Anne When the teacher left after the class was over, the students in the classroom started to make the usual noise when they talk to each other. I still couldn't believe that the boy sitting behind me was actually Peter Morton, so I turned to him since I already had something to talk about, which w
Anne It all started when I was 11 years old and Peter Morton wanted to kill his stepdad. “Does your Dad have a gun?” He asked when he and I were hiding in the ceiling of the ballroom where Uncle Jake's and his mom's wedding was taking place. "What?" For a moment, I thought I hadn't heard correctl
Anne That night, Peter and I had a lot of fun together. We played subtle pranks on Uncle Jake and his fiancée, things that didn't really hurt, but that took away his peace in some way, for example, like pouring olive oil in his wine, filling with salt his slice of wedding cake, putting a fart cushi
Laura “Which dish do you prefer for our supper tonight? Fettuccine with mushrooms or filet mignon with duchesses potatoes?” Jason asked me on the other end of the line. He seemed excited to prepare dinner for me, which pleased me. “Um, I love a buttered filet mignon, but I also can't resist fettuc
Laura “Lindsay! It's been a long time,” I said excitedly, going over to hug her as she entered my office room. “Oh, Laura, I missed you so much,” she said with a smile for me as she returned my hug. I really didn't have any issues with her because I always liked her. She has always been an excelle
Laura I couldn't believe that Lindsay Roberts, that is, Lindsay Bathory, was right here in front of me, begging to come back to work at Hextec with me. I mean, she was the one who had left all that behind to get married and went to live in London and started a new life there with her husband; years
Laura “Are you telling me Lindsay and Gideon are divorced?” Ava was surprised when she asked that. She and I were in the living room of a massage parlor, wearing lilac terrycloth robes and drinking sparkling wine. As agreed, after I got off work, Ava and I went to the spa. So she and I were spellin
Laura “So, Lau. Did you manage to speak to your daughter?” Ava asked when I came back to them after leaving for a while to go call Annie on the balcony of the luxury massage parlor we were at. “Oh, yes. Yes, I did,” I replied with a relieved sigh as I sat back down. “She's just busy with an algebr
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