Laura I stayed there for a while, trying to compose myself and not focus on what was happening. I shouldn't care what Jason did or who he hung out with; it definitely shouldn't affect me. He was just living his life as a free adult man; if he wanted to get involved with other people, so be it. I un
“As I said, and I'll say it again, Gideon must have just gone overboard with what he said; you're probably stressing yourself out in vain, Avie,” I said, always trying to calm things down. But she was shaking her head, rejecting my words. "No, please. Stop it, Lau. I know you're just saying this s
Jason “So, Davies. Will you or will you not fulfill my condition?” Gideon Bathory asked, still expectant, his cell phone in his hand, threatening to call my ex-wife to defame me and take away her peace just because he wanted to play the good guy and get in her good graces. After all, he was dying f
Jason It was incredible how I came to love every corner of her, every detail of her face, and every feature. It was just amazing how my heart beat every time she was around. That could only be God's punishment, loving in this painful way the person I hurt the most in my life. I was definitely being
Terence Sleeping alone was awful; I simply hated it. I was used to feeling like my wife's body was lying next to me; that made me feel calm and safe, but today I had no choice but to sleep somewhere else because Ava hadn't let me go back to the apartment where I, she and the children were for Joshu
Terence When we arrived at the desired room, security guards opened the doors for us, and we could both see Joshua and his fiancée in a luxurious and modern living room, with a completely open and curtained wall on the side letting fresh air enter the compartment. The entire room was a complete lux
Laura I loved brushing my daughter's silky black hair and styling her just right to look presentable. We had to go to a wedding now, and there was something therapeutic about taking care of my princess; it made me calm and happy, and it did me good. So I took care of her, giving her hair a pretty
Laura “Do you both love or hate each other? It's time to get this story straight. Between hate and love, what will last? You two have a week to figure this out,” the content of the letter was saying. "What? One week?" I babbled confusedly as I read those very few words that barely gave us any cons
“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.