"Mommy?" My daughter called softly as she entered the room. I quickly wiped the tears away and lifted my head to look at her. “Come, my little angel,” I called to her, opening my arms. She walked over to me, climbed onto the bed, and hugged me. "Are you sick?" She asked, worried about me. I sm
Terrence Weeks later Ava and I were in a routine appointment with the neurologist who was taking good care of her pregnancy. Ava was lying on the couch while the doctor was doing the ultrasonography, and we were showing our child on the display. “Can you see its heart beating?” the doctor asked,
She gave a grumble and nodded. “The baby is growing well, but Suzy is a bit stubborn,” she said. “What do you mean stubborn?” I asked curiously. “She doesn’t really like following the rules. I once caught her smoking in secret, even after I asked her to stop smoking now that she is expecting a c
Jason Terrence didn't know it, but I had been following him all day. He had told me he was going to meet Ava for her routine prenatal appointment, so without letting him know, I went after him. I needed to talk to Laura and see my daughter, but since Laura had blocked all contact with me and hadn't
I had practically lost all my money and positions; my influence in that city had been taken from me, and my name was being associated with worse things. All the friends and companions that I believed loved me and would stay by my side forever left me; even Terrence was a little distant, preferring t
Laura “Who had the brilliant idea of hiring Barney? My daughter is loving it,” I said with a giggle as I watched Annie playing with the party entertainer, who was wearing a Barney dinosaur costume. There were more than twenty children there playing and having fun with my daughter; they were her
“I don’t know, honey. The last time I saw him at the prenatal appointment, I almost couldn't resist hugging him. I don’t think I could handle it this time,” she replied. I gently held her arm and caressed her. “And why do you have to hold back?” I suggested it with a smile. Ava shook her head. “
Laura “What the heck, huh? What a big crazy sweeper!" exclaimed Suzy, as we all looked at Jason quite shocked. Had he really dressed up as Barney to sneak into my house while my daughter's party was going on? Well, why couldn't I be surprised? I lifted my hand to him. “Give me my cell phone,” I
“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.