LOGINIZEL'S POVI woke up at 1:15 AM to the faint, terrified sound of hushed whispers coming from the dark hallway outside my bedroom door.My eyes snapped open instantly. I slipped out of bed, creeping barefoot across the cold hardwood, pressing my ear flat against the heavy oak paneling."...I told you, I’m sending the wire transfer tomorrow morning!" my mom’s frantic, trembling voice floated through the crack. She was practically hyperventilating. "He cannot find out about this. If Richard sees those credit card statements, he’ll lose his mind... Yes, I'll meet you at the Grand Sovereign Hotel parking lot at ten AM during Jace's board hearing. Just keep him quiet!"My blood went completely ice cold.What on earth?I cracked the door open half an inch. My mom was standing near the grand hallway console in her silk robe, clutching her phone to her ear with shaking hands. Right on the marble table next to her was a sleek, black designer shopping bag from an ultra-exclusive Italian menswear
JACE'S POVThe quiet, buzzing vibration on my wrist felt like an electric shock straight to my brain.My eyes snapped open in the pitch black. I looked down at the cheap digital watch I’d bought at a gas station with loose cash yesterday.6:30 AM."Jace..." Izel gasped, her breath catching in her throat as she scrambled up against the headboard, her dark hair a gorgeous, wild mess around her face.Down the hall, the muffled chime of Wendy’s morning alarm echoed through the floorboards.Raw panic slammed into my chest. In three seconds, the peaceful, intoxicating warmth of sleeping with Izel wrapped in my arms dissolved into total survival mode."I'm moving," I gritted out, shoving my feet into my still-damp sneakers and pulling my black hoodie over my head in one fluid motion.I grabbed my wet hood, yanked it tight, and turned back to her. Izel was standing on the edge of the mattress, looking at me with wide, terrified dark eyes. I grabbed her by the waist, lifted her slightly off he
izel's pov"Jace, stop!" I hissed into the pouring rain, leaning as far over the wet stone ledge as I dared without slipping. "It’s raining! You’re going to fall and break your neck!"He didn't even slow down. His rain-soaked sneakers found a solid footing on the thick wooden lattice, his large hands gripping the wet oak branches like he was back in a high-stakes athletic drill. In five second flat, he hauled himself over the wrought-iron railing of my second-story balcony, landing silently on the stone floor like a shadowy cat.He stood there breathing heavy, dripping water all over the terrace, his dark eyes glowing in the faint yellow light from my bedroom lamp."You're insane," I whimpered, my hands flying up to cover my mouth as I pulled him quickly through the open glass doors, shutting out the storm behind us. "Your heart, Jace! The doctor literally said light physical activity!""Climbing up to see you is therapeutic," he rasped, a wicked, breathtaking grin pulling at his lips
IZEL'S POV"Welcome to the dorms."Jace’s words hung in the crowded hallway like a live grenade, and the air immediately turned to ice.Richard looked like he had just been slapped across the face with a brick. His jaw locked so tight I thought his teeth were going to shatter, his hands clenching into hard fists inside his tailored suit pockets. The two junior law partners behind him fidgeted awkwardly, shifting their weight and staring at the floor, clearly terrified of being collateral damage in the middle of a massive billionaire family meltdown."Jason," Richard said, his voice dropping into that terrifying, pitch-black whisper he used when he was about to ruin someone's life in court. "You are making a colossal mistake. Walk out to the car right now."Jace didn't budge an inch. He stood right in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking me from Richard’s terrifying glare, his dark eyes burning with pure, unadulterated rebellion. "No."Richard let out a cold, venomous laugh, adjus
JACE'S POVI slammed my locker door shut so hard the metal rattled through the entire athletic complex, the sound echoing off the wet tile floor like a gunshot.Zero sleep. No phone. A flatlined bank account. And the icy, suffocating rage of my dad’s threat burning a hole through my chest."Whoa, easy there, captain," Malik said, leaning against the bench with his arms crossed, throwing me a cautious, sideways look. "You look like you're ready to put someone through a wall. What happened to you last night? You missed the six AM call, and Coach said you had a 'family emergency.'""I'm fine," I gritted out, pulling my damp swim cap off and shoving it into my bag."Yeah, you look totally fine," Malik sarcastically replied, dropping his voice as the rest of the guys on the team wandered toward the showers. "Word on campus is your dad pulled up to the quad in his suit last night and loaded your stuff into his trunk. Gossip page is saying you got kicked out of the mansion. Is it true?"I pu
IZEL'S POVJace was going to leave me. Richard was making sure of it.I stood at the top of the grand staircase, gripping the cold marble balustrade so hard my knuckles were stark white, totally frozen in place as I watched my entire world fall apart in real time.Below me, the front door was wide open, letting in the freezing night air. Jace threw his heavy black duffel bag over his shoulder, his face completely pale, his chest rising and falling in short, uneven gasps. He didn't say a word to his dad. Richard stood by the open door, his jaw locked, his arms crossed over his chest like a prison warden enforcing an execution order.Just before Jace stepped out into the pouring rain, he paused. He turned his head and looked straight up the dark staircase. Our eyes locked across the massive foyer, and the sheer, raw agony in his dark eyes almost brought me to my knees. He didn't say anything out loud, he couldn't, but the message was so loud it made my ears ring.Then he walked out into







