Laura My daughter wanted a snack, so I took her to the clinic canteen, where I could buy her anything to eat. I ordered some snacks and natural strawberry juice that she loved so much, and then we both sat at one of the tables in the room, like other patients and staff were doing. “Are you enjoyi
Laura "What?" I was completely in shock at what I had just heard. "What did you do?" "Actually, it wasn't like that; I mean, I did sleep with another woman, but technically it wasn't with my consent... I mean, I was drunk and Suzy wanted to use that to blackmail me,” he explained, and I blinked my
Laura The surgical procedure that Ava underwent had worked, but she needed to sleep there in the clinic in case she had any complications. She was beaming when Annie and I saw her. Terrence was by her side, never letting go of her hand. I decided to keep a smile on my face so as not to ruin her hap
Laura He surprised me when he placed his hand on my thigh, caressed it lightly and continued acting as if it were the most normal thing possible. I gasped, feeling the weight of his hand on my leg despite the fabric of my skirt covering my skin. I looked at him, who looked at me reflexively and gav
Laura “Dear Lord, when I get to heaven, please, let me bring my man~,” Jason hummed, following the lyrics of the song that played from the car stereo he had turned on himself. “It’s your favorite song, right? Or is it not anymore?” He asked with a smile as he tried to get me to return to the conver
"What did you say? Are you serious that you asked that? I swear, Laura, your lack of ambition sometimes surprises me,” he said, shaking his head. “I am ambitious, Jason,” I replied. “Apparently not so much,” he said, chuckling. “I can't just let that woman take everything that's mine like that;
Laura My breathing became ragged because of his touches; having his hands caressing my body with so much appreciation, his nose occupied with smelling my skin, and his arms pulling me closer to him made me close my eyes and pant in my own penury. I could feel his rigid body like a wall behind me, f
Laura “I'll tell you what ails me, Laura. I miss you, waking up alone in this bed, and not being able to have you by my side every morning. Is it too much to ask to want things to go back to the way they were before?” He asked, still sitting on the bed, facing me. “You know I have other goals in l
“Why do you keep hanging out with them, Abby?” he asked, and now there was a note of concern that annoyed me even more. “You know Madison’s not good for you. She uses you, and you let her.” “It’s none of your business,” I shot back, my voice sharp. “I do what I want, Caleb. Bye.” I hung up before h
Abby POV It was a lazy Sunday, and I was at the mall’s food court, waiting at the counter to pick up snacks for myself and the “new friends” I’d managed to latch onto. The smell of grease and cheap coffee filled the air, and the hum of conversations mixed with the muffled pop music from the speaker
Caleb, Abby, Madison, Nadia—they all spun through my head like a broken carousel. I wanted to tell my parents everything, collapse and ask for help, but the thought of seeing disappointment in their eyes—or worse, them trying to intervene at Oxwell to “save” me—made me swallow the words. I had to fi
Annie POV It was the weekend, and I was at home, trying to take deep breaths and pretend everything was okay. The Oxwell campus was a few hours away, giving me temporary relief from the chaos my life had become. Here, with my parents and the twins, I could at least try to be the old Annie—the exc
Max POV Walking beside someone who’d once meant so much to me felt strange. I couldn’t stop thinking that our breakup had been a waste, couldn’t stop remembering how happy I’d been with this guy, only to ruin it all because of my ego, because of a toxic fixation I had on Albert. Conrad Adams walke
Max POV was stunned when Albert told me that, my mouth even went dry because I wasn’t expecting to hear it. Conrad Adams was back. He was my boyfriend in my early twenties. I met him through Albert, who was close friends with him during the dark days of his family’s company. Conrad was a good guy
Max POV I was driving through the city with the radio on low, just a background murmur to keep the silence from swallowing me whole, when my phone buzzed on the dashboard. Zoey. Of course it was her. The girl had already wormed her way into my house like a high-heeled parasite, and now, apparently,
Annie POV After the moment at the mall, I returned to the dorm with a tight chest, carrying the bags with the blue dress Summer had insisted I buy. The plan was to distract myself, but Madison’s words—“racist,” “canceled piece of trash”—spun in my head like a broken record, mingling with Nadia’s re
When I met her last week at a council meeting, I could tell she’d be a challenge—confident, charismatic, the type who knew how to play the game. “Ugh, Madison Goodwin is here too. What a rotten day,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. Of course Abby would get close to Madison—she was her adopted cousin.