“Hey, I saw this amazing necklace at the boutique downtown,” I said, leaning in closer. “I bet it would look perfect on me, don’t you think?”He looked me up and down, his expression turning from mild interest to outright disgust. “You think I’m gonna waste my money on you? Get real, Ava. You’re a n
I stepped out of my last class, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on me. Finals were coming up, and I still hadn’t fully recovered from the brawl with Ava and her minions. My body ached, but I tried to focus on the walk back to my dorm.Liam had nursed me back to health, never leaving my s
Liam and I hardly said anything on our drive towards the Winslow house. I knew that we were both stuck in our heads, hardly sure of what we were going to meet when we finally got there. But what I knew for sure, was that I was glad that Liam was here with me.He held my hand in the car the entire ti
When the doors swung open, it was like stepping into another world. My eyes couldn’t believe what they were taking in. The banquet hall was even more extravagant than the rest of the mansion. More extravagant than what my imagination could have ever come up with.My breath caught in my throat.Cryst
The massive doors to the entrance of the banquet hall slammed shut after Liam left. I got up from the table then and Aaron reached over it, grabbing my hand, “Ella, please wait, I have to talk to you about something.”But I pulled my hand out of Aaron’s grasp. There was nothing more for us to talk a
In the days that followed my meeting with Aaron, I was feeling so all over the place. How could Aaron make that ask of me. He wanted me to keep this secret relationship that Aaron and could enter into. He wanted to me to try to convince Liam to join the family.It all felt like such a betrayal becau
That fucking bastard. I couldn’t believe what Ella had told me. Aaron was trying to use her as a pawn to get to me. I was furious that Ella had even considered joining him. Of course I was. Ella and I were a team and here she was trying to break us apart.How could she not know that even entertainin
I stormed out of the Winslow mansion, my mind a chaotic mess of anger and frustration. Every word Aaron had said echoed in my ears, fueling the rage that burned inside me. Who the fuck did he think he was, really?I had come there to tell him to stay the hell out of my life. I’d come there to tell h
Without so much as an arguing word, the men moved. Indeed, Arthur had inherited my ability to compel. I was quick to spot Cecilia standing in the center of the large, main room. She looked anxious and eager to see her son. When she spotted Arthur, her eyes lit up with pure excitement. “I knew
[Ella’s POV] I felt like I was floating on a cloud. At first, it seemed like I was being torn to pieces. The pain that resonated within me—it was like a fire had been set to burn beneath my skin. Every nerve was spiraling and coiling beyond control. I almost begged them both to stop. But then,
But that chance was almost taken from me tonight. Had we not gone to see him, the man would have been dead. I can’t let Ella’s mother face the same fate. It needs to stop. All of it. “Alright,” I said firmly. I reached down to grasp Ella’s hand. “I know I kept saying that we needed to wait unti
The car ride back to campus was kept in complete silence. What was there to say? Aaron had been brutally attacked by his own wife and was basically left there to bleed out...That, in itself, was proof that Cecilia had truly lost her mind. What’s even scarier was that apparently, she’s lost contr
They narrowed their eyes. “Well, see about that.” “I just had a very bizarre meeting with Cecilia.” All the blood drained from their faces. Their jaws had all collectively hit the ground and I was certain one of them was going to shout. Liam growled under his breath. “...Ella.” I urged the
I had to do my best to not show fear. The very thought of my mom being put at risk over something that had nothing to do with her was enough to cause my anger and stress levels to rise. I fought to keep my voice as even as possible even though I wanted nothing more than to hurl myself over the t
It didn’t seem like Cecilia was the type to give up. Aaron had certainly warned us all enough times that the woman wasn’t to be underestimated. Yet, it seemed like she had dropped off the face of the earth. With something as big as the Winslow name and reputation at stake, there was no way that sh
[Arthur’s POV] I stared back at the man who, for the better part of my life, was never really present. I suppose in a way, Aaron was just as much absent in my life as he was for Liam. I hadn’t ever really considered that we shared something so personal in common. Something in my gut was tellin
Liam shook his head. “None whatsoever,” he stated. “I told Aaron that my true interests lie in professional hockey.” Wow. Why had I always thought that Liam wanted the title the same way I thought that I wanted it? Then again, it took me a long time to realize that I didn’t much want the positio