LOGIN"You told me something when I was little, I remember it, you told me there are two kinds of people in this world—those destined to stand at the top, and those meant to serve from below. You said my uncle and his family were the latter." The bitterness in my voice was so strong it could strip paint. "But now I'm finding out the real reason they've been hanging around us so much is because you—""You did WHAT to your cousin?!" My father’s voice finally cracks, losing that corporate composure."You're not fucking listening to me!" I'm on my feet now, pacing back and forth like a caged animal, my free hand gesturing wildly at nothing. "That's not important. What's important is that there's a lot of shit I'm being blamed for here, and I need answers. Aside from the fact that Noah is legitimately insane and just threatened my life, I think he and his father have some fucked up revenge vendetta against our family. What do you know about this?! I need to know!""I cannot believe this," my f
JACEI'm going to kill him.No—I already did that. Or tried to. Fuck.My hands are still shaking on the handlebars, knuckles split open and screaming, blood dried black under my nails. Noah's blood. That smug bastard's blood all over my fucking hands, and I can't—I can't stop seeing it. Can't stop seeing Lena's face when she walked in. Can't stop seeing my mother's expression, that mix of disappointment and resignation, as if she'd been waiting for me to prove her right all along. Like she knew my so called new leaf would soon wither and die, and I'd eventually become exactly what everyone always said I was.A monster. A fuckup. A lost cause.The bike roars beneath me as I tear through another intersection, the engine's scream barely loud enough to drown out the voice in my head telling me I just destroyed everything. My reputation—what little I had left of it—is completely torched now. My mother will never look at me the same way. And Martin... Jesus Christ, Martin. My little br
"I missed you too." My voice cracked. "We've all been so worried about where you were, and I kept thinking—" My own sobbing caught me by surprise. "Why'd you leave me?""I didn’t. Of course, I wouldn't leave you. Not really. I guess I never really checked my phone in the middle of all this, I had so much to deal with." His voice was rough and strained. I understood then that the haziness in his eyes was most likely from a lack of sleep.He cupped my face with heartbreaking gentleness. "You were right about everything, okay? I really should have stopped to think before I lost it on Noah. But right now I'm drowning in Dawson family bullshit even deeper than I've ever been before, and it's driving me insane."His forehead dropped to rest against mine, and we stood there like we were the only two people left in the world, while his thumb traced slow circles on my cheek."Do you want to talk about it?" I whispered."I do. I really do want to talk to you. I want to tell you everything. But
LENA"Mr. Dawson?"The disbelief in my voice made his name sound strangled and small. Because standing in the middle of Jace's hotel room, ripping through an open suitcase, was none other than Jace's father.Of all the scenarios I'd run through in my head during my frantic chase, everything from naked call girls to Allison draped across his rumpled sheets, or some random girl from another school, this was dead last on the list of possibilities.I barely recognised him from the tiny family photos on Mrs. Dawson's study desk, the ones I'd glanced at the first time I ever went in there.But that didn’t matter, because the resemblance was undeniable. He had that same devastatingly handsome face Jace had inherited, all sharp jawlines and high cheekbones, with that same cold, unimpressed expression. The only differences as far as I could tell were the bits of silver threading through his dark hair and the thin wire-framed glasses that somehow made him look even more intimidating.Behind me,
My forehead connected with a solid chest. The impact knocked the air from my lungs and sent me stumbling backwards. I hit the carpet with an oomph, stars dancing at the edges of my vision."Who the—"The voice stopped short. Cut off mid-curse.My vision cleared slowly, focusing on the figure standing above me. Shirtless with his belt undone and his dark hair dishevelled. And those eyes, those impossible dark eyes that had haunted my dreams through the night, staring down at me in absolute shock."Jesus Christ, Lena." Jace's voice was rough, clearly shocked. "How the hell did you find me here?"I was gasping, sweat dripping down my temples and along the curve of my neck.My entire body shook with adrenaline and effort, and after a while of panting, I managed to force out, "Your... your bike's..." Pant. Gasp. "Your bike's outside. You parked it out front." all the while glaring up at him.Suddenly, it felt like all the worry and the sleepless nights and all the unanswered texts caused me
"Do you not understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!""But you don't get it—I need to see him!" My voice cracked with desperation, my knuckles white as I gripped the edge of the marble reception desk and tried to reason with him."No one's been able to contact him, not even his parents. Everyone's beyond worried."The receptionist—a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a deep scowl—let out a guttural groan that seemed to come from deep in his chest.He threw his head back, eyes squeezed shut, and dragged both palms down his face until his cheeks pulled into an ugly mask of exhaustion.When he finally looked at me again, I could tell he had lost all patience and was only one second away from literally jumping me."For the thousandth time," he said through gritted teeth, "we cannot give you the identity of any of our guests. It's against hotel policy. That means I cannot tell you if there is a Jace Dawson here or not, no matter how many made-up stories you weirdo fangirl
LENA'S POVI closed the study door softly behind me and dragged myself upstairs to my room, every step feeling heavier than the last. The moment the door shut, I leaned back against it, sliding down until I was sitting on the cold floor.I had had many tough conversations in my life, but that one w
I climbed into bed, my body exhausted but my mind still racing. I couldn't stop thinking about him.He was so different now from how he’d used to be, spitting fire at me and being a total jerk. Now he was, I don’t know, an actual human being? Was the big, bad Jace still hidden under there somewher
LENA’S POVI stared up at Jace in disbelief, my heart flipping in my chest.I felt stubborn unwanted hope flickering in my chest despite everything.“Are you serious?” I breathed. “You’re really not going?”He came down a few steps, his hand sliding along the bannister. In the early morning, with l
“This might sting a little,” I warned, dampening a cotton swab with antiseptic.I started cleaning the cut on his cheekbone, working as carefully as I could so it wouldn’t hurt too much.Noah flinched at one point, when I dabbed at a nasty-looking cut on his forehead.“Sit still,” I murmured under







