Novels by Starry C

Lucien's POVI watched her car drive away from the sidewalk through my tinted windows, three cars behind her. She was crying.Even from this far, I could see her shoulders shaking against the glass, and it felt like something was squeezing my throat, making it hard to breathe.I hated watching her cry. I hated that I was the reason."Sir? We should go to the courthouse now. The press is already there," Arthur, my butler, said quietly from the front seat. He was the only person who knew the real me, not the monster everyone else saw."Drive," I mumbled. My voice came out rough, like sandpaper.I hadn't talked much lately. Ever since Arabella died in that awful accident, my voice just....gave up on me. That night broke me completely, and I had to build a huge, cold wall around my feelings just to get by.People saw me as a cold, rich heir to an old family fortune—a monster who crushed anyone in his path.It was easier to let people assume the worst than to show them how messed up I reall

Lila’s POVNobody hated their life as much as I did right now.It was three in the morning, and the darkness of my house felt like a heavy blanket, suffocating me.I couldn't stay in my room anymore. I'd met with Mr Knight for the very first time and we'd finalized everything. I'd agreed to the arrangement….and he gave me a ring. To probably remind me that he now owned me.Every time I looked at that huge, cold diamond ring on my nightstand, my stomach twisted into a knot. I belonged to someone else now. Or, at least, I would by next Tuesday. A man I didn't know, a man who looked at me like I was property he just bought, was going to own my life.I paced the dim hallway, my bare feet silent on the cold wood floor. I was drowning in it.I stopped outside my parents' bedroom. The door was cracked open just an inch, a sliver of warm yellow light spilling out into the dark hallway. I pushed it open completely and stepped inside.My dad was sitting in a chair right next to the bed. He hadn

Lila’s POVI didn't sleep at all. I just sat on the edge of my bed all night, staring at the envelope like it was a live bomb.When the sun finally peeked through my blinds, the reality of what was happening hit me so hard I felt sick.I grabbed my keys, threw on some random clothes, and drove straight to my parents' house. I didn't even care if my dad was back from the hospital yet. I needed answers and I needed them now.When I pulled up, I saw him out in the backyard. The grass was totally dead, dried up and brown from months of neglect because we couldn't pay the water bill.He was digging aimlessly in the dirt with an old rusted shovel, not planting anything, just moving dirt around. He looked totally lost."Dad," I said, my voice shaking as I walked out onto the patio.He froze, his shoulders dropping right away. He didn't turn around. "I figured you'd find it," he said."What is this?" I held up the contract, the paper loudly crinkling. "Lucien Knight? Dad, are you insane? You'

Lila’s POVMy stomach was making this loud, angry growling sound, and I bet the old lady three chairs over heard it. I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. I felt sick just thinking about food while waiting to hear if my mom's stage four cancer had spread to her brain.I stood in front of the hospital vending machine, staring at the lone granola bar hanging off the metal coil. I stuffed a crumpled five-dollar bill into the slot. The machine groaned, the coil turned halfway, and then it just stopped. The granola bar dangled there, mocking me."Are you kidding me right now?" I muttered, banging my palm against the glass."Miss, please don't hit the machine," a nurse called out from the front desk."Right. Sorry." I sighed, leaning my forehead against the cold plastic for a second before walking back to the plastic chairs.I checked my phone. Still no texts from my dad. He had disappeared with Dr. Harrison over two hours ago to look at the scans, leaving me totally alone in this bright,