LauraI was giving Suzy some advice about motherhood, telling her what she should and shouldn't do and how she should take care of a baby. “If you can, hire a specialized professional to accompany you in these first weeks; all care is extremely necessary,” I said to her, ending up remembering the t
Laura “Can I try to guess who you’re thinking about? You’re thinking about your boyfriend, aren’t you?” Suzy said it with a suspicious smile. It was true that my thoughts were far away. “Boyfriend… I don’t even know if I have a boyfriend anymore, Suzy,” I said to her with a sad sigh. “What happ
Laura“I'm going to make you a proposition now, Laura,” Gideon said. “Why don’t you come and live with me in London? New opportunities would open up for you there; there is guaranteed security to raise a child, and above all, you would be far from the temptation that Jason Davies makes you go throug
LauraI was stunned by the rudeness of the man's words. "What? I was talking to my daughter; please give her the cell phone,” I asked. “First you talk to me. Do you happen to have plans to separate me from my daughter, huh?” he asked accusingly. “Do you want to go live in London with Bathory, that
SuzyIn the days that followed, when I was able to leave the hospital and return home, Terence took my daughter and me to the house he had bought for us. It was a very cozy place that had a beautiful garden and a good breeze. The house was already well-equipped and had good rooms to live in. He had
SuzyNow Clary and I were sitting in my living room, with the fireplace lit, making the atmosphere feel bolder. I had my daughter on my lap as I put her back to sleep, looking after her carefully as she was very delicate as she was only a week old. Clary was smoking nearby as we smoked and talked n
SuzyDays later, on a warm afternoon, I received a visit from Laura along with her daughter. I really had to get ready to receive them because I wanted her to have an impression of how well I was doing in my home and new life. After she helped me so much, she kind of deserved to see me well and stab
SuzyIt was raining that night, and suddenly I saw Terence park his car in front of my house. He got out of his car and ran to the front door of my house. I went to open the door for him. "My God! This rain caught me on the way here,” he said, taking his jacket and leaving it on the hanger next to
“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.