INICIAR SESIÓN"Owen... you need to cut yourself some slack," she says gently, reaching up to lightly brush her thumb against my cheekbone. "You don't have to be the invincible counselor right now. You just lost your mom, honey. I know how much she meant to you. I know how much you loved her, and I know how hard y
I watch Sydney walk away from me, her spine perfectly straight, her head held high like a queen marching out of a ruined kingdom. Her words—sharp, icy, and dripping with disgust that makes my skin crawl—still echo in the quiet space of the dining room. "While you're busy playing love and playing h
My heart drops into my shoes, a sickening wave of nausea swirling in my stomach. He sharply pulls away after a beat, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders, his face a mix of shock and discomfort. "Camille, what are you doing here? How did you even get past the gates?" "Oh, Owen, I came the sec
I lean in across the dark wood, my jaw tight, waiting for the genius to drop some mind-blowing corporate strategy. Owen slides his glass entirely out of the way, his eyes tracking mine with a sudden, sharp intensity. "The first thing we need to do," he says, leaning his forearms on the table, "is p
I don't wait to hear another word. A blinding, white-hot rush of pure adrenaline and rage explodes in my chest. Before I even realize what I’m doing, my arm whips forward. I throw my phone across the bedroom with every ounce of strength I have left. It hits the far drywall with a sickening smack,
I sit on the edge of the mattress, the silence of my locked bedroom pressing in from all sides. My scalp still burns from where I was aggressively pulling at the tangles earlier, but I barely care. I slowly run a hand through my hair, letting out a long breath that shudders against my teeth. The r
"To be honest," I say, meeting Sydney's skeptical gaze, "I don't actually have a specific objective in mind. I brought you here primarily because my mother has been calling me three times a day asking to see us. I figured it was time to kill two birds with one stone." I let out a long breath, liste
The hallway of the Newton’s mansion is long, arched, and lined with portraits of ancestors who look like they’ve never smiled a day in their lives. I’m practically jogging to keep up with Owen’s long strides, and very out of breath. "Hey, slow down would you?" He ignores me and if anything, incr
The moment we step through the door, Grandmother is on me. She pulls me into a hug that smells faintly of lavender and old paper, but the warmth is immediately punctuated by a sharp poke to my ribs. "You," she says, pulling back to fix me with a squinted gaze that could pierce armor. "You are a lit
I completely pull away this time, ignoring the way she whimpers slightly in her sleep at the loss of heat. I stand up, feeling slightly woozy as the blood rushes to my head. The room tilts for a second before coming into sharp focus. I straighten my rumpled dress shirt, feeling like a mess. I need







