He snorted now, lighting his cigar. "Good times, you say. The only thing I remember is you leaving me, bitch,” he retorted, apparently still holding a grudge over what happened between us in the past. “You can't blame me for deciding not to go along with this dirty scheme you're up to your neck in,
SuzyMy legs were wobbly when I left that diner and staggered to the car. Once inside, I quickly grabbed a paper bag and threw in all the dinner that I had eaten that night. I rested the back of my head on the seat and breathed through my mouth, trying to regain my stability and control my emotions.
“Gammy…” I stammered, hugged him, and ended up crying. I didn't know if it was from missing him or from all the pressure I had felt in the last few hours. Likewise, I just felt like I needed to collapse into the arms of someone who cared for me and cry like a hurt child. Gammy took me to a snack ba
SuzyI looked at him without being able to understand all the insistence that came from him. He was asking me to convince Laura to forgive him, but why would I do that? I mean, not that I didn't want Gammy to reconcile with his sister, but knowing Laura as I did, I could imagine that Gammy had done
Laura“Laura? Can I get in?" Suzy asked, peeking in the doorway of my home office. “Of course, please come in,” I said to her, motioning for her to come in and then turning my attention back to the monitor in front of me. It hadn't been long since Gideon had left, especially because he also had com
Laura“Please, Laura. Can you reconsider?” Suzy insisted. “Gammy is not the monster you believe him to be. Has he wronged you in the past? Yes, but everyone ends up making mistakes, right? The important thing is that he wants to redeem himself now. You shouldn't be so hard on him.”I sighed audibly
SuzyAfter so much insistence, Laura had finally let Gammy into her house. I had a radiant smile on my face; it was almost impossible to believe that I had managed to convince her. Gammy had gotten what he wanted, so now I could get the money from this millionaire family of mine. I couldn't wait for
SuzyWhen I said goodnight to Gammy and went to my room, I couldn't help but cry like a condemned woman. I felt so bad for having pressured Laura to take her brother back. Even though she had her reasons, I behaved like a really selfish person, so even if I had my reasons too, that didn't stop me fr
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.
Annie POV I was still trying to process everything that had happened at the square. Caleb’s words—“I hope you suffer”—mixed with Nadia’s ultimatum about my revoked candidacy had left me in pieces. My dream of leading the student council, something I saw as the first step toward following in my mom’
Annie POV I was still sitting on the bench in the square, the echo of Caleb’s words reverberating in my head like thunder that wouldn’t fade. "I hope you suffer." He had shoved the bouquet of pink flowers against my chest and stormed off, leaving me with a mix of shock, anger, and something that