Prologue

"Mum.. please, don't. Don't do this." I cried helplessly. Unwelcomed tears spilled down my cheeks as I tried to breath in and out slowly, careful not to choke on my own breath.

"Get out of my house!" My mother yelled from up the stairs as she threw my belongings at me. My clothes,shoes and books spattered all around me but I didn't bother to pick them up.

I was too busy pleading with her to change her mind and forgive me. My knees felt numb from kneeling so much on the cold floor— my voice cracking from screaming so loud.

"Mum, I'm sorry please. Forgive me..." I responded hoarsely as more tears blocked my vision. "I can't leave. I'm sorry for what I did... But.. you can't make me leave, please."

My mother just shook her head angrily and glared at me. She looked incredibly unstable, and her hands continued trembling while they balled into fists. Her usually calm face was raging with fury and I scooted away in fear. She had already slapped me countless times and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. The sting on my cheeks was almost unbearable.

"You have to leave." Her response was absolute when she glared at me. " Your father can't find you here. God knows what he'll do to you. He has seen the video too."

I froze. Raw fear gripped me and it took all ounce left in me to refrain from screaming my lungs out in frustration.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up. For a moment time stood still as I stared at her anguished eyes. Unshed tears glistened in her eyeballs and for one insane second, I thought I saw pain flashing in her eyes. She quickly looked away from me,her hands clutching at the railings.

All this time I had really wished,hoped that my father would not stumble upon that obscene video. How could I be so lucky?

Everyone had obviously seen it. I replayed the events in my head of how I had stumbled upon the video and felt my heart sink. I still couldn't believe what had happened. It felt like a bad dream that I would wake up from but when would that be?

My whole world was falling apart.

I had walked into the familiar hallways of my high school like I usually did everyday but the sudden hush that befell the place was deafening. Everybody turned to look at me and I immediately figured that something was off.

My first thought was that maybe my relationship with Blake was no longer a secret and I brushed it off feeling relieved since we would not be hiding in the shadows anymore. I was tired of sneaking around just to have a taste of him.

But why the whispers? Why was everyone staring at me? Why were they laughing? Surely it wasn't that bad secretly dating the school's sweetheart, Blake McIver.

"What's going on?" I laughed nervously when I approached the kids from my class. My stomach churned with anticipation and fear but I did not falter. My once friendly classmates stepped away and just stared at me without compassion.

"She hasn't seen the video?" A random voice said behind me and my smile faded.

The video? What video?

That's when I realized that everyone was looking at their phones.

I quickly grabbed my phone from the backpack and sure enough, I had received a video from a private number. With trembling fingers, I opened it and my heart dropped into my stomach. I could hear blood pumping in my veins and for a moment, I felt dizzy.

The voices,the moans and the naked body of the girl in the video were all too familiar that I could hardly believe it. All the oxygen drained from the room and the pulse quickened in my ears as I watched a guy whose face was hidden from the camera push his erection into her wet—my wet..

"She's acting all surprised than the rest of us." I heard someone say far, far away. The words kept on echoing in my head as I stared at my phone, trying desperately not to scream.

"Hey, Isla. The bj was one of the best I have ever seen, I bet you.." The rest of the words were swallowed by the laughter that erupted afterwards and I felt my feet lose their energy.

My throat felt tight. Bitterness whirled inside me as I watched the video over and over again, unmoving. I don't remember how long I stood there or how the hell I got home but the ache in my heart was all I could feel. It was dominant now, strangling me.

It was one thing for my mother and the entire school to watch the leaked sex tape—but my father... He was going to kill me.

"Mum, please... You've got to help me." The tears in my eyes stung. I trembled furiously as I watched her slowly walk towards me with her deathly glare boring into my skull. "I'm so sorry for all of it." I added slowly.

"You knew what you were doing, Isla." The vein in her forehead protruded as she jabbed her finger at me while spitting venomously." I've never been so disgusted in my life. This isn't on me. I didn't raise a harlot."

I wiped my moist cheek with the back of my hand and turned away. I couldn't face her. The guilt was eating me up. " I can't leave, mum. I have nowhere else to go." A strangled sob escaped from my mouth and I broke down again.

From the corner of my eye,I saw my big brother Adrian watching the unfolding scene from the kitchen. I couldn't read his expression as he stood there motionless,his face white as a ghost. Our eyes met for a brief moment but he tore his gaze away quickly before I could fathom what emotions they held. I could tell from his shamefaced expression that he was guilty as sin.

He had shown mum the tape.

"I'm pretty sure the boy you've been sneaking into your room and having sex with will gladly let you crush at his house." My mother snapped and stormed towards me, grabbing my arm hard. I yelped in pain as her fingernails dug into my skin as she literally dragged me out of the house. There was nothing left that I could do as she shoved me outside, turning her back on me. A bag hurriedly packed with my stuff followed suit before the door was shut at my face.

"Mum!" I pounded on the door like a lunatic hoping that she would change her mind and let me in. When I tried the handle I found that it was locked and I turned to look out at the world." Please open up. Adrian!"

It was almost dusk and a dark cloud hovered above. It was going to rain soon. My heart raced and I panicked as I beat on the door again, unable to stop the pitiful sob that found its way out of my mouth. It was followed by another but I didn't even try to contain it. "Mum, please."

There was no movement behind the door and I sat down on the steps in defeat. Helpless. Hopeless. And alone. The freezing air whipped my hair in front of my teary face and I moped it away angrily. I broke down and cried till I couldn't anymore.

It started raining.

I checked my phone but there were no new messages or calls. Apart from the hundred texts I had sent Blake begging, pleading with him to give me an explanation why he taped and leaked the video,there was nothing much.I tried calling him for the umpteenth time but my calls went straight to voicemail.

How had everything changed so fast?

Just the other day he was in my room making love to me when the rest of my family were dead asleep. He had kissed me passionately as our bodies joined into one, and whispered his love for me in my ear. It was all taped—everything. From the foreplay, the deep thrusts, the moans.. even when our breaths grew ragged as we rode out our orgasm together. All of it was taped without my knowledge. And now everyone had seen it. Even my mother. My father...

And only my face was in the video. Everyone had seen my most intimate moment. I watched the tape for the last time and deleted it from my phone permanently.

I was heartbroken and completely destroyed. How could Blake do this to me? How could he? What did I do to deserve this? Heart beating madly, I texted him, briefly telling him I had been thrown out of my house and I had nowhere else to go. Not that I expected a reply. He had completely ghosted me the whole day. I had not even seen him at school.

I called Stephanie,my best friend and like every body else, she didn't pick up. After my call went unanswered for the seventh time, I gave up. I was tempted to go to her house but I didn't know what her reaction would be— what her parents' reaction would be. They must have heard about the video too,if not seen it. They wouldn't even let me close to their daughter. That I was sure of.

Left with no other choice,I stepped out of the porch and started down the sidewalk as the heavy rain soaked me from head to toe. I didn't have any direction but there was no telling where I'll end up. Not that it mattered.

I needed to get far, far away from everyone and everything.

My life had officially been torn apart by the love of my life.

Blake Devon McIver.