Annie As soon as we arrived at the school door, my Mom gave me a hug so nice that it made me lose the desire to leave her. “Have a great day at school, my dear,” she said. “Anything you need, don’t hesitate to call me or your dad, and we’ll come running, okay?” She held my face with her hands, lo
Annie “We waited for you, Annie,” Abby said in a sullen voice. At that moment, she, Caleb and I were sitting on benches in the school yard. Classes hadn't started yet that day, and even if they did, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the activities without talking to those two first. I mean, wh
Laura “Excuse me, Mrs. Davies. You have a call,” Zoey, my secretary, said on the other end of the intercom. “Really?” I asked in surprise. “Send it to me, please.” “Alright,” the girl replied. It was almost the end of work that day; in a little while I was leaving the office to go home. Annie h
Laura “Girls, I'm not going to lie, I miss my husband so much!” Ava cried. We were still having our girls' night, drinking and having fun while talking. Ava's husband was spending time at one of the branches of the Davies company, located somewhere in Pretoria, which is why she missed her husband b
Jason “Has she been in her room since she got back from school?” I asked my boys as I looked towards the stairs. “Yes, that’s right,” Stephen replied. “She said she had a lot of material to catch up on.” I had my hands on my hips as I looked in that direction, trying to figure out if it would be
Jason “Are you going to use the jiu-jitsu moves you’ve been learning, dad?” Stephen was asking from the backseat as they and I headed towards the location where Laura was. “Ah, I'm going to use a lot more than just Jiu-jitsu moves, boy. Make sure of it,” I said as I drove. Apparently, Laura had
Gideon Bathory The golf course in Manhattan was more than a place for sports. It was a symbol of exclusivity, power and, above all, wealth. Even though I was used to places like that, I couldn't help but notice how surreal the environment was. The impeccable grass looked like a living carpet, the a
Gideon Bathory I should have known that asking Jason for help was a colossal mistake. He never liked me, and maybe he had his reasons. Our past is a minefield, full of resentments and unresolved disputes. Jason always saw me as a threat, even in times when our lives didn't intersect so much. So wh
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