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
Laura When my mother-in-law returned from Chicago to the mansion there in Manhattan, she brought with her the photo album that she so wanted to show me, which proved that what she had said about having already met my mother was true. “Do you see me here?” She said this as she pointed to a photo ta
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
“She’s an idiot,” Summer said, crossing her arms as she looked at me with concern. “You okay?” “Yeah,” I lied, grabbing a cup of punch just to have something to do with my hands. “I just… I just want this to stop, you know? For people to leave me alone.” Before Summer could reply, I felt him befor
Anne POV It was the day of the freshman ball, and I stood in front of the mirror in my dorm room, the blue dress Summer had insisted I buy staring back at me. The fabric draped lightly over my body, the delicate sleeves and simple cut highlighting my shoulders and collarbone in a way I knew was bea
“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