Chapter 1

The whole set went dead silent. All the hundreds of extras in period costumes immediately lowered their heads.

The smile on Ezra Locke's face froze.

Beside him, Rhea Steele wore an elegant embroidered gown. It stood in sharp contrast to my rough linen clothes, stained with human waste.

I looked at the absurd scene before me. I didn't know if I should feel relieved that I hadn't traveled back in time or heartbroken that my best friend and boyfriend had betrayed me.

"Piper, now that you know, it's time to put an end to this. After all, the SAT already ended this afternoon," Ezra said.

He waved a hand. The maids and guards scattered, all looking relieved.

I stood frozen on the spot, my right hand still throbbing with pain.

To make it all look real, the head housekeeper actress hadn't held back when she crushed my hand in the torture clamp.

Ezra walked down the steps and reached for me, but I stepped aside to avoid him.

His hand hung in the air.

A flash of annoyance crossed his face, and he said, "Piper, it was just a prank. Go wash the makeup off your hand.

"So what if Rhea got the special admission opportunity? Taking a gap year to retake the SAT won't be that hard for you."

He called it all a prank? And makeup on my hand?

I looked down at my right hand. It was raw and covered in pus.

My throat tightened.

"Why did you do this?" I asked hoarsely.

Ezra took a deep breath and said, "Rhea was on the rooftop, crying for me because of her depression."

He continued, "You've always been independent, and you can handle anything on your own. But Rhea can't. She needed that opportunity to get into Arvona University."

Ezra had forgotten.

Just four months ago, he kissed my fingertips in the study. He swore, "Piper, when you get into the university, I'll write you love letters for the rest of our lives."

I put all my strength into my left hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Ezra's head snapped to the side, and his eyes were filled with shock.

Rhea hid behind Ezra, her eyes red-rimmed with tears.

"Piper, I'm sorry. Please don't blame Ezra. It's all my fault," she said. "I just desperately wanted to get into Arvona University. Without that opportunity, I never would've made it.

"You're so smart. Just think of it as helping your former best friend, okay?"

I stared at her coldly.

When I was first brought back into the Steele family, she held my hand and cried.

She said we would always be best friends, and she would never push me away just because I was the family's biological daughter.

But then she turned around and cried to Ezra that I had stolen everything from her.

My biological brother, Yves Steele, walked out of the director's tent.

He handed a glass of orange juice to Rhea and said, "Rhea, this place is so hot. Here, have something nice and cold."

Yves ruffled her hair affectionately, then turned to me with a deep frown.

"Piper, how dare you hit Ezra?" he asked. "Rhea's depression came back because of your return. What's wrong with letting her have the opportunity?"

My chest tightened as the pain spread through me until I felt numb.

I had suffered through 100 days and nights of torment.

To them, it was nothing but a show put on to comfort Rhea, the Steele family's adopted daughter.

Ezra's phone suddenly buzzed.

He answered it, and Mom's voice came through.

"Piper, Ezra told me everything. You're just being too emotional," she said. "Rhea is fragile, and she can't handle another year of studying to retake the SAT.

"You're already well-prepared. Taking it next year won't make a difference for you. Stop making a scene and come home with Ezra."

Not once did she ask how I survived those 100 days.

She never asked if I was afraid when I was beaten and humiliated like I was a worthless lowlife.

Ezra saw me fall silent and thought I had given in after venting my anger.

"Alright, enough. You hit me, and you've made your point," he said. "Let's go home. I promise I'll stay with you through your gap year and be there when you retake the exams."

His voice was filled with the kind of patience one would show someone they pitied.

He wanted to take a gap year with me?

I gave a bitter smile and walked out without saying a word.

I didn't need them anymore.

I wanted nothing from Ezra, Mom and Dad, or Yves ever again.