Chapter 19

Chloe's POV 

By the time the glowing digits on Maya’s alarm clock shifted to 9:00 PM, I was practically vibrating with impatience. I sat cross legged on the edge of the mattress, my eyes glued to the window.

A faint rustle from the bushes below caught my attention. A figure in my favorite oversized cashmere coat emerged into the dim moonlight, looking completely out of place.

It was Maya.

A smile touched my lips. I didn’t dare head downstairs toward the front door. Back at my real house, whenever I got into a fight with my parents, I would lock myself away and stay completely out of sight. It was a flawless strategy, the silence always made them feel guilty, and within a few hours, they’d be knocking on my door to apologize and give me whatever I wanted. 

I figured the same rule applied here. If I stayed hidden in this bedroom, Maya's parents would eventually think they had pushed me too hard and come up to make peace.

I slid the window pane upward, and leaned over the sill. "Up here," I hissed into the cool night air.

Maya looked up, her expression tight and miserable in my gorgeous, pristine skin. She didn't say a word as she walked over to the side of the house, gripping the sturdy wooden trellis by the wall, and carefully climbed up the sturdy rungs until she was level with my second story window.

The moment she reached the sill, she didn't even try to climb inside. She just extended her hand, the sleek, matte black surface of my American Express card gleaming under the moonlight.

"Here," Maya whispered, her voice sharp with exhaustion. "Take it."

I snatched the plastic out of her hand, running my thumb over the raised lettering of my own name. A profound wave of relief washed over me. With this back in my possession, I was finally holding the keys to my actual kingdom.

"Thanks," I said nonchalantly, tossing the card casually onto the nearby nightstand as if it were a piece of scrap paper.

Maya’s eyes narrowed, her knuckles whitening as she held onto the window frame. "What exactly are you planning to do with that, Chloe? Why did you make me risk sneaking out of your house just to bring you a credit card?"

"Don't worry about it," I replied, waving a hand dismissively. I leaned against the window frame, rolling my eyes as the irritation from earlier resurfaced. "Honestly, you wouldn't believe the absolute nightmare I’ve been dealing with downstairs. Your parents are completely losing their minds at me just because I refused to go to some stupid corporate event this Friday."

Maya blinked, her expression instantly shifting from annoyance to pure, unadulterated shock. "Wait... what event?"

"Apparently, your dad got some big regional promotion at his company," I sighed, picking at a loose thread on Maya's sweater. "They're holding this boring conference and a banquet right after school on Friday. They expect me to sit there for hours and support him or whatever. Like, uh-uh. No way."

"Chloe, what did you do?" Maya gasped, her voice trembling as she stared at me through the glass. "I seriously cannot believe you. You have to go downstairs right now and apologize to them!"

"Apologize? For what?" I scoffed.

"My parents take anything involving family incredibly seriously!" Maya hissed, leaning closer into the window space. "My dad has been sacrificing his sleep, working late nights for five years to get that position. This is the biggest milestone of his career, and you just threw it back in his face?"

"Look, I'm happy for him, truly," I said, my voice dripping with casual indifference. "But it's landing on Friday night. Jaxon invited me to Kane's house party, and there is absolutely no way I am missing the biggest night of the semester just to sit in a corporate hall."

"You can't do this!" Maya’s voice cracked with a mix of anger and desperation. "You cannot make my family dislike me over a high school party! When we finally switch back, I’m the one who has to face the damage you’re causing!"

"Oh, please. They'll get over it," I countered coldly, crossing my arms over my chest. "Families always do. So don't even bother stressing yourself out about it."

"They aren't going to just 'get over it,' Chloe! You don't know them," Maya fired back, her eyes flashing fiercely in the dark. 

"And logistically, your plan makes zero sense. My parents are never, ever going to let you leave the house for a party when there's an important family obligation on the exact same night. They will lock this house down."

I leaned forward, dropping all the fake warmth from my expression. "How I get there is none of your business, Maya," I whispered sharply. "I am going to that party on Friday night, and I don't care what I have to do or how I have to do it to make it happen."

Maya stared at me, utterly speechless, the sheer selfishness of my words leaving her paralyzed on the trellis.

"So do me a favor," I added, giving her a fake smile. "Just get the hell out of my sight, climb back down, and keep pretending to be me while I finish fixing your dumb, invisible life."

Without waiting for her response, I grabbed the wooden window frame and slammed it shut, sliding the lock firmly into place. I pulled the heavy curtains closed, completely shutting out the night, and picked up the black card from the nightstand with a triumphant grin.

Friday was coming, and nothing in this world was going to stop me.