Laura “The food is really good, Laura. You really have excellent cooking skills,” Gideon praised as we all sat at the table eating lunch. Ava cleared her throat and drank her wine right away, clearly finding Gideon's compliment unnecessary. Not that praising someone was wrong, but I could tell that
Laura “The pleasure is all mine, ma'am,” Gideon said, "Goodness, it feels like I’m looking at a slightly older version of Laura. I'm sure you would love to have me as your son-in-law, ma'am, because unlike him, I have always been faithful and in love with your daughter. And just to highlight, I nev
Laura “You heard them, Bathory. Get out of here immediately, or else I will be forced to use brute force,” Jason declared, his face set and his jaw clenched. Suddenly a screaming silence formed there, no one knowing what the next steps would be; no one could lift a fork to their mouth. Everyone wa
Melanie Albert and Max had been friends forever, since before I even met my husband. They were the kind of friends who were always together for everything—inseparable and irreproachable. And I, as Albert's wife, understood their friendship and everything, although, at a certain point, I ended up be
Melanie “What was that scene in the car, Mel? What the hell is going on?” Albert asked as soon as he got home and saw me sitting on the sofa, drinking tea, to calm me down. I had just called Laura to apologize once again to her for everything that had happened. “Why did you just freak out? Like, we
Laura When it was nighttime, our friends had to go to their houses, so we followed them to the garage while we hugged and said goodbye. “Argh, it’s already so late. Why don’t you spend the night here at once?” I suggested it as I hugged Ava affectionately. She giggled. “I think what you want mos
Jason It was early in the morning, and Laura and I were sleeping cuddled up and comfortable. The light in the room was low and recommended for a good night's sleep, so I could see my wife's silhouette and feel her in my arms. She slept so close to me that it would even be a sin to move away from he
Melanie That same night, I felt Albert shake my shoulder lightly as he called out to me. Confused, I woke up looking at him. "What's going on?" I tried to find out, without understanding, why he was waking me up at dawn. “I'm sorry to be waking you up like this at such a time, but I need to talk t
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