"I-I have money, I can talk to them." "You can't talk to criminals, you're probably going to die today." "What should I do...?" "Why would a beggar help you?" Conrad shot. Albert remembered that he had called him a beggar moments ago. Clone beggar, to be more exact. "Okay, okay, I understand, bu
"Are you thinking about jumping off the bridge?" Albert almost jumped with shock when he heard the other person's voice right next to him. He had come... Albert wasn't that stupid after all. "I shall... Why did you take so long?" Albert was angry. The guy sat on the floor, still breathing hard from
He was grateful. All the memories of the night before hit him. He got up and went to where the sound was coming from. "What are you doing?" Albert was trying to get rid of the broken dishes, there was a whole mess in his kitchen: broken eggs, a lot of scattered flour, and the like. "What a mess!You
When they felt ready, Albert called his car. It was late at night when they left the apartment. Conrad was driving Albert's car, since that car would be his from now on. The car was totally different from his family's old truck, which they used from time to time. Albert's car was luxurious; the engi
To tell the truth, it was somewhat relaxing to be able to wake up without worries like before, now that he had switched lives with Conrad, he could pretend to be a simple carefree guy whose only concern he could have was putting food on the table. That didn't seem that difficult. Conrad had a routi
"It's hot today, right?" he commented, undoing the top few buttons on her shirt. "I don't think so," she denied it, brushing her long, wavy hair behind her ear. "Do you want a drink? I have coffee." "I'd love to," she smiled and went to the kitchen, which was open in bold style. The apartment was
Being in that old car meant freedom for him. He could do whatever he wanted at any time, there was no one there to watch him, no cameras or paparazzi, and he could not fake things to please everyone. He put on some rock music, turned on the truck's speaker loudly, and went all the way to the communi
He went to the building manager, he wanted permission to use the terrace for a few hours. After a brief conversation, the building manager gave permission, and Albert went up to the terrace. When he got there, he prepared the place by putting on lights that weren't so bright but would be visible a
“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.