Novels by Lilou Vervaine

ELENA “You’re stuck with me,” James said with a crooked grin, her fingers curling around mine before I had the chance to protest. He tugged me forward, leading the way toward the lunch table with a playful determination that made it clear I had no say in the matter.I stumbled a little, trying to keep up while balancing the flimsy lunch tray in my other hand. My grip tightened instinctively—every slight jostle felt like a disaster waiting to happen. The juice box had already tipped sideways during our abrupt takeoff and now lay awkwardly on its side, pressed against the edge of the tray like a fallen soldier. Thankfully, the food—or whatever mystery meal they’d served today—hadn’t shifted much. He didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he did and just didn’t care. His laugh—low and unbothered—floated back to me as we moved through the maze of students.A quiet smile crept across my lips as he gently tugged me forward. His hand didn’t leave mine, not even as we weaved past scattered cha

ELENA I should have known. I mean I did know better but something kept pulling us together.“I will avoid him,” I told myself after I pushed him, out of my room last night. I had to let him leave, I didn’t want him thinking he could just sleep with me whenever he pleased.The drive to school was silent and it made me uncomfortable. I glanced at him several times, wondering if he remembered anything from last night. He forced a smile when he caught me smiling. I looked away immediately and leaned against the window, keeping my gaze on the buildings as we approached school. It didn’t take that long before we arrived at school. I got down quickly, not waiting for him and Regina to have their reunion as though they weren’t all over each other yesterday. It became a routine and was tiring to watch. I walked past her with my head held high and made my way to my first class.The first class was terribly boring so I looked outside, watching as people walked by in the halls. That’s when I

ELENA I pulled away from him as fast as possible, My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt panic. As I stood there, my feet seemed glued to the ground. My hands gripped the fabric of my nightgown, dragging it down as if trying to shield myself from the impending confrontation.My hands trembled uncontrollably, betraying the calm facade I desperately tried to maintain. My eyes were fixated on the door, every muscle in my body tense, as I watched the knob slowly turn downwards till it clicked and the door was creaked open, revealing a bright light.My anxiety amplified. My heart raced even faster. My mouth went dry, but I still tried to force the fears which hurt like crazy. I spread my lips wide to form a smile as a foot protruded from the ajar door.I could feel my eyebrows furrow in instinctive worry, and my lips twitched, betraying the fear that built up inside me. Yet, I held my composure. In that moment, time seemed to stretch, every second feeling like an eternity. I took a

ELENA Logan casually draped his hand over Regina’s shoulder, a gesture that ignited a spark of irritation within me. Suddenly, there was a smug expression on his face and it was as if he was doing this on purpose. Just then, Ethan suddenly grabbed my shoulder, shaking me vigorously as if trying to jolt me out of my thoughts. I blinked, momentarily disoriented, and shifted my gaze to meet his eyes.Disappointment flickered across his face, a reflection of something I couldn’t quite grasp. It made my heart sink a little. The tension in the air thickened, and I could feel the weight of unspoken words hanging between us. Then, with an unexpected calmness, he spoke, “You can go meet Logan if you want to.”The mention of Logan sent a wave of frustration crashing over me. Meet Logan? The very thought felt like a betrayal. Logan had brought me here and left me for someone else. The nerve of him! My eyebrows knitted together in disbelief as I processed his words.“No,” I refused firmly, my

ELENAI tossed and turned multiple times before I finally crawled out of bed. I took a deep breath before pulling the door open. I poked my head through the ajar door and scanned the hallway before I walked out. I carefully closed it behind me and headed to the living room. I stopped halfway, when I heard the door creaking. My heart race quickened, and I contemplated between moving or saying where I was. “Fuck!” I heard a familiar voice. My eyebrows furrowed and I blinked, trying to decipher who’s voice that belonged to. The sound was more than a whisper then he repeated and I sighed, releasing who the voice belonged to. Logan. I stepped forward till I arrived in the living room only to meet Logan reaching the door knob. “Logan,” I called, my voice being louder than I intended. He turned swiftly, realising he had been caught in the act. Seeing me, he released a breath, his hand moving towards his chest. “What are you doing awake by this time?” He questioned.I jerked my head b

ELENAWe hadn’t spoken a word to each other throughout. The silence between us was thick, stretching long and taut like a wire pulled tight, ready to snap. I could feel his gaze on me from time to time but I refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledgment. I kept my eyes fixed on anything but him: the floor, the cracked edge of the table. Anywhere but him.When we were finally done, I exhaled—a sigh of relief that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in. “Do we leave?” he asked, his voice soft but carrying a kind of false neutrality that only annoyed me more.This time, I turned to face him. I held his gaze for a few minutes before looking towards the door. Then, without a word, I shifted my focus toward the door. “Yeah, I think,” I murmured, barely above a whisper, not caring whether he heard me or not. I didn’t intend for him to hear either. I was still angry and my seething anger wasn’t going down anytime soon. My footsteps carried me across the room with quiet resolve.