Annie POV I was still trying to process everything that had happened at the square. Caleb’s words—“I hope you suffer”—mixed with Nadia’s ultimatum about my revoked candidacy had left me in pieces. My dream of leading the student council, something I saw as the first step toward following in my mom’
When I met her last week at a council meeting, I could tell she’d be a challenge—confident, charismatic, the type who knew how to play the game. “Ugh, Madison Goodwin is here too. What a rotten day,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. Of course Abby would get close to Madison—she was her adopted cousin.
Annie POV After the moment at the mall, I returned to the dorm with a tight chest, carrying the bags with the blue dress Summer had insisted I buy. The plan was to distract myself, but Madison’s words—“racist,” “canceled piece of trash”—spun in my head like a broken record, mingling with Nadia’s re
Max POV I was driving through the city with the radio on low, just a background murmur to keep the silence from swallowing me whole, when my phone buzzed on the dashboard. Zoey. Of course it was her. The girl had already wormed her way into my house like a high-heeled parasite, and now, apparently,
Max POV was stunned when Albert told me that, my mouth even went dry because I wasn’t expecting to hear it. Conrad Adams was back. He was my boyfriend in my early twenties. I met him through Albert, who was close friends with him during the dark days of his family’s company. Conrad was a good guy
Max POV Walking beside someone who’d once meant so much to me felt strange. I couldn’t stop thinking that our breakup had been a waste, couldn’t stop remembering how happy I’d been with this guy, only to ruin it all because of my ego, because of a toxic fixation I had on Albert. Conrad Adams walke
Annie POV It was the weekend, and I was at home, trying to take deep breaths and pretend everything was okay. The Oxwell campus was a few hours away, giving me temporary relief from the chaos my life had become. Here, with my parents and the twins, I could at least try to be the old Annie—the exc
Caleb, Abby, Madison, Nadia—they all spun through my head like a broken carousel. I wanted to tell my parents everything, collapse and ask for help, but the thought of seeing disappointment in their eyes—or worse, them trying to intervene at Oxwell to “save” me—made me swallow the words. I had to fi
Annie POV Peter Morton’s face was just inches from mine, staring at me. The electric blue of his eyes was so close I could see his irises dilating and contracting. “You okay, Lady Ann?” he asked. I sighed with a small smile, half in delight. “It’s been a while since anyone called me that.” Actual
Annie POV The masked boy—who I didn’t want to admit was Peter—took me to an upscale, comfortable hotel where I could spend the night safely, away from everything, and try to regain my composure and figure out what to do next. “You can stay here,” he said calmly, though his voice still carried a hi
Annie POV The masked boy led me through the dark campus, his hand firm in mine as we ran away from the ballroom. My legs trembled, the blue dress swishing with each step, and tears still streamed down my face, hot and relentless. The sound of the shouts, the judgments, still echoed in my head, bu
“No choice?” He cut me off, his tone incredulous. “Are you serious? You chose to help Madison make that video. You chose to plug it into the projector. And now Annie’s out there, broken, while you try to run from the responsibility. This doesn’t fix anything, Abby. It wasn’t supposed to end like thi
Abby POV I was there, tucked away in the shadows of the ballroom’s corner, my heart still racing as I watched the chaos I’d helped create unfold. The giant screen kept playing that horrible video, distorted and manipulated clips of Annie echoing through the room like a final verdict. People poin
Annie POV I was still on the dance floor, the warmth of the masked boy’s body against mine, my head resting on his chest as the slow music guided us. The sound of his heartbeat against my ear was almost hypnotic, and I let myself get lost in that feeling I couldn’t quite explain. He’d just said s
I swallowed hard, Caleb’s words coming back to haunt me. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe we’ve gone too far?” He’d said that at the mall, and I’d hung up on him, but now they echoed in my head. Annie had hurt me, yes. The fight in the dorm, the way she called me fake, like I was trash she
Abby POV I was leaning against the wall of the ballroom, the cup of punch in my hand already warm and forgotten, as I watched Annie dance with that masked boy. The soft lights of the ball cast shadows over them, and even from so far away, you could feel something in the air—a chemistry almost tangi
Anne POV I was there, trying to at least pretend I was enjoying the party with Summer, letting the loud music and spinning lights distract me from the weight pressing on my chest. Summer danced beside me, throwing her arms up with that endless energy of hers, and I tried to keep up, forcing a smile