Mila’s POVJulian is quiet as he drives us toward the mall. Not the one in town where Isabella and I usually go, but the one in the town over that’s known for having a ton of very high end retailers. Even though Isabella could easily shop there, I think she doesn’t because she doesn’t want me to feel even more guilty if she offered to buy me something worth so much. Also, all of my objects have been ignored, which is why it’s so uncomfortably quiet in this car. Julian shot down all my protests before they were out of my mouth. I glared at him, but he ignored me and acted like I wasn’t burning a hole in the side of his head.Man do I wish for that power right now!Anyway, I gave up and now I’m thinking of ways I can avoid him spending a single penny on me. I mean, why did he give me the limitless black credit card if he was going to go shopping with me and pay for a whole bunch of stuff? What more will I need to buy with that card?My phone vibrates in my bag, so I pull it out and see
Julian’s POVMila has shocked me by complying with me, escorting her into the building that made her eyes grow twice their size. She looked at the mall we’re walking into as if she has never seen a place like it before, except I’ve been doing some research on her family.For one, her stepmother’s body has still not been recovered, which means we have to consider that she is still alive and possibly in hiding. If that’s the case, then there must be a trail leading to where she would run to hide out until she can plan her next move. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of her, if she’s still alive, anyway.My research has helped me learn a few things about Mila as well, and one of those things is that her father was a well off man. He wasn’t the most successful businessman, but he was comfortable. Comfortable in the fact that his net worth was two million dollars. Nothing close to myself or my father, but not too bad. What I don’t understand is where all that money went. It’s cle
MilaSomething is wrong with Julian when we leave the store with my laptop and new phone. I keep glancing his way, but all I see is his furrowed brows and him clenching his jaw. What happened in such a short time to change him so quickly? I thought for a second we might even become friends, but now I’m not so sure. Being around him feels too…erratic. One second he’s almost sweet and then he’s anything but. It’s confusing and frustrating. So much so that I stop walking and grab his arm. He looks at me, surprised at first, but turns to me when I face him.“What’s the matter with you?” I snap.I’m not sure why I feel so worked up over his change in mood, but I do!“What’re you talking about?” He asks, clenching his jaw once again.“I’m talking about this.” I wave a hand over his entire person. “You were happy to throw money around for me and then, as soon as we leave the store, you look pissed off. So what is going on? Do you regret what you paid for in there? I’m more than happy to retu
Mila's POV “Where is it? I know this isn’t everything!” My stepmom has been shouting since the second I walked in and even though I’ve told her multiple times that I’m not hiding any money, she doesn’t believe me. Of course, that’s not entirely true. I have been hiding money from her. The tips I’ve made during my time working have been going into a jar hidden in my room. It’s the money I use for school, and I will never hand it over to her. Going to school is the only thing that will help me get out of this place. Even though I’m technically an adult, I don’t have anywhere to go yet. “Are you listening to me?” My stepmom’s high pitch screech snaps me back into the present and I lower my eyes to the floor. “Yes. But I’m telling you the truth…” I risk looking up at her. She’s a beautiful woman, but underneath is a monster. “…I don’t have anymore.” I finish off my reply, only to feel a sharp pain across my cheek. It isn’t the first time she’s done this, but this time feels differe
Julian’s POV I caught a whiff of a peculiar fragrance, which made me feel a bit uneasy all over. Just as I was in a daze, I was given a nudge. A gentle nudge catches me off guard, a push so delicate that I barely register it. A girl stepped into my line of sight, so my eyes drop to hers and those amber and beautiful eyes are burning with hatred toward... Toward me? Who the hell is this girl to be looking at me like that? But why does the fragrance is so near? Comes from her? “How dare you say something like that? Women are not play things to use and throw away any time you please! I don’t care what you told her. She deserves some respect!” Her words might as well be wielding pitchforks. She's not about to wait around for applause. With a final huff and an eye-roll that could rival any teen drama, she turns on her heels, storming off with enough drama to put a soap opera to shame. As if under some spell, my gaze remains glued to her retreating form, tracking her until she blend
Mila’s POVAs it turns out, I misread my schedule. It turns out that my classes don’t start until tomorrow, but I was supposed to start my new job right after my last class.It would be a waste of time for me to take the bus home just to leave again, so I text Isabella to see if she can pick me up. She had an appointment with her councilor today, so she should still be on campus.It only takes her a few seconds to answer.Izzy: I’ll be done in ten minutes! Are you okay waiting for a bit?Me: Of course. No hurries.Izzy: Thanks babe! I’ll see you in a little while. (Kissy face emoji)I smile down at her text.She’s always so upbeat and ready to go for anything, which still makes me wonder why she picked me as a friend. I’m a lot more quiet and standoffish than her, but what do they say? Behind every extravert is an introvert. Well, that is definitely true for the two of us.I find an empty table near the school coffee kiosk and sit down to wait. A few whispers float my way, but I ignor
Mila’s POV “You should buy something for your new job! Or is it one of those places with a dress code?” Isabella asks when we stop at the first store. I follow her as she browses the racks and my eye lands on a shiny blue dress. It looks like something I see a lot of girls wear at clubs, and it’s beautiful. I’ve never worn anything that flashy or form fitting, but the urge to try it on is strong and Isabella must see it because she walks over and grabs it. “Come on!” She chirps before grabbing my hand again and dragging me to the fitting room. “Try it on.” I do as she says and step into the small room. First, I look at my reflection. I don’t wear any makeup or nice clothes, so most of the time I look really plain. It’s a side effect of trying to be completely invisible in this town. When I’m sick of looking at myself, I turn my back to the mirror and strip my clothes off. If I turned back around, I would see the many scars on my body. This dress isn’t leaving this store with me
“That’s right. You remember me.” His words show like: I see I made an impression.Uh, he’s one of those guys who thinks he’s god’s gift to women.My internal radar beeps with a warning. He exudes the air of a man who's accustomed to turning heads, perhaps too aware of his own charm. It's a type I've learned to be wary of—someone who believes he's the ultimate prize in the game of attraction.I hate guys like that.“Not exactly.” I say and move around him to head down the hallway.“Really? Then how did you know who I was?” His words seem to insinuate, "I caught your attention, didn't I?" It's precisely the kind of arrogance I've come to disdain. I just try to ignore him.“You're not as timid as you were. Which one is the real you, huh?”He goes on from behind me.I whirl around to face him and rest my hands on my hips. “Look. This is just some sort of weird coincidence. We met at the bus stop and nothing more. Now, this is my first shift, so I can’t be late. Excuse me.”As I pivot an
MilaSomething is wrong with Julian when we leave the store with my laptop and new phone. I keep glancing his way, but all I see is his furrowed brows and him clenching his jaw. What happened in such a short time to change him so quickly? I thought for a second we might even become friends, but now I’m not so sure. Being around him feels too…erratic. One second he’s almost sweet and then he’s anything but. It’s confusing and frustrating. So much so that I stop walking and grab his arm. He looks at me, surprised at first, but turns to me when I face him.“What’s the matter with you?” I snap.I’m not sure why I feel so worked up over his change in mood, but I do!“What’re you talking about?” He asks, clenching his jaw once again.“I’m talking about this.” I wave a hand over his entire person. “You were happy to throw money around for me and then, as soon as we leave the store, you look pissed off. So what is going on? Do you regret what you paid for in there? I’m more than happy to retu
Julian’s POVMila has shocked me by complying with me, escorting her into the building that made her eyes grow twice their size. She looked at the mall we’re walking into as if she has never seen a place like it before, except I’ve been doing some research on her family.For one, her stepmother’s body has still not been recovered, which means we have to consider that she is still alive and possibly in hiding. If that’s the case, then there must be a trail leading to where she would run to hide out until she can plan her next move. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of her, if she’s still alive, anyway.My research has helped me learn a few things about Mila as well, and one of those things is that her father was a well off man. He wasn’t the most successful businessman, but he was comfortable. Comfortable in the fact that his net worth was two million dollars. Nothing close to myself or my father, but not too bad. What I don’t understand is where all that money went. It’s cle
Mila’s POVJulian is quiet as he drives us toward the mall. Not the one in town where Isabella and I usually go, but the one in the town over that’s known for having a ton of very high end retailers. Even though Isabella could easily shop there, I think she doesn’t because she doesn’t want me to feel even more guilty if she offered to buy me something worth so much. Also, all of my objects have been ignored, which is why it’s so uncomfortably quiet in this car. Julian shot down all my protests before they were out of my mouth. I glared at him, but he ignored me and acted like I wasn’t burning a hole in the side of his head.Man do I wish for that power right now!Anyway, I gave up and now I’m thinking of ways I can avoid him spending a single penny on me. I mean, why did he give me the limitless black credit card if he was going to go shopping with me and pay for a whole bunch of stuff? What more will I need to buy with that card?My phone vibrates in my bag, so I pull it out and see
Julian’s POVIsabella leads me down the path from the library and heads down the path that leads to the athletics department.“You know how much about him? Football player?” I ask her. It’s almost all I know.She smirks. “Baseball actually. He’s tried his hand at all of the usual sports but got into college on a baseball scholarship.”Not much better if you ask me.“So what’s your plan to deal with him, anyway?” She asks.“I’m going to warn him to stay away from Mila.” I say simply.“I got that, but how? Are you going to threaten him with bodily harm or actually harm him to send a message?” She sounds a little too excited by the second option.“Depends on how well he listens. I don’t like to get my hands dirty so early in the day..” Lie. “But if I have to, then I will.”She nods in approval.We walk the rest of the way in silence. The closer we get to the fields set up near the athletic building, I can hear the sound of balls hitting bats and the defining sound of whistles. I never sa
Mila’s POVI can’t tell if having Steven walk me to my classes today is a good or bad thing. For one thing, no one has yelled horrible things at me. In fact, no one has looked my way other than to stare at Steven. It’s…nice. We make our way toward the coffee shop. I’ll be working out for the next couple of hours until it’s time for my afternoon class. Steven picks a spot far enough to not crowd me, but close enough that he can monitor me. Things are fast and intense for the first hour but slow down a little and I take that time for my break.Steven orders a black coffee and I order and white chocolate mocha. We sit together but don’t say much, but it’s a comfortable silence. He’s not bad company.“So, how long are you assigned to be my protector?” I ask him.“As long as my boss says so.”Right.“I think he’s being a little paranoid.” I point out, making him smile a little.“Not at all. I can’t say much, but you’re the only woman who’s ever caught his interest like this.”I look at him
Julian’s POVI look down at my phone and feel my blood heat at what Steven just told me. Some girl laid a hand on Mila and threatened him with police action. That last part makes me snort out a laugh. We have people in the police and DA's office who could have any charges thrown out before the ink dries on an arrest warrant. That girl has no power, and she will damn well know it.“Are you listening?” Melody’s voice catches my attention and I glance up to see her unamused eyes looking at me.“I heard everything you said.” I say to her with a little less patience in my voice than I normally have with her.I’m trying to get on her good side after all, but right now I’m ready to scare the shit out of some stuck-up bitch who thinks she can lay a hand on my mate. My skin ripples with the urge to shift right now and take care of her now, but I can’t screw up the small window I’ve created for myself with Melody.“Really? Because it looks like you’re more interested in your phone, then what I’
Mila’s POV“I’m sorry you had to deal with all that because of me.” I tell Roman through his window when we arrive at the university.He gives me a forced smile. He’s clearly seriously pissed still.“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing I can’t deal with. Have a good day! I’ll call you.” He waves to me and I step back to let him go.I watch him drive off and had this feeling in my stomach that he won’t be calling me. Isn’t that what guys say but never mean it? I need to watch some RomComs so I can get better educated in the universe of dating. With a sigh, I forget about men and all the confusion they bring, but the universe has a wicked sense of humor because when I turn around, I see Scott heading my way.He’s smirking and is surprisingly alone. “Hey Babe.”“I’m not your babe anymore, Scott, and according to you, I never was.” I say, walking past him.“Are you still upset about that? It was a long time ago. Can’t we put that behind us and be friends?” He grabs my elbow to stop me.I w
Mila’s POVI jog down the stairs from my new room and head for the front door of Isabella’s house. She wanted to walk me down, but no way am I going to let her act like a disapproving mom and question the heck out of Roman. So I promised her I would text her if at any time I felt in danger. That didn’t seem to make her feel much better, so she handed me a sparkly pink taser to put in my bag. She had a whole keychain of self defense stuff but I convinced her a taser was more than enough.She seems to suddenly be taking on the role of concerned mother and it’s kind of sweet. It’s the first time someone really cared about me like this and I like it even if it seems a little much. When I step out of the front door, I stop short at the sight of a very handsomely dressed Rowan leaning on a very expensive-looking car. I have to blink a few times to make sure I’m not hallucinating, but no, he’s one hundred percent real.He smirks at me before pushing to his feet and buttoning his suit jacket
Mila’s POV“Girl, you need to spill right now. What is going on? You were in the news because of a shooting Mimi!” Isabella sets in on me the second I climb into her car. Guilt hits me like a brick at how concerned she’s been while I’ve been worrying about a bunch of other stuff I want to keep away from her. She’s too pure and happy to see the darker parts of the world, but now I don’t have a choice but to tell her. “It’s a long story.” I say, hoping to brush everything off until tomorrow when it doesn’t feel so raw. I should know better than to expect something like that from her. It’s a shock. I’ve been able to keep any of this a secret for this long. “Mila enough. I know there is something you haven’t been telling me. You think I never noticed the marks or the scars? I said nothing because I didn’t want to push you, but now. You need my help and I will, but please don’t lie to me. I’m your best friend.” She’s right. It’s time I told her everything. “My stepmom has been hurtin