Laura I was looking at the scenery outside the car window as night fell over the city. Jason was driving the car, and his hand was in mine, giving me comfort as we followed the car in front of us, the Albert's car which he was with his mother. After the long afternoon of conversation, that woman
Laura The older woman was looking at me with her eyes glazed over, as if she were looking at someone she didn't even know; she even frowned a little in confusion, but it was really her—it was the woman in the picture from the family photo album of Aunt Julie; I could recognize her. “Mommy…” I app
Laura So, after regularizing the entire situation at the clinic, Jason and I took my mother to the car and then took her to the mansion. Her responsible psychiatrist explained to us what clinical situation she was in and what was necessary for a possible recovery, but with nothing guaranteed yet. H
Laura The next morning, it was Jason who woke me up, and I had to lie in bed for a while thinking about what had happened. The day before had been a show of revelations: we had revealed the sex of our babies, who would both be boys; I had asked Jason to marry me; and the icing on the cake had been
Laura Since the Pritchards' children were there at the mansion because of yesterday's gender reveal party, Annie was happily playing with them in the garden after having breakfast. I could see her from the balcony of the room where I was on the top floor of the mansion. My daughter was so happy tha
Laura “Your revelation was beautiful and rewarding, Rosanne. Very important for me and Jason, it's true that now we're going to deal with our relationship in a deeper way than before after knowing what you just told us," I said to her, showing that I was really happy to know that Jason and I had th
Laura Rosanne was efficient on the trip she made to Chicago, not taking many days to get back, and while she didn't return, I followed Vivian's treatment closely. The psychiatrists were doing a great job with her, they were taking care of her and doing therapy with her, so I took her to the garden
Laura “Are you saying she just freaked out?” Jason asked rhetorically as soon as I told him what had happened that afternoon. I shrugged lightly. "At first, she was confusing Annie with me, but then she realized that the girl didn't have all the traits of her daughter that she simply remembers fro
Annie POV Peter Morton’s face was just inches from mine, staring at me. The electric blue of his eyes was so close I could see his irises dilating and contracting. “You okay, Lady Ann?” he asked. I sighed with a small smile, half in delight. “It’s been a while since anyone called me that.” Actual
Annie POV The masked boy—who I didn’t want to admit was Peter—took me to an upscale, comfortable hotel where I could spend the night safely, away from everything, and try to regain my composure and figure out what to do next. “You can stay here,” he said calmly, though his voice still carried a hi
Annie POV The masked boy led me through the dark campus, his hand firm in mine as we ran away from the ballroom. My legs trembled, the blue dress swishing with each step, and tears still streamed down my face, hot and relentless. The sound of the shouts, the judgments, still echoed in my head, bu
“No choice?” He cut me off, his tone incredulous. “Are you serious? You chose to help Madison make that video. You chose to plug it into the projector. And now Annie’s out there, broken, while you try to run from the responsibility. This doesn’t fix anything, Abby. It wasn’t supposed to end like thi
Abby POV I was there, tucked away in the shadows of the ballroom’s corner, my heart still racing as I watched the chaos I’d helped create unfold. The giant screen kept playing that horrible video, distorted and manipulated clips of Annie echoing through the room like a final verdict. People poin
Annie POV I was still on the dance floor, the warmth of the masked boy’s body against mine, my head resting on his chest as the slow music guided us. The sound of his heartbeat against my ear was almost hypnotic, and I let myself get lost in that feeling I couldn’t quite explain. He’d just said s
I swallowed hard, Caleb’s words coming back to haunt me. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe we’ve gone too far?” He’d said that at the mall, and I’d hung up on him, but now they echoed in my head. Annie had hurt me, yes. The fight in the dorm, the way she called me fake, like I was trash she
Abby POV I was leaning against the wall of the ballroom, the cup of punch in my hand already warm and forgotten, as I watched Annie dance with that masked boy. The soft lights of the ball cast shadows over them, and even from so far away, you could feel something in the air—a chemistry almost tangi
Anne POV I was there, trying to at least pretend I was enjoying the party with Summer, letting the loud music and spinning lights distract me from the weight pressing on my chest. Summer danced beside me, throwing her arms up with that endless energy of hers, and I tried to keep up, forcing a smile