teaser

"I don’t even know who you are anymore, Amara."

Her grandfather’s voice thundered across the room, his anger practically vibrating through the air. Amara let out an exasperated sigh and massaged her aching temple, trying to ease the pounding pain in her head.

"We’ve given you everything. What more do you want from us?"

Grandpa Herman continued his tirade, causing Amara to roll her eyes in frustration.

"Seriously, Grandpa? It’s three in the morning. Can we not do this right now? I'm drunk and exhausted. Can you please just shut up and save the lecture for tomorrow?"

She snapped, her tone dripping with defiance, which only fueled her grandfather’s rage. She didn’t bother avoiding her father's fiery glare either.

"Your attitude is out of control, Amara. When are you going to learn some respect?"

Her grandfather roared again, but Amara didn’t flinch. Instead, she plopped herself down on the plush designer sofa like she owned the world.

"Oh please. What are you going to do this time? Ground me again? That’s not going to change who I am, Grandpa. Do your worst."

She smirked arrogantly at him.

"And can everyone please stop treating me like some kid? I’m twenty years old, legally an adult, and I can do whatever the hell I want. And it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been to a party. You’re all so dramatic!"

She flopped back on the sofa like it was a bed, groaning from her splitting headache.

How many shots did she take tonight?

"Could someone get my bodyguard to carry me to my room? I’m dizzy and not walking another step."

She waved her hand lazily at her grandfather like he was a servant.

Amara had just closed her eyes when her father’s furious voice rang out.

"Goddamn it, Amara, this is insane! Who the hell do you think you are, bossing your grandfather around like that? Get up! Now!"

"Ugh, Dad! If you don’t want Grandpa to do it, then you do it. Either way, can you all just shut up? My head is killing me!"

She snapped, still not opening her eyes, too annoyed to care.

"I said get your ass up, Amara! Don’t be disrespectful!"

Her father yelled again, yanking her arm roughly.

"Ow! What the hell, Dad?!"

"Go to your room. Now. And tomorrow, you're going to regret this."

His voice was filled with warning as he dragged her up and shoved her toward the stairs.

Amara stomped her feet like a brat before storming up, only to be stopped by her grandfather again.

"Seriously? You people are nuts! You want me to go upstairs, now you’re stopping me again? What do you even want?!"

She glared at her grandfather, utterly fed up.

"I don’t even know where you got this kind of behavior, Amara. Starting tomorrow, you’re not allowed to leave this house without my permission. And from now on, you’ll speak respectfully to every single person under this roof. Are we clear?"

Amara rolled her eyes again at his long-winded speech.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! You’re making so many rules in this house, Grandpa. What is this place, Hogwarts?"

The next morning, Amara groaned and cracked one eye open at the loud, obnoxious knocking at her bedroom door. She tried to ignore it and drift back to sleep, but the knocking only grew louder—accompanied by the high-pitched voice of that annoying maid.

"For the love of God, I’m still sleeping!"

She yelled.

"Miss Amara, the sun is high already! You’ll be late for your first day at work! Your grandfather insisted you get up early!"

That only made her more irritated.

"Get lost! And tell the old man to stop bothering me. I don’t want to work!"

She pulled the covers over her head, but the knocking persisted. Cursing under her breath, Amara staggered toward the door, still half-asleep. Without even opening her eyes, she swung the door open and kicked the person on the other side.

Only when she heard an old man groan in pain did she realize her mistake—followed by her father’s furious voice booming behind him.

"You’ve crossed the line, Amara!"

"Geez, sorry! I thought it was Marie waking me up again! Why are you standing at my door, Grandpa?"

She asked, annoyed but not exactly remorseful.

"You’ve pushed us too far this time, Amara. You're completely out of control, and we don’t know what else to do with you."

Her father glared at her while helping Grandpa Herman up.

"What now? I didn’t mean to kick him! Maybe don’t barge in on people who are trying to sleep? And I told you—I don’t want to go to work! What would I even do there, just sit around like an idiot?"

She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"What the hell is going on now? Why are you all yelling this early?"

Her mother, Carly, rushed over, worry etched on her face.

"I don’t know what to do with her anymore, Carly. Her attitude is completely out of line! She's not a teenager, but she acts like a spoiled little brat! She’s disrespectful, ungrateful, and she doesn’t even show basic manners to us!"

Her dad was red in the face from shouting, and Amara just rolled her eyes.

"Amara, sweetheart, what’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? We gave you everything. We raised you well. Where did we go wrong?"

Her mom’s voice cracked with tears.

"Oh my God, can we skip the drama? It's way too early for this."

She muttered with no sympathy.

"That’s it. Carly, get the maids. Tell them to pack Amara a small bag of essentials. After that, she’s out. I want her out of this house."

Her grandfather’s voice was deadly serious. Amara and her mom both froze.

"What, are you shipping me off to China now?"

She snapped.

"No, you’re not going overseas. I’m done with you, Amara. I want you gone. Leave—and don’t come back until you’ve grown up and fixed that attitude."

Her grandfather’s eyes blazed with fury, and Amara’s world tilted.

"What the hell? You’re cutting me off? Are you serious right now?"

Her voice shook, fear and disbelief slowly creeping in.

"Mom, do something! I don’t want to leave!"

"Don’t pull your parents into this, Amara. We’ve already talked. There’s nothing they can do now. Hand over all your credit cards, passbooks, and every single penny in your wallet—including coins. You’re not taking the car, the condo keys, or any of your luxuries from this house."

Her grandfather's harsh decree shattered whatever was left of Amara’s pride as her tears finally fell.

She is Amara Channel Aragon—the only daughter of Carly and Tim Aragon, sole heiress to their legacy and several family businesses, and the beloved granddaughter of billionaire Herman Aragon.

And in the blink of an eye, everything was gone. All she had left was a meager savings account that probably wasn’t even enough to buy a single pair of shoes from her favorite designer store.

She was screwed.