Nina “I’m ready to cooperate with my treatment.” A smile spread across Edward’s face at my words. “I’m so glad, Nina,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. “Shall we begin?” I nodded. “Repeat after me…” … Over the course of the next several treatment sessions, Edward’s treatment began to work. S
Nina While I slept, I had a strange dream. I dreamed that I was walking through the forest just outside of campus. I recognized where I was, and I knew the path well as I walked. Up ahead, I could make out the clearing where I had last kissed Justin on the night that I discovered that he was a rog
“My name is Nina Harper…” “Your name is Nina Harper, and you are a student at Mountainview University.” I clamped my hands down harder on my ears and scrunched my eyes shut. “...I am a patient at Mountainview Psychiatric Facility.” “You are not sick, and Edward will not fix you.” I shook my head
Enzo I should’ve known that Lisa couldn’t be trusted. I thought for sure that I had her on my side thanks to my own abilities, but as it turned out, whatever training Edward had given her made her completely invulnerable to me -- and, in turn, her own hypnotic words lulled me into a false sense of
“Where is she?” I croaked. Edward chuckled. “She’s right next door, where she’ll be able to hear your torture. But don’t worry -- she thinks that you’re just the Big Bad Wolf.” “That’s not true.” “Oh, but it is,” Edward replied. “She’s such a simple girl. Just a few days of treatment was all it t
Nina Edward left and didn’t come back for a long time. I laid on the bed, trapped there in my restraints as I waited for him to come back. Eventually, the medicine stopped making me fade in and out of consciousness so much. I knew that that meant that Edward would return soon to give me more, and
I sat up then. “How much longer until he comes back?” “Not long,” Cora replied. “He’s going to beat Enzo again and again until it breaks you, unless you do something about it.” Suddenly, I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. If I thought hard enough, I could remember the way that Enzo’s arms f
Nina For hours after I threw up my medicine, all I could hear were the sounds of Edward beating Enzo in the room next door. I wished that I could just go in there and stop him, but I knew it would be a futile effort; I had to be smart about this if I really was going to get Enzo and I out of this p
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied