Chapter 1

Even then, I could not shake the feeling that I was dreaming.

She had left the whole thing blank? She had never broken up with Jett Sullivan, and she was planning to spend four years having fun with him?

Hailey Donahue watched me coldly, one corner of her mouth curling into a smile. "Ever since I was a kid, you've controlled everything I do. No dating, no fun. You made me grind through practice tests and memorize textbooks. You treated me like your puppet.

"Leaving the test blank is how I wreck the path you paved for me. I want you to know that your need to control me means absolutely nothing to me!"

It felt like someone had slapped me hard across the face. My ears rang, and I could not stop shaking.

Control? She actually thought I had been controlling her?

Seven years ago, our parents died in a car accident. Hailey was only ten that year, and I was 17. To ensure that she could stay in school, I dropped out and started working. I wore clothes that went for a few bucks so I could buy her the best study guides.

I could not bring myself to order takeout, yet I gritted my teeth and signed her up for the most expensive tutoring programs. For years, I scrimped and saved. Every dollar, every hour, and every ounce of effort I had went into her future.

Yet now she stood in front of me and casually told me that all of it was control?

"Hailey." My voice shook so badly it barely sounded like mine.

"That's the college entrance exam! Your whole future!"

She looked at me as if I had said something ridiculous, impatience written all over her face.

"My future? My future is being with Jett! And stop lecturing me already. I've heard it a million times. I'll say this one more time. Before seven tonight, transfer every cent you've made over the years into Jett's account. Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, I don't have a brother."

I stood frozen, staring at her. This was the sister I had carefully protected since she was ten. This was the person I once believed would stand by me even if the rest of the world turned its back on me. Now she looked at me as coldly as she would look at an enemy.

Right then, a sickly-sweet voice called out from nearby. "Hails!"

Hailey's eyes lit up at once. "Jett!"

She ran straight over and threw her arms around him, and the two of them started kissing as if no one else were there.

I looked at the boy. He had dark hair, wore a school hoodie, and had a bright, sunny smile.

He looked completely harmless. However, he was the one who had texted Hailey in the middle of the night, coaching her to run away from home. He was also the one who had taught her to lie to me and turn against her own family.

I did not know how I got over there. By the time I realized what I was doing, my hand was already raised.

My fist slammed hard into Jett's face.

He sucked in a sharp breath and stumbled back several steps, clutching his face as he looked pitifully at Hailey. "Hails... Your brother, he..."

Hailey's expression changed instantly, and she shoved me with all her strength. "What are you doing?!"

I staggered back and landed hard on the ground, scraping a large patch of skin off my palms until beads of blood seeped through.

She carefully shielded Jett behind her. When she turned back to me, she looked ready to tear me apart.

"Listen to me, Jake Donahue. Jett is the one person in this world I want to protect more than anything. If you lay a finger on him again, I'll fight you with everything I have!"