for my brain to catch up.

“Ethan, I—”

I reached for his sleeve, but my fingers closed on nothing.

He shook me off and walked away without looking back.

I stared at his retreating back.

The warmth he’d left on my wrist was already fading.