Could that be what he was talking about now? “There’s a reason he decided to stay.” Reigh nodded. “Do you know what it is?” “No.” “But because of… what you know about Caeson, you think he’s made some sort of arrangement with your dad?” He nodded again. “But that’s not why I brought you out her
CHARLOTTE My life… might have been in danger. It echoed in my head, but like a muted siren. Maybe it was because I’d been overloaded with more information than I knew what to do with. Maybe I was just having the world’s slowest reaction to the scariest possible news a person could ever hear.
CHARLOTTE I thought about how a whole day had passed since the big sibling swap, and I still hadn’t fully processed it. As I sat in the living room, lost in thought when I heard a noise coming from the backyard. Curious to see if it was who I’d been waiting for all day, I got up and walked thro
CHARLOTTE Caeson walked further outside, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he eyed the three of us with distaste. He drew closer and said with a slight bite to his tone, “Don’t let my interruption stop you,” then lowered himself onto the bench and met my eyes. “But then, you didn’t seem to
I pulled them both back into the house and then to the kitchen. With a small exhale, I let go of their hands, immediately missing the comfort and warmth their touches gave me. “I need to find Madeline,” I told them. “Do you know if she’s back?” Just like Taide, she’d been gone almost all day. Rei
CHARLOTTE Taide held the door open and shot me a knowing look. But I didn’t move, I remained in one spot, crossed my arms and pouted. “But Taide—” “I don’t want to hear it,” he cut me off, his expression deep and serious. My lips snapped shut, I sensed that there was no point in arguing. So, wi
CHARLOTTE After a short drive, Taide pulled up in the parking lot of the small restaurant that was a hotspot amongst students in the area. The main area was rowdy and full of students eating and talking loudly, but Taide led me past there and into a quieter, more ambient area. It was still c
A childish part of me felt like defending that Emma had started it, but why did it matter? It shouldn’t matter and I tried to make myself believe that. Taide’s attention shifted away from the menu to me, and I cleared my throat before turning my gaze from Caeson and down to the menu like I had
His hair… was trimmed once again to a low buzz cut.But the expression on his face was so bitter that I froze in my tracks.Something was wrong.I looked back up to the podium, searching the stage for a particular face, and not finding it.King Auric wasn’t here.Reigh grated out in my ear, “I hated
CHARLOTTEMy feet were already retreating before my mind had even fully registered what I was seeing.My heart couldn’t take it. Not today. Not after everything. I felt it splinter open as I spun on my heel and bolted as fast as the crowd would let me, shoving my way past people back the way he came
CHARLOTTE My entire body trembled as I slammed the front door shut, pressing my hands against it like I was trying to push myself back in time. To before I opened the door. Before I saw the gruesome sight. I choked on oxygen, hunching over. Bile rises up my throat as I remember what I just saw.
GRADUATION DAY CHARLOTTE I didn’t get much sleep last night. Or any sleep. I looked around my room, taking in the space again. It didn’t look as bad as it was a couple of days ago. All the glass had been swept away, and all the damage left was broken doors and a non-functional shower. Not the m
CHARLOTTE I didn’t want another surprise. I just wanted them to stop acting so weird. “Reigh told me what happened at the palace wasn’t serious when I asked him,” I pointed out as the memory hit. “How could your dad finding out about Madeline not be important?” Taide sighed before parking both h
24 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CHARLOTTE The sound of Reigh’s door closing softly woke me up. I blinked into the darkness, looking for him. He didn’t come into the house with me yesterday. All he did was drop me off. Initially, I didn’t want to be alone with Caeson, knowing Taide w
He suddenly frowned at me before asking, “How can you be so stupid, Charlotte?” My head reared. “Excuse me?” “What exactly do you think is going to happen between you and these boys? Or you know what, I’ll do you one better. How could you even let things get this far?” I cut him a stern warn
CHARLOTTE Shopping wasn’t as fun or eventful as I’d hoped. I spent most of my time between clothes racks, barely fascinated by the colors or cuts of the dresses I picked. Instead, I kept wondering where Taide was and tried to understand what had happened with Caeson. Unaware, my hand lifted to
I reached up to loosen his grip, my vision growing watery, but he just pressed down harder. “I’ll never let you forget who you are, harlot,” he spat, venom dripping from his tone. The words hit me with such hatred that I was taken back to the moments when I was nothing more than a victim of his and