chapter one

​I had spent extra hours glamming up today. It was my two-year anniversary with my boyfriend, Ashton. I clutched my bag, my heart doing little flips at the thought of kissing him on the lips.

​I spun my locker humming joyfully as I turned the lock.

​A picture fell out of my locker. I picked it up, a small smile forming on my face, thinking it was a surprise anniversary note from Ashton.

​Instead, I received the absolute shock of my life.

​It was Ashton, his hands wrapped around the waist of Bella Williams, the school's reigning queen bee, as he kissed her passionately against his car.

​Hot, blinding tears instantly rushed to my eyes. Who put this here? On our anniversary?

​"What's that? Give it here," Janice said, noticing my sudden silence. She snatched the picture from my hand. The moment her eyes landed on it, her mouth dropped open. "How dare he... How dare he do this to you?!"

​"I... I don't know..." I choked out.

​The dam broke, and I burst into heavy tears. Janice immediately wrapped her arms around me, pulling me tight against her chest.

​"Shhhh, you deserve so much better, Kat. Please don't cry," she whispered fiercely. After a moment, she pulled back, gently wiping my cheeks. "Wipe your tears. Let's go to class."

​"Janice, I don't know if I can..." I whispered, my voice trembling.

​"Oh, you will." Janice firmly arranged my messy hair and grabbed my hand. "We are going in there."

​But the moment the classroom door opened, my heart shattered into a million more pieces.

​There was Ashton. Sitting at his desk, completely unbothered, giggling with Bella about God knows what.

​A sudden, hot wave of fury washed over my grief. Before Janice could stop me, I yanked my sleeve from her grip and marched straight toward them.

​"What is the meaning of this, Ashton?!" I demanded, as I slammed the picture onto the desk right in front of him.

​The room went dead silent.

​Ashton looked down at the photo, then looked up at me. There wasn't a single shred of guilt in his eyes. Instead, a cold, arrogant smirk crawled onto his lips.

​"Oh. It’s a visual representation of our love," he spat carelessly. "Look, I'm done with you, Katherine. You're no longer on my level, and honestly? You're just so boring."

​My jaw dropped. The betrayal felt like a physical blow to the stomach. "Really? You didn't know that for the two years we were together?"

​"I never loved you. I was just playing with you," he said, leaning back in his chair as if he hadn't just destroyed my world. "So move on and stop bothering us."

​Bella smirked beside him, flipping her perfect hair over her shoulder. "Yes, loser. You heard him."

​Instantly, the entire class erupted into cruel laughter. Janice surged forward, aggressively dragging me back toward our seats in the row.

​"You shouldn't have confronted him, girl," Janice whispered softly, soothingly rubbing my back.

​But as I sat there, staring blankly at my desk, a tiny part of me was glad I did. At least now I knew the truth. I had been in love with a monster.

​The teacher walked in a moment later, starting a lecture on quadratic equations. But the numbers and lines just blurred together through my unshed tears. I just wanted to disappear.

​The second the bell rang, I shoved my books into my bag and practically bolted for the exit. Janice was right on my heels.

​"I want to go home," I told her, my voice cracking the moment we hit the hallway. "I can't stay here anymore."

​"Okay. I'll take you home," she said, absolute care and protectiveness shining in her eyes.

​"No, you shouldn't miss school because of me. Take your car, I'll walk..."

​"Come on," Janice interrupted, grabbing my arm. "We're best friends. I am with you through this."

​She led me out to the parking lot, and we drove away from the hellhole that was our high school. The moment we reached my bedroom,thankfully empty since my parents were at work,I collapsed onto my bed and burst into violent tears. Janice held me through all of it.

​"He doesn't deserve a single one of your tears," she said fiercely hours later, handing me a tissue.

​"I know," I sniffled, looking at the ceiling. "I just feel like such a fool. To think... I even got him a beautiful anniversary present."

​"Well, trash it."

​"I'm not going to show my face in school for weeks," I muttered, pulling the covers over my face. "I feel so ashamed. And I'm definitely not attending the big hockey game this evening."

​"No, love." Janice forcefully yanked the covers off my face. "You are not going to hide away like a victim. And yes, you are absolutely attending that game this evening. You must show that worthless piece of trash that you don't care."

​"But how can I even walk in there alone?"

​"You won't look alone, and you will look like an absolute goddess," Janice said, a dangerous spark in her eye. She dragged me out of bed by my hands. "Get up and wipe your face. We are going to the mall right now to get a killer revenge outfit."

​Despite my heavy protests, Janice practically threw me into the passenger seat.

​Thirty minutes later, I was standing in front of the three-way mirror of a high-end boutique, staring at my reflection in complete shock.

​"It looks so good on you, Kat!" Janice squealed, jumping joyfully like a child.

​"I don't know, Janice..." I turned around uncomfortably. "The gown is so short. And it's hugging my body so tightly. I've never worn anything like this."

​"Nonsense. Pair it with this," she said, tossing a sleek, cropped black leather jacket over my shoulders.

​I slid my arms into the sleeves and looked in the mirror again.

​Janice gasped. "Bitch! You look like an absolute badass! Now, we are going to pair it with your knee-high leather boots, and Ashton won't even be able to breathe when you walk past."

​"Mmmm," I murmured, a tiny, reluctant smirk touching my lips, though a part of me just wanted to crawl back into bed.

​We paid for the outfit, and I clutched the shopping bag tightly as we headed toward the mall's grand exit. I was so lost in my own head, drowning in thoughts of tonight's game, that I wasn't looking where I was going.

​Oof!

​My shoulder slammed into a solid, unyielding chest. The force of the impact knocked me clean off balance. I gasped, bracing myself for the hard tile floor, but before I could fall, a pair of large, heavy hands shot out and caught me firmly by the waist.

​The grip was strong, holding me effortlessly.

​I looked up, my angry gaze meeting a towering, broad-shared guy. He was wearing a baseball cap pulled low and a pair of dark designer sunglasses inside the mall.

​The sheer arrogance of his look ignited the leftover fire from my heartbreak. I forcefully yanked myself out of his grip.

​"You should take off those ridiculous glasses and watch where you're going, you pervert!" I snapped, my voice dripping with venom.

​"Easy, Katherine," Janice whispered anxiously beside me, her eyes widening as she stared at the stranger.

​But the guy didn't get angry. Instead, a slow, deeply amused chuckle vibrated from his chest. He looked around the quiet corridor of the mall, making sure no one was watching, and slowly slid the dark sunglasses down the bridge of his nose.

​His piercing eyes locked onto mine.

​"Pervert?" he repeated, his voice smooth, confident, and entirely too attractive. He raised a dark eyebrow, a cocky smirk playing on his lips. "You really don't know who I am?"