LOGINEllie POVDominic stepped into our space with ease. He was smiling, the air changed immediately, the way it does when a predator enters a room and everyone pretends they don’t notice.I couldn’t help but shrink as his hand closed over mine, as if he could feel the tremor running through my fingers.
Lucas’s jaw tightened at the last word, and for a moment something in his expression flickered—almost softness, almost regret.Then it was gone.He nodded once, slow.“Yeah, well,” he said. “You never really needed it, so don’t worry about it. You’re exactly where you want to be, right?”My fists cu
Ellie POVThe first time I laughed, it surprised me.It slipped out before I could catch it, bright, totally unguarded, and the sound felt unfamiliar in my own throat, as if my body had forgotten how to make it without flinching afterward.For a second I expected the room to turn sharp again, for so
Ellie POVMy mother rushed past me like I wasn’t even there.For a moment, I just stood frozen, watching the hem of her deep purple gown sweep across the floor as she dropped to her knees beside Vivian, her white-gloved hands hovering helplessly over Vivian’s cheek, which was already swelling an ugl
He didn’t speak.He just stood there, staring at me with an expression I couldn’t fully name, something wounded and furious and heartbreakingly human all at once. His fingers twitched at his sides, curling and uncurling like he wanted to reach for me and didn’t trust himself to try.I felt this shar
Ellie POVYou know, I expected this.Even after everything Dominic had done these past few weeks, after the contract and the quiet promises and the way he had looked at me lately as if this arrangement was something fragile and real instead of something written in ink and obligation, a part of me ha
Ellie POV I always thought the Moon Goddess had a twisted sense of humor. She did give me a second chance at life.But this?This was cruelty with a bow on top.Dominic stood in front of me, his eyes wide and frustratingly unreadable. The wind shifted between us, carrying that warm, electric pull I
Ellie's POVVivian emerged from her own fitting room just as Dominic's face fell. When she saw him, she immediately rushed to his side, linking their arms together in an obvious display of possession."Dominic!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "What do you think of my dress? Don't I look beautiful?"But
Ellie's POVThe dean blinked in surprise, then quickly recovered with a relieved smile."Ah, so that's it! Miss Ellie must have been trying to avoid trouble from Lucas's exes and admirers, hiding it until the last minute." He chuckled, clearly pleased to have the problem resolved. "Well, it just so
Ellie POVBy the time I step onto campus the next morning, I can feel it—the staring. It hits me like a wall.Eyes tracking me from lockers, from water fountains, from behind stupid iced coffees. Whispers flutter down the hall like confetti someone forgot to sweep.I tug my bag higher on my shoulde







