“What… What does that mean?” Terrence asked with slightly wide eyes, looking from me to Suzy. I could completely understand his shock; after all, he had done everything to hide the truth from me. “I know everything, Terrence,” I said to him, looking deeply into his eyes. I could feel the raw fear
Ava There was a garden there in the clinic's courtyard where he and I could talk. Terrence took me there and then stood in front of me with his hands in his pockets; he still couldn't look me in the eyes. "How did this happen?" He asked himself more than me, perhaps still wanting to understand whe
Laura When I woke up, it was like waking up from a deep dream—a delirium that made me believe in a complete illusion. I hadn't forgotten anything that had happened to me; I still remembered every detail of what I had experienced, so much so that I couldn't even feel happy about my return. When th
“You have to know how much I sacrificed trying to find you and how much I worked. I gave myself completely to be able to find you, and even though I didn't find you directly, I helped you a lot indirectly because otherwise that bastard Richard could get you out of the United States,” he said, making
Laura Annie asked to spend some time with Suzy, and then Suzy suggested that they play on the porch of my room at the private clinic where I was. I let them go there, but I always kept an eye on Annie. I looked at Ava, knowing that neither Annie nor Suzy were so close that they could hear our con
Laura "Oh, my love. I was so worried when Jason told me what was happening. I'm so happy that you're here with us safely now,” said Rosanne as she hugged me as she entered the clinic room where I was admitted. “Thank you for coming, Rosanne. I'm fine now; you don't need to worry so much,” I said t
“Okay, but if she wanted to date, there are a lot of gentlemen her age who would love to meet her. She doesn't need to be getting involved with a kid who's barely out of diapers,” he said, sounding exasperated. “Why is it so easy to accept when an older man gets involved with a younger woman than w
Laura “Are you saying our love is wrong, Laura?” He asked, looking offended. “What am I really to you, Jason? Be honest,” I responded with a question. “What do you mean, what are you to me? You are my wife,” he said, but I quickly corrected him. "Ex-wife. In case you've forgotten that, I'm st
“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.