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
Today, I decided to cook my husband's favorite dish. I always enjoyed pleasing him and taking care of our marriage. I wanted him to know how much I loved him and how happy I was that he married me. We got married right after college, and we had been together for five years. My husband, Jason Davies
"Jason did what? Good Lord!" I heard my friend practically scream with surprise on the other end of the line. She seemed stunned by that sudden news. "Tell me it's not true, Laura, please." "I wish it were untrue too, Ava, but Jason just left the house with his bags..." I said, my voice still choke
"What do you mean you have a bride? You’re joking, right?" I stuttered, completely stunned as my husband introduced the girl as his bride. "Don't look so surprised, Laura. It's not like this is anything new," Jason said, shrugging slightly, his demeanor oddly calm. Suddenly my throat felt so dry,
"Oh yes, right!" Jason said, practically celebrating as soon as I finished signing the papers. He was checking to make sure there were no errors that could jeopardize the process in the future, as what he wanted most was to get this divorce to finally live his love story with his great passion, Kend
Laura After I divorced Jason, things quickly started to become torture for me. I lost friends and people who I thought liked me but who only smiled at me because I was married to Jason, and now that I was separated from him, I no longer had any influence on them, so they started to pull away from m
LauraI was crying like never before. I was devastated and broke. Seeing Jason with his new wife in that restaurant broke me completely. He was taking his life, living his dream next to that woman, while I only sank even deeper into my pain. I was in the bathroom of the employee restaurant, throwin
Laura 5 years later "Mommy, please wake up. You have to take me to daycare." I heard my daughter's voice waking me up, so I opened my eyes. She was lying on top of me, spreading cute little kisses on my face. She was an adorable five-year-old girl with beautiful turquoise blue eyes. The color of h
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.
Annie POV I was still trying to process everything that had happened at the square. Caleb’s words—“I hope you suffer”—mixed with Nadia’s ultimatum about my revoked candidacy had left me in pieces. My dream of leading the student council, something I saw as the first step toward following in my mom’
Annie POV I was still sitting on the bench in the square, the echo of Caleb’s words reverberating in my head like thunder that wouldn’t fade. "I hope you suffer." He had shoved the bouquet of pink flowers against my chest and stormed off, leaving me with a mix of shock, anger, and something that