ELLA'S POV "Ella, please tell me it wasn't you that told him!""Come on, you know I would never betray your trust like that!" I said earnestly. Shooting a glare at Trent, I added "If I wanted to tell anyone about this mess, the last person would be this arrogant jerk over here."Trent cleared his throat loudly. "Uh, said arrogant jerk is still standing right here, ladies."Susan and I both turned to him, exclaiming in unison "Shut up, Trent!"He held up his hands in mock surrender, a smirk still playing on his lips. "Sorry, but I gotta defend myself here too, did you really expect me to fork over a ton of cash without taking precautions to know what it's actually funding?"He gestured to himself arrogantly. "After all, it is my hard-earned money we're talking about."Susan sighed, a bitter edge to her voice. "This is exactly why I warned Ella not to get you involved! Now you know about my..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence. "Look Susan, I know you're

ELLA'S POVI quickly sprang towards my bedroom door as I heard the door creaking open, blocking it at the last second before she could enter. I wildly gestured behind my back for Trent to find somewhere - anywhere - to hide himself while I distracted her.Mom peered down at me, eyebrows raised. "Why are you looking so frazzled, Ella?" Her gaze traveled down, taking in my disheveled appearance. "And why can't I come in?"I plastered a smile on my face that probably looked more like a grimace. "Uh, no reason! I was just about to change and didn't want you walking in on me half naked!" I babbled, acutely aware of Trent scrambling to gather his scattered clothes behind me.Mom frowned. "You're acting very odd. Now move aside please." Before I could react, she gently pushed past me into the room. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for her shocked reaction at finding a shirtless guy in my bedroom.But surprisingly, there was no yell or gasp of outrage from my mom. I hesitantly cracked one eye

Ella's POVI couldn't focus at all during Mrs. Johnson's history lecture. My mind kept drifting back to last night - Trent's face so close to mine, his eyes locked on my lips, our bodies nearly pressed together as we almost...almost kissed. I stole sidelong glances at Trent sitting a few rows over. He was relaxed back in his chair, eyes half-lidded as usual like this history class bored him to tears. But as if sensing my gaze, the corner of his mouth twitched up in the faintest smirk.My cheeks flushed and I swiveled my head back to face the front with a jolt."Ella Thompson!"I startled at the sound of the teacher's sharp voice. Oops, busted for daydreaming again.Mrs. Johnson fixed me with a stern glare from the front of the room. "It seems you're more distracted during this lecture than usual, Miss Thompson. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us all about Lord Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar?"Oh no. I felt all the eyes in the room shift to me. Nelson, Trafalgar...the nam

TRENT'S POVI walked down the hall, mentally replaying that look on Ella's face when she saw Lucinda hugging me that day. There was definitely a spark of something in her eyes, maybe even a hint of...jealousy?I smirked to myself. That little firecracker had been giving me the cold shoulder ever since that day in the hallway. Was she really refusing to talk to me just because I made a few cheeky comments alluding to our near-kiss? As if that night hadn't been on both our minds.No, she was definitely steamed about seeing me with my ex. And who could blame her? I did make sure that little vixen knew every word I threw out in class was meant for her. Riling her up never failed to amuse me.I chuckled under my breath. If Ella had her way right now, she'd probably bury me ten feet underground. The thought only fueled my mischievous flames.As I entered the cafeteria, my gaze landed on the two girls immediately. Ella was sitting across from Susan, as usual attached at the hip with her best

TRENT'S POV"Did you mention anything to Daddy about the money I took from him?" I asked in a low voice, kneeling down to my little sister Stacy's eye level. I'd found myself reluctantly crawling back home, cause really I have nowhere else to go. Stacy's eyes went wide and remorseful as she sensed my serious tone. "I didn't mean to," she insisted quickly. "It just...came out when I was talking to him and Mommy at dinner."I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling a sigh. "Okay, tell me exactly what you said to them."Stacy twisted her hands together, her small face scrunching up. "Well, when Mommy asked what I wanted from the toy store, I said I wanted a new teddy bear. But she told me we had to wait until my birthday."Stacy paused, visibly bracing herself."And...and then I said that you already got the money for my bear from Dad's wallet." "Stace, you weren't supposed to tell Mom and Dad about that," I said carefully, opening my eyes to meet her crestfallen gaze. "It was our littl