Laura “If you want to hit someone, hit me and not her,” I challenged him with my eyes still in fury still holding his arm. I wasn't going to let anyone hurt my daughter, not when I was still breathing. “You bitch!” He yelled at me and slapped me hard across the face, so hard that he knocked me to
“I will give you anything you want, but please let me have my daughter,” I begged again. I couldn't bear to hear my daughter crying, not really. He clicked his tongue as if it wasn't relevant to him. “She's a tantrum child, soon she'll stop crying and go to sleep,” he said, dismissing my request.
Jason "What? Is Suzy pregnant?” I asked in surprise after hearing Terrence's speech. I was in my office while finishing the last appointments for today; I was thinking about calling Laura and inviting her and Annie out for dinner tonight, that would be nice, although I thought Laura would probably
“I don't know exactly; she's saying that she's already given up and that she thinks she should continue alone, she also said that she and Annie are going far away and that they'll never come back, and that I shouldn't look for them,” I said, suddenly starting to feel a bitter taste in my mouth. “W
Suzy Ignoring any kind of warning that my instinct was sending me, I remained there, squatting among the bushes. It had been some time since the elegant woman had entered the wooden house, and everything was as silent as death. As Richard had closed all the windows in the room, I couldn't see what
“Suzy? What do you think you are doing?” He asked aggressively, already raising the gun towards me. I had been caught; now I would be killed. “You had so many chances to escape, Suzy, you fool,” I fought with myself in my thoughts. “Now you’re going to die like an idiot!” “What do you mean? What
Laura I tried to free myself from my bonds again; I had to find a way to save my daughter. That's when I heard voices arguing loudly in the compartment where my daughter was, and then the sound of a gunshot made me freeze. "Annie? My God, my daughter," I screamed in shock. My eyes were wide as I
“My mom doesn't like cutting her hair,” said Annie, and reflexively, I shielded her with my body. Richard and his partner laughed. “I think your Mommy is used to getting her hair cut in those fancy salons where the price of a session there would be enough to support all the homeless people in New
“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.