29.Ivy's POV.The air in the room was suffocating. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead, but all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart. My hands were clammy, gripping the hem of my sweater so tightly my knuckles ached. I kept my eyes fixed on the table in front of me, too ashamed to look anywhere else.My mother sat beside me, silent but rigid. She hadn’t spoken a word to me since we arrived. Not on the drive here, not while we waited. Nothing. But she didn’t have to. The disappointment radiating off her was enough to make me feel like I was being suffocated from the inside out.Across from me, the disciplinary committee sat in a row, their expressions unreadable. Principal Gladstone sat at the center, her hands neatly folded on the table, eyes steady and assessing."Evelyn Hughes," she began, and my stomach twisted violently.I forced myself to meet her eyes."There is no excuse for what you did," she said, voice firm but not unkind. "No reason that justifies acade
Ivy's POV.Blackmail?I stared at them, completely lost, my mind scrambling to make sense of what I was hearing. My heart pounded in my chest, but my thoughts couldn’t catch up. Blackmail? The only blackmail between me and Demi was a one-way ticket to expulsion, something I had been desperately trying to avoid.So why was everyone looking at me like I was the victim?I turned to Brandon, my confusion morphing into something colder, sharper. He was watching me with a lazy, triumphant smile, completely at ease like he had just won some twisted game.What the hell had he done?The principal sighed, folding her hands on the desk like this was some kind of heartfelt intervention. “Ivy, you should have told us that Demi was blackmailing you with your tapes.”My stomach dropped. My mouth went dry.Tapes? What tapes?She softened her voice, like she was speaking to someone fragile. “We have a counselor here. You didn’t have to deal with this alone. If you had come to us, we could have handled
Ivy's POV.I barely hesitated before shoving the door closed, aiming to shut Brandon out entirely. But he was faster. His hand shot out, catching the edge before it could slam in his face. His grip was firm, unyielding, and with what looked like minimal effort, he pushed the door back open, forcing his way in as if my resistance was nothing more than an inconvenience.“Wow,” he mused, stepping forward with the kind of arrogance that made my skin crawl. His lips curled into an easy smirk, as if he had all the time in the world, as if he had already won whatever twisted game he was playing.“This is the thanks I get? I expected at least a little bit of gratitude. Maybe even a heartfelt ‘Oh, Brandon, thank you for saving my life!’” His hand pressed against his chest in mock sincerity, his expression dripping with amusement. “Instead, I get an attempted door to the face. Feels a little unfair, don’t you think?”My fingers tightened around the edge of the door, my knuckles aching from the
32.Ivy's POV."Brandon…"It was meant to come out as a warning, something firm, something that would push back against whatever this was. But it didn’t.It came out as something else entirely.A breathy whisper.What the fuck?His smirk deepened instantly, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes like he had just won some kind of game. "Must've been fantasizing about me touching you since you watched me fuck Amari." His voice was low, taunting, laced with that cocky self-assurance that made me want to slap him, and maybe kiss him, too. "Because all it took was me staring at your tits to get you wet."My entire body jolted with mortification. Heat rushed to my face, a sharp, burning thing, and I swallowed hard, shaking my head. "That’s not true."Brandon tilted his head slightly, his expression almost pitying, like he found my denial adorable. "I can smell it, Ivy."My mouth opened, then closed. A rush of panic flickered in my chest, and I scrambled for something, anything, to throw back
33.Brandon's POV.Ivy had no idea what she was doing to me. She didn’t know that every sound that fell from her lips, every little shudder of her body, every slow roll of her eyes when pleasure took over, ruined me. It didn’t just turn me on; it consumed me, swallowed me whole, left me teetering on the edge of something dark, something uncontrollable.I watched her, my fingers barely moving, but she was already trembling, already lost in that haze of pleasure only I could pull her into. Her breath hitched, her back arched, her mouth parted in that perfect little moan that made my stomach clench painfully. I felt the tension in my body coil tighter, my cock throbbing against my zipper, the pressure unbearable. It was Ivy. It was her. No one else had ever done this to me. No one had ever made me feel like I was losing control just by reacting to my touch.The way she whimpered, hips twitching, her hands fisting so tight like she needed something to hold on to, like she was drowning i
34.Ivy's POV.I tried to think of a reason, any reason, not to ride with Brandon, but every excuse I came up with sounded pathetic, even in my own head.I could say I wasn’t feeling well, but my mom would fuss, checking my temperature, asking too many questions, and that would only make things worse. I could pretend I forgot something and stall, dragging out the time until I missed the ride altogether.I could ask to take the bus, but that would raise too many red flags. Why would I suddenly refuse the convenience of a private car when I’d been using it for months?All in all, I couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse to avoid riding with him.So instead, I stayed in my room, deliberately wasting time. I moved at a snail’s pace, hoping that Brandon would get impatient and leave without me. That he’d finally get tired of waiting, slide into the back seat, and tell the driver to go.He always did, so nothing should stop him from doing it again.But when I finally forced myself to go
Ivy's POV.I stood among the crowd of students gathered in the assembly hall, barely paying attention as Principal Gladstone stepped up to the podium. She tapped the microphone, waiting for absolute silence before she spoke."Before we begin today’s announcements, I want to address an issue that has caused a great deal of misunderstanding and unnecessary harm," she began. The room went impossibly still, every student suddenly paying attention."As many of you are aware, there was a recent disciplinary hearing regarding Evelyn Hughes." My name carried through the speakers, sending a wave of shock and anxiety through me. This was about me."Due to new evidence brought forward, we have determined that Ivy was a victim of blackmail and coercion."A murmur rippled through the crowd, heads turning in my direction, but I was too stunned to react."The accusations against her were false. Any speculation, any rumors, end here. We will not tolerate the harassment of a student who was manipu
36.Ivy's POV.I should have been happy watching Ivy’s face fall, seeing that tiny flicker of determination die in her eyes, it should have been satisfying. It should have made me smirk, should have made me want to mock her like I always did, to remind her that she had no control, no power against me. That she was mine to break, mine to shape however I wanted.But it didn’t.Instead, something twisted inside me, sharp and unfamiliar. A strange, uncomfortable sensation that curled in my gut like a sickness. It felt too much like regret. Like guilt.I shoved the feeling down as quickly as it came, the way I always did when it came to her. I wasn’t supposed to care. Ivy was a game, a pet project, something I enjoyed breaking piece by piece. That’s all she was. That’s all this was. That's what it had to be.I had never given a damn about anyone before. Never wasted my time thinking about things that didn’t serve me. So why the hell was I still thinking about her long after she walked away
Amari's POVI panted softly, trying to catch my breath as Brandon rolled off me, his arm flopping down beside mine on the bed. The sheets were tangled around our legs, sticking to our damp skin. This was the first time after the last time we had sex, but all I felt was a strange, hollow feeling amidst the pleasure.It felt like I wasn’t fully there. Like I was watching myself from somewhere outside of my body, detached and floating. The whole thing had felt so distant, as if my body was going through the motions without my heart being anywhere in it.Still, I clung to the tiny thread of hope inside me.It didn’t matter how it felt. What mattered was that it happened. After all these years of chasing him, begging for scraps of his attention, humiliating myself again and again just to get a fraction of what he used to give her, this meant something more now.He was finally starting to see me.Brandon’s breathing was steady against the back of my neck, his arm thrown lazily over my wais
Amari's POVArlena kept begging.Her voice was raw from too many screams, too many desperate cries. She clawed at the filthy floor with shaking hands, her tears leaving streaks across her hollow cheeks.“Please,” she sobbed, her whole body trembling, “please. Not them. Please, not them.”She sounded broken. Shattered into pieces so small she couldn’t even gather herself anymore.But my father stood there, unmoved. His arms folded neatly across his chest. His face didn’t so much as twitch at her cries.“Do it,” he said again, his voice sharp enough to cut through steel. “Now.”There was no emotion in it. Just a cold, demanding order.Arlena shook so hard I thought she might collapse again. But somehow, she forced herself to move. She wiped the back of her shaking hand across her face, smearing dirt and tears across her skin, and pushed herself up onto her knees.Her mouth opened, and a low, broken chant spilled out.The very air around us shifted. The walls seemed to pulse in rhythm wi
Amari's POVI wasn’t even sure when things started to change between us. It had been slow and gradual. But it was there now, clear as day. He treated me differently. He spoke to me not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He listened, and I mean really listened. He laughed when I told a joke and even remembered little things I said, things I didn’t think he cared about. And it was all starting to make me feel something I didn’t expect.Hope.I stood by the window, arms folded lightly over my chest, eyes fixed on Brandon down in the courtyard. He was practicing archery again. His stance was solid and his movements were smooth.Every arrow he shot sliced through the air and each one landed dead center which made him look ten times more attractive than he already was.I think I was starting to get lucky.“Are you falling in love with him now?”I turned sharply at the voice, and all the warmth drained out of me in an instant.My father stood in the doorway. Arms crossed, jaw tig
Amari's POVDays passed, and little by little, I started to notice a change in Brandon. It wasn’t anything dramatic or obvious, not at first. But it was there, subtle, and almost easy to miss if you weren’t looking closely. But I was. I always was.I saw it in how he started being with Bella.It used to be that he barely acknowledged her, only offering her the occasional distracted nod or completely ignored her. But now? He actually paid attention. He went out into the garden with her in the mornings, letting her chatter endlessly about the bugs she’d found or how high she could jump. He started teaching her archery. At first, he just showed her how to hold the bow properly, but then I saw him actually crouch beside her, correcting her stance gently, patiently.Bella adored him. She always had, but now it was like she was getting the version of him she’d always deserved. And he was trying. For her. For once, it looked like he was actually trying to be a father.Even at dinner, he di
Amari's POVI screamed.It came from somewhere deep and full of everything I’d been holding in for far too long. I didn’t even think before I grabbed the vase and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a hard, cracking sound, exploding into pieces that rained down like glass rain, sharp and glittering.I didn’t stop there.The table next to me, decorated just this morning with fresh flowers, went flying too. I kicked it hard, sending it crashing to the floor, the wood cracking with a split that echoed around the room.The lamp followed, my hand curling around the base before I smashed it down onto the floor with enough force to make it shatter.Then the photo frame.That one made me pause for a split second, just long enough to see the smiling faces frozen behind the glass. Me, Brandon and Bella. I didn’t care. I threw it with even more force than the others. It hit the wall and shattered, glass and photo separating mid-air, falling in different directions.Six years.Six f
Amari's POVThe grand dining hall shimmered under the soft, golden glow of the chandeliers. The light bounced gently off polished surfaces, crystal glasses, silver cutlery, and the golden designs along the edges of the table.The scent of roasted meat, herbs, and wine filled the air, settling over everything like a blanket meant to comfort and impress.I sat next to Brandon who was seated at head of the table, dressed in midnight-blue silk. My hair was pinned up, and I wore the same polite, polished smile I’d been holding since the first Alpha arrived.Beside me, Brandon looked composed enough. His suit was neat, though his tie had taken some convincing earlier. His expression was blank, his eyes dull, but he was sitting upright, eating slowly. I considered that a win.My father sat at the other side of Brandon, directly in front of me, like he always did, confident and regal.Seated with us were three visiting Alphas from smaller packs. They looked a bit overwhelmed by the size of th
Amari's POVBella giggled as she stabbed at her fruit slices with her tiny fork, completely focused on chasing a grape around her plate. Her face was a mess, syrup smeared around her mouth, a little on her chin, some even caught in her curls. I smiled and reached over with a napkin, wiping her face gently. She squirmed and giggled harder, but didn’t pull away.“Sit still,” I murmured, laughing softly as I cleaned the last of the stickiness from her cheek.She gave me a look, and then went right back to her fruit. I leaned back slightly and took a bite of my toast, chewing slowly as I watched her.Mornings like this almost felt real. Something normal families had. It was nice to pretend like I wasn’t neck-deep in secrets and schemes, tangled up in power plays I hadn’t asked to be part of. For a few quiet minutes, it was just me and Bella, a simple breakfast, and the illusion that everything was fine.Then the doors slammed open, the force of it echoed through the hall, and we both fl
Amari's POV6 years later.“Mummy!”The sound of Bella’s voice echoed down the hallway, breaking through the quiet afternoon and pulling my attention away from the book I’d been reading. I looked up just in time to see her tiny figure racing toward me, curls bouncing wildly with every determined little step.She came barreling in like a force of nature, bare feet, messy dress, cheeks flushed with excitement, and launched herself straight into my arms. I caught her with a soft laugh, lifting her up and holding her close.“There’s my sweet girl,” I said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She smelled faintly of flour and sugar, and her small arms looped around my neck like she never wanted to let go.She giggled, wriggling excitedly, the kind of energy that made it clear no nap was happening anytime soon. But just as I opened my mouth to ask what she had been doing, the front door opened and Brandon stumbled in. The scent of alcohol hit before he did, clinging to the air l
Brandon's POV Ivy crawled over to her mom slowly. She was shaking all over, hands trembling as she knelt down and pulled her mom’s head into her lap. Her fingers hovered over her mom’s face for a second, unsure, before finally brushing gently across her cheek, like the soft touch might somehow bring her back.“Please wake up,” she whispered, her voice breaking halfway through the words. “Please, just wake up.”Her hands were barely steady. She kept touching her mom’s face like she was trying to memorize every part of it. Her thumb smoothed over her mom’s forehead, then her temple. And all the while, Ivy’s whole body shook like she was coming apart from the inside.I stood there, frozen. Watching her fall apart in front of me. It felt wrong to even breathe.Her voice cracked again as she whispered something else, but it was too low to hear. Her shoulders shook harder now, her head bowed over her mom’s, and I could see her tears falling, soaking into the blood-smeared skin below her.