“Like you’re doing with my club,” the king said. We were close to the door now and as much as I wanted to just run out and get far away from whatever the fuck this was, I remained still by Taide’s side. King Auric was behind us now, but he didn’t turn around to look at us. Taide on the other hand,
CHARLOTTEI went on guard immediately.I couldn’t yet see where the sound came from, but as I drew closer, it became more and more intense, and with it came the unmistakable moan of pleasure underlining the grotesque noises.My footsteps lightened as I drew closer to the entrance, and then my steps
CHARLOTTESean’s dad… turned out to be a hard ass.We couldn’t go to the beach house. Not yet at least.Apparently, the enforcer had meetings… in a beach house? I had no idea why. So he told an infuriated Sean that he couldn’t have his weekend getaway till much later than we planned.That was a week
CHARLOTTEI pawned Caeson’s car two days ago.And now I was swimming in more money than I knew what to do with.The first thing I did with my sudden wealth was to move Da’ana into a new care home, the kind of place I’d stared longingly at in the magazine when I was picking a home for her in the firs
CHARLOTTE I was sixteen again. The cover of the threadbare comforter barely kept out the cold as I held the blanket up to my neck. I was shivering. But it wasn’t because of the weather. It wasn’t the chill in the air that rattled me to my bones. It was the sound of his footsteps. Tap. Tap. Tap.
CHARLOTTETap. Tap. Tap. I sat up with a gasp that bordered on a scream.My hand flew over to my mouth as short gasps burst out of me unrhythmically. My heart was racing, my vision was filled with splotches of darkness and every part of me trembled with fear.I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think an
Like he sensed my presence, he turned when I walked in and to my surprise, he shot me a small smile that made me give him one too. Our gazes held for a moment and I quickly crossed the expanse of the kitchen to hand him my plate.“Done?” He mouthed.We stood close to each other, a once uncomfortable
CHARLOTTE The ranch was a couple of hours away, so we had to leave a lot earlier than I expected. There was a buzz in the air as the triplets and their friends settled into the cars they’d be riding to the ranch. I avoided everyone as best as I could and navigated through the crowd in search of M
Like we didn’t matter.My nails dug into my palms as memories slammed into me. I could still see it—the nights he reeked of alcohol, his head lolling to the side, completely oblivious to the fact that he had two daughters who needed him to pick himself up and be… more than the person he was choosing
CHARLOTTEThe car ride was too quiet.Too damn suffocating.The weight of everything that had happened in the span of a few hours pressed down on me—Madeline, the triplets, my father. My hands trembled against my lap, and I clenched them into fists for the umpteenth time, trying to force myself to f
It was only after the shock of silence that followed that I realized I’d spoken those words out loud. Dot gasped, reaching for me instantly, pulling me into an embrace. I didn’t expect it to be as comforting as it was. And so I didn’t fight her. She guided me to the steps outside the hospital, sitt
CHARLOTTE It felt like a slap to the face. The doctor’s words hit me so hard that I lost my footing. My knees wobbled, and before I could steady myself, the plastic cup in my hand slipped through my fingers and crashed onto the tiled floor. Water splashed across my shoes, soaking into the hem of m
CHARLOTTE The reality of the situation hit me with frightening clarity. Madeline was dying. I moved before I could think, panic exploding through my chest as I ran forward and fell to my knees beside her. My hands hovered uselessly, trembling as I tried to find something, anything, to hold o
Emma folded her hands across her chest, her mouth pulling up into a wicked smile, “Charlotte the Harlot.” Bitch. “Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, shouldering past her, she wasn’t worth the energy engaging with her would require. “I thought you dropped out,” She said to my retreating back, “Thought maybe
At first, she texted me every day. Then, as weeks passed, the messages became less frequent, less ecstatic. I knew she and Sean had been working through their issues, but based on some of her recent updates—the ones I still hadn’t replied to—they had hit a wall. They had broken up. Madeline thought
FOUR MONTHS LATER CHARLOTTE Running laps had never come easy to me, and today was no different. My lungs burned as I pushed through the last lap, my sneakers slapping against the pavement in a rhythm that didn’t feel natural no matter how many times I did this. My breath came in short bursts,
He hadn’t even raised his voice, yet despite the distance, his words carried like he had just whispered them in my ear. Seductive and bitter. My damnation. “But you made it too easy, Harlot. You almost ruined the fun.” Harlot. It was the first time I had heard him call me that in months. All