LOGINwoke up to Ravenna shaking me awake like the apartment was on fire or something."Babe, I gotta go. I got a meeting at 9 and my boss is gonna kill me if I'm late again," she was saying, already throwing her clothes back on.I groaned and checked my phone. It was like 7:30 in the morning and my head was pounding. The tequila was not it. Not it at all.Wendy came stumbling out of the guest room, looking like she'd been through a war. Her makeup was smudged, her hair was all over the place, and she was moving like every step hurt."I'm leaving too," she announced. "My mom is expecting me for breakfast and if I don't show up she's gonna call the police or something dramatic like that."Elisa emerged from the bathroom, already showered and looking somehow fresh as fuck even after last night. Like, how was she glowing? She caught me staring and smiled—that kind of smile that said everything was cool, everything was normal, we were still us."Y'all are leaving me?" I groaned, but I was alre
The bass was still thumping through the dorm walls when I kicked the door open with my foot, a red Solo cup in each hand and my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. “Girl, move your ass or I’m pouring both of these on you,” I called out, laughing even though my stomach was in knots. Some curly-haired white girl I’d never seen before was already sprawled across my bed like she owned it, phone flashlight on, filming herself doing drunk makeup in my mirror. She glanced over her shoulder, grinned like we were besties, and said, “Yooo, you’re the soccer bitch with the braids, right? This room is fire.” I wanted to tell her to get the fuck off my sheets, but instead I just smirked. “Yeah, and you’re in my bed, so either help me hand these drinks out or get your drunk ass up.” She cackled and rolled off, snatching one of the cups. That’s when I saw the other two girls already posted up on the floor like they’d been waiting for me. One was this tiny, gorgeous Indian chick in
The thing about Fountain Academy's prom is that everyone pretends it matters while secretly knowing it's meaningless. Which is exactly why everyone shows up acting like it's their last night on Earth.I'm wedged against the ballroom's east wall, watching Valentina Ashford work the room like she owns it—which, honestly, she basically does. She's been Rank One for as long as anyone remembers, which means she moves through Fountain's High like the school was built around her shadow. Golden dress. Golden hair catching the light from the ridiculous chandelier someone's dad probably donated. Golden, golden, gold.It's exhausting just watching it."You're at it again," Maya says, appearing next to me with two champagne flutes she definitely stole from the bar."What do you mean?""I mean, you look like you're mentally ranking everyone in the room by their IQ and finding them all disappointing."I don't bother denying it. That's because it's true, and Maya knows I'm not the type to waste ener
They were both staring at me like I'd just told them I'd committed murder."You went to his house," Mila said. Her voice was flat. Dangerous."I didn't know," I said quickly. "I swear to God, I didn't know it was him.""You went to his house," Jayson repeated. He was standing by the window, his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack."I know how it looks—""Do you?" Mila asked. She was standing up now, pacing. "Do you actually know how this looks? You told me you deleted his contact. You told me you were done with him. And then you went to his house and fucked him.""I know," I said. I was crying now. "I know, and I'm sorry, but I didn't know he was the one who posted the video. I didn't know until Cassie called me literally after I was done."Jayson turned to look at me. "You came here after sleeping with him?""Yes, because I found out what he did and I—""So what, you got off, got caught, and decided to come confess?" Jayson said. His voice was hard. Harder than I'd
The penthouse was exactly what I expected. Glass walls overlooking the city. Modern art that probably cost way Everything pristine and cold and utterly Thomas.He was waiting for me when I arrived. Dark jeans. No shirt. Like he knew I wouldn't be able to resist the view of his chest."You came," he said, smiling like he'd known I would."I shouldn't have," I said immediately. "I need to tell you something."He walked toward me slowly. Predatory. Like he was hunting something."I'm in a throuple relationship," I said quickly, before I lost my nerve. "With Mila and Jayson. It's serious. It's commitment."Thomas didn't stop walking. He didn't even pause. He just kept coming until he was standing right in front of me."I don't care," he said simply."You should—"He kissed me before I could finish the sentence.It was the kind of kiss that made thinking impossible. Deep. Commanding. Like he was proving something. His hands came up and cupped my face, tilting my head the way he wanted it.
There are two kinds of students at Fountain Senior High.The ones who spend every semester trying to climb into the Elite Ten, and the ones who pretend they don't care. But neither group is telling the truth.By the time I stepped through the school's wrought-iron gates that Monday morning, the campus already buzzed with the kind of nervous energy that only appeared on ranking day. Students crowded the walkways in neat uniforms, conversations overlapping as everyone tried to predict whose name would rise, whose would fall, and whose future would quietly unravel before the first period.The rankings were more than numbers. They decided scholarships, leadership positions, recommendations, and sometimes, if the rumors were true, the kind of future your parents had always imagined for you.I tightened my grip on my backpack strap and kept walking."You're doing it again."Reese appeared beside me without warning, matching my pace as though she'd been walking with me the whole time."What?
Matthew walked into the Kingland Holdings office building and felt eighteen months of distance collapse.Everything was familiar. The lobby design hadn't changed. The elevator banks were the same. The executive floor layout was identical.But everything was also completely different. Because eighte
The mansion gardens had been transformed without becoming unrecognizable.Simple white flowers hung from strings between trees. Chairs arranged in two sections facing a stone arch. No stage, no grand performance space. Just a place where two people could stand and say things they actually meant.Se
The silence at breakfast was louder than any argument.Matthew sat at the head of the table, scrolling through emails with sharp, efficient movements. Selena entered quietly, poured herself coffee, and sat at the opposite end. Neither of them spoke about the night before. Neither of them looked at
Selena woke slowly to the pale morning light slipping through the curtains. Her body still felt weak, but the fever had finally broken. For a few quiet seconds, she simply lay there listening to the soft sound of rain tapping against the windows.Then her eyes shifted toward the armchair beside the







