Chapter 1

Xavier Burnham's expression darkened. He grabbed my wrist and demanded, "Who is he?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and slowly leaned toward his ear, unaware of how intimate we looked. "Who is he? He's—"

Yvonne Scott pulled me away before I could finish speaking. She glanced at Xavier's hand gripping my wrist. "Riley, Xavier just doesn't like you. You don't have to make up an excuse to insult him. That's a low blow."

Everyone else snapped out of it and started mocking me too.

"That story just cemented her place as the biggest simp in all of Jenton. No wonder she's so pissed."

"Listen to this. This is epic. She stood outside Xavier's place all night in freezing temperatures just to see him. How come she didn't freeze to death there?"

"Also, she knows Xavier likes skinny girls, so she got liposuction and even ended up in the hospital after taking too many diet pills."

"He likes to drink, so she drank so much trying to build up her tolerance that she ended up with internal bleeding. Damn, she must really be in love."

They took turns reading out every humiliating detail of my past, exposing how I'd thrown away my dignity.

Yvonne looked at Xavier. "Xavier, she went so far for you. Are you really not moved at all?

He let go of me, his voice hard. "She's just fooling herself. I'm not that easy to guilt trip."

Then Xavier shot me a warning look. "Riley, I only see you as a younger sister. If you still want to stick around me, stop doing all this. If not, you're just making things hard for me."

I stared at him, murmuring. "Am I really such a nuisance?"

Was that why Zayn Manning left without saying a single word? Had I been such a bother to him?

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

Xavier looked at my tear-streaked face and sighed helplessly. "I'm only going to say this once. You know what I mean. Come on, I'll take you home."

He was about to get up when Yvonne moved to stop him.

"Xavier, don't leave me here alone. Riley can still walk. She's really not that drunk. Just let her go home by herself."

Xavier looked at me, then turned to Yvonne. "Riley, I'll call you a cab. Go home on your own."

I nodded and wiped my tears away. But I'd barely taken a step when I bumped into the coffee table. The pain brought tears to my eyes again.

Xavier frowned and reached out to me. "Forget it. I…"

"Riley, Xavier already said you can't guilt him into anything. Acting like you're hurt now won't work on him," Yvonne said.

Xavier pulled his hand back, frowning. "She didn't listen to a single word I said."

I could barely hear the mockery behind me anymore. I shook my head and stumbled toward the door, bumping into things along the way.

I had just reached the door when someone grabbed my arm.

But before I could see who it was, I caught sight of a figure down the hall. I immediately yanked my arm free and took off after him.

Yvonne scoffed, "Xavier, see? I told you she wasn't really drunk. Don't fall for it."

Xavier's hand froze mid-air as he stared at my back, irritated. "Then why is she running?"

"Maybe she's playing hard to get."

Xavier sneered before walking back inside. "She looks innocent enough, but she's quite manipulative."