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139.

Author: Zoë Grace
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-29 04:25:59

◇◇CELESTE'S POV◇◇

I crept downstairs toward the landing. Peeked over the banister. Completely out of sight. My mother was standing in the foyer like she owned the place, chin high, lipstick perfect.

She doesn’t belong here. Stacy’s absence left the air crackling, but my mother filled it like it was just another job opening.

“Lower your voice,” my dad said through clenched teeth.

Mom didn’t lower anything.

“Where’s my daughter?”

“She’s upstairs. She didn’t know I called you here.”

My mom sighed. Then she spoke with a much calmer voice. “Richard, you know she’s wasting her time in that ridiculous university. Celeste was made for the runway. Magazine covers. She’s ethereal. She has agencies waiting. Why should she rot in classrooms when she could be earning?”

“She doesn’t want that life anymore.”

“Since when does what she wants matter?” Mom asked.

“It matters to me,” said Dad.

“If it did, you wouldn’t be here. You abandoned her when she needed you the most. So don’t act like you care ab
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  • Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can   141.

    ☆☆SUMMER’S POV☆☆“Hey, Hayden. It’s been a while.”She stopped beside him, smiling. Hayden froze, his shock plain. His eyes darkened. That wasn’t a good sign. He wasn’t happy to see her.I guess this is another one of your bad ideas, Summer. You could’ve just told him about it. “Dr. Lana.” Hayden’s voice was guarded. “I haven’t seen you in… How did you—” He cut himself off, eyes narrowing at me. “Wait. You set this up?”“I did,” I admitted, forcing a smile. “Can she sit with us?”“Sure, she can. You didn’t ask me before you called her, so she might as well sit. It’s a public space.”Okay. That tone? Maybe, he’s a teeny weeny bit mad.Dr. Lana took a seat, grateful.“I’m sorry, Hayden. Don’t be mad at Summer. I told her not to tell you about what we discussed.”“I’m not mad at my girlfriend, Dr. Lana. I’m just wondering how you both got to know each other and how you convinced her to bring me here.”“I reached out to her. I found her card in the house,” I said. Hayden let out a deep s

  • Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can   140.

    ☆☆SUMMER’S POV☆☆It was the weekend… No, not The Weeknd.I’ve been dying to use that one forever. Pardon me. I do love listening to The Weeknd, by the way.Well, It was the weekend. Hayden and I decided to spend some time together despite everything that had happened. He said we didn’t need to stop living because of bad times. I thought it was a wise thing to say. But dude. Whatever!Don’t stop living because of bad times. Remember that one, Summer. The city buzzed around us. Neon lights, honking cars, people rushing somewhere. Hayden parked at a reserved parking spot in a high-end boutique. He held my hand and guided me inside. He was recognized the moment we stepped in. Staff appeared as if summoned, all greetings and smiles. The boutique was quiet. Completely closed for us. The lights were soft.The newest collections were displayed on pedestals, waiting. A personal stylist hovered nearby, arms crossed politely, taking in our whims but saying nothing unless spoken to.“Try this o

  • Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can   139.

    ◇◇CELESTE'S POV◇◇I crept downstairs toward the landing. Peeked over the banister. Completely out of sight. My mother was standing in the foyer like she owned the place, chin high, lipstick perfect. She doesn’t belong here. Stacy’s absence left the air crackling, but my mother filled it like it was just another job opening.“Lower your voice,” my dad said through clenched teeth.Mom didn’t lower anything.“Where’s my daughter?”“She’s upstairs. She didn’t know I called you here.”My mom sighed. Then she spoke with a much calmer voice. “Richard, you know she’s wasting her time in that ridiculous university. Celeste was made for the runway. Magazine covers. She’s ethereal. She has agencies waiting. Why should she rot in classrooms when she could be earning?”“She doesn’t want that life anymore.”“Since when does what she wants matter?” Mom asked.“It matters to me,” said Dad.“If it did, you wouldn’t be here. You abandoned her when she needed you the most. So don’t act like you care ab

  • Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can   138.

    ◇◇CELESTE'S POV◇◇When I was twelve, my dad left. He married a woman who smelled like rosewater and gave him kids who never threw up their dinners. Kids who looked normal in family photos.My mom told me I had to stay beautiful if I wanted to survive. So I stayed beautiful. I survived. Every night after castings, after runway shows, I locked myself in a marble bathroom and shoved two fingers down my throat.Sometimes I’d imagine my dad walking in, scooping me up, saying, “Enough, Celeste. Come home.” But he never came. I waited for so long. That’s when I learned survival was performance. If you script your own tragedy, no one else can write it for you.He’d only show up to change my schools over and over again. So you could imagine my shock when he called me, saying he was at my dorm. He barely looked at me. I knew he was here to do it again: I wondered where I’d be going next.“Get your things. Let’s go,” he had said to me.I cried the second I stepped into my room. It was Summer’s f

  • Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can   137.

    ♡♡HAYDEN'S POV♡♡The bass rattled the floor under my boots. I felt it in my chest, deep and steady. Classes were done. I came to the club to work. To breathe a little.I’d had a trusted PI tail Tara back home. We hadn’t spoken since before she entered New York. Then Jake called me that day—and I heard Summer’s voice in the background. Minutes later, Mark rang. He said he’d found a girl who might have something on Tara.I knew her the second I saw the picture he sent—Mary. That’s when I told him to get her out of Saunterville. But when the evidence landed on my desk, it wasn’t against Tara at all. It was against Jake. My own brother.To get to Tara, you'd have to go through Jake first. So I planned to do just that. I never really understood the kind of love she had for her son. Half the time, it felt less like love and more like an obsession with protecting the family name.So I made my choice—I’d protect Mary. Keep her safe. Because if Tara really planned Maxine’s accident, then Mary

  • Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can   136.

    ☆☆SUMMER’S POV☆☆ Two days ago when Megan approached me, I had told her the truth I knew about Celeste. Every drop. “She stalked herself,” I said flatly. “That’s what she’s been doing. Not just here. She pulled the same stunt in her old schools. She always makes herself the victim. Always needs a stage.” Megan’s lips twitched, not quite a smile, not quite disgust. “And you’re sure?” “I lived with her. I saw it. Notes left on her desk, messages on her phone that no one else ever saw. And the way she begged me not to tell the dean?” I shook my head, almost laughing. “That’s the only thing that scares her.” “What?” Megan asked. “Exposure.” “That’s her weakness? Not Jake. Not boys. The dean?” Are you sure you know what you’re talking about? It sounds absurd.” “Yeah. I don’t think she wants anyone to know the truth about her. If she did, she would have told the dean about her stalker.” “But she’s the stalker.” “Exactly.” “God, she’s crazy.” For a moment, Megan looked triumphant.

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