LOGINNova“Hey.”The voice came from directly behind me, so sudden and unexpected that I nearly jumped out of my skin.I spun around, my heart doing something complicated and arrhythmic in my chest. Finn stood there—the school’s notorious bad boy, the guy teachers gave up on and students either feared or worshipped from a distance. He was staring straight at me with dark, unreadable eyes, as if he was seeing me for the first time.My stomach did a violent flip.“Hey,” I managed, and the word came out barely above a whisper, thin and uncertain.He didn’t say anything else. Didn’t smile, didn’t explain. He simply looked at me for one more long, loaded second, like he’d confirmed something he needed to know, then turned and walked away. His leather jacket moved with him, leaving me frozen in the middle of the hallway.What just happened?My mind fractured into frantic pieces. Finn had never spoken to me before. Not once in the years we’d attended the same school.I was invisible here—the girl
CelesteSometimes I still think about that hospital door.The way it shut between us. The way my heart stopped breathing before my lungs did. The way I thought love might end before it even had the chance to begin.But love did not end there. It fought. It survived. And so did we.Two years laterI graduated at the top of my class. For years, I believed my hands were meant for medicine. I wanted to be a doctor; I wanted to heal people to prove that my life, despite its chaotic beginning, was capable of something meaningful.But life had another plan waiting quietly for me.On the night of my graduation dinner, Father asked me to meet him in his study. The room felt different that evening.“Dad, I’m here,” I said, shutting the door behind me.“Come sit,” he stated, as he placed a thick, leather-bound folder in front of me.“I built this company from nothing,” he began, his voice thick with a pride he no longer tried to hide. “Every contract, every risk, and every hard-won victory is in
CelesteHe woke up on a bright afternoon, two days later.“Celeste.”My head snapped up. He was looking at me—groggy, pale, but looking at me with those familiar eyes, and I felt the last knot in my chest finally come loose.“You’re awake.” I stood, moving closer, blinking fast. “You’re actually awake.”“Did I scare you?” he asked. His voice was rough and faint.“Terribly,” I said. A sound escaped me, half laugh, half sob. “You scared me so badly; I don’t think I will ever fully recover. And I’m glad. I’m so glad you’re here.”He looked at me for a moment. Then, slowly, he smiled. It was a tired, crooked smile.Recovery was slow, and then it was fast. Each morning, he was a little more himself, sitting up straighter, eating more, making complaints about hospital food, and teasing me for fussing.The day the doctor came to discharge him, Jace practically lit up.“Mr. Monroe,” the doctor said, amused. “I see someone is eager to leave.”“Desperately,” Jace replied. I hid my smile behind
Celeste“Jace.”The nurses were moving fast, pushing the stretcher through the double doors, and all I could do was run after them, reaching for him. His face was so pale, and his shirt was soaked in blood. My blood ran cold just looking at it.“Miss, you cannot enter,” a doctor said, stepping in front of me.“Please.” My voice broke completely. “He — he saved me. He pushed me out of the way. Please, I have to see him.”“You are delaying his treatment by standing here.”“I know.” I grabbed the front of his coat, not caring how desperate I looked. “I know, and I’m sorry, but please, just tell me he will be okay. Please, save him. Please.”The doctor looked at me for a long moment. “I will do my best, Miss. Now let me go.”I released him and stepped back. And then the door swung shut, and the sound of it closing was the loneliest sound I had ever heard.I stood there staring at that door as if I could see through it. As if staring hard enough would keep him alive on the other side.“He
HenryI pressed the accelerator down hard. The warehouse was still miles away, but every second felt like hell. My mind kept painting pictures I didn’t want to see: Sienna’s face twisted in pain, Celeste frightened and alone, crying for a father who wasn’t there.Even Amelia. As wicked as she had proven herself to be, she was still someone I had held as a baby. Someone I had stayed up at night worrying about. That thought made me feel sick with anger.Then my phone rang.“Where are you, Henry?” Richard’s voice was steady. His calmness was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.“Almost there.”“Good. Jace and I are already at the front with our men. Don’t do anything stupid when you get here.”“Noted.”When the warehouse finally appeared in the headlights, I barely stopped the car properly before jumping out. My legs carried me to Richard before my brain caught up.“I will make her suffer,” I vowed.Richard gripped my shoulder. Hard. Grounding me. “And she will. But you stay sha
SiennaThe question hung in the air like smoke.I wanted to answer immediately, loudly, without hesitation. But the pause —the small, awful pause my tired, bleeding body allowed—was enough for Amelia’s face to harden again.“Can someone please tell me what’s happening?” Celeste’s voice cut through the room. She looked at May with the confused, wounded eyes of someone whose entire life had just been restructured without their permission. “Mother?”May’s expression didn’t just change; it wiped itself clean of anything human.“I’m not your mother,” May snapped, hitting her across the face. “I’m no mother to a stupid girl like you.”Celeste went very still.“What are you talking about?” Celeste finally asked. Blood dripped from her chin onto the concrete floor. I could see the confusion in her eyes.“I switched you,” May continued. “At the hospital, the night you were both born. I needed Amelia close to wealth and power so she would have advantages in this world. Her. She is your mother.”
Aria“You taste fucking sweet, Aria,” Damon growled as he stepped out of the bathroom, droplets of water still clinging to his skin.My gaze dragged over him, tracing every hard line of his body, sliding down his chest until it caught on the towel slung dangerously low around his waist.Heat burned
Celeste“I should wait for them before I can dress how I want?” I repeated, staring at Jace in disbelief.He ignored me, focusing on his driving. The silence stretched between us until we reached home. The moment he parked, I bolted from the car.“Celeste,” his voice followed me as I rushed toward
CelesteThe next morning started like any other, quiet and boring, until my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I squinted at the screen through sleepy eyes.Elewon.My heart skipped. My best friend never called this early unless something important was happening.“Elewon?” I answered, my voice still t
Celeste“Miss, are you going out?” Mary asked when she saw me all dressed up. Lucas had called me this morning asking to take me on a date. I said yes because I was bored staying in the house all day.“Yes,” I replied with a smile. “I’ll be back soon.”“But Master Jace told you to stay home today.”







