Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 151 - Chapitre 160

RIVERElise and Lana had moved to a shared space this semester. They had asked me if I wanted to join them, and I had thought things were going to be rosy between Taylor and me, so I turned them down. They were gracious enough to offer me a place to stay anyway. I was now sitting in the comfort of their couch, blanket on my lap, and they were boxing me in with tubs of ice cream and bars of chocolate. The way they stared at me so intently made me want to break, but I managed to hold myself back and smile. “You are the weirdest human I have ever met." Elise clapped with an eye roll. “Why do you say that?” I asked, trying to act as if I didn't understand what she meant. “Your precious boyfriend was parading around campus with an ex, and you are pretending to be fine?” She continued. “I am fine; this is nothing." “So why are you asking to crash on our couch?” Lana stabbed the ice cream with a spoon and pushed it to my lap. I looked down at it. I had never understood why girls ate

RIVERWatching the interview was exactly the kind of torture I thought it was going to be, and I couldn't stop. Taylor was focused on the camera while Vanessa was all over him. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but why did he keep letting her go off on him like that? Was he trying to send a signal to me? I had decided to let him go. After the pretence over the weekend, it was best if we lived our separate lives as two separate people. At this point, the whole world wants him and Veronica together, and if I were being honest, they looked good together. I had already drunk two shots of black coffee before making it to the lab that morning. Caleb is already sitting in the lab watching something on his tablet. I hissed angrily when I saw he was watching the interview. Of course, everyone was curious. Even he couldn’t hide it. “Taylor is pretty talented." My head snapped to Caleb too quickly, and my neck strained. “What?” I whispered gently. I expected Caleb to say ever

RIVERI found my way to the back of the stage. I am shaking not just with the anxiety of having to stand on stage in front of a crowd to present a paper that was still in its early stages. But also because of the video Vanessa had shown me. Taylor was innocent, but I hated all of the misunderstandings and how they kept arising without fail. I was looking at the slides we had prepared, and my hands were shaking. I wanted to give in and run away, but Caleb came into view before I could. He was wearing a midnight blue tuxedo, tailored to fit. He looked like he was fit to be the CEO of a growing and fast-rising company. His hair was professionally styled, and I couldn't help but wonder how he had got it done. I, on the other hand, was dressed in the dress my father had sent. It went all the way to my mid-calf and hugged my body perfectly. It was the perfect mix of casual and after-party. His eyes ran over me, and he opened his mouth, but I beat him to it with a continuous head shake.

RIVERI closed my eyes and the image of Taylor taking the change from Vanessa and walking side by side with her as they walked away, leaving me alone there, I am alone on the rooftop, the cold air brushing against my open shoulders and making me shudder. My phone buzzed with a message from Caleb trying to find me. ‘I will be down in a bit,' I sent back to him. I found the nearest restroom and touched up my makeup, refusing to act like Taylor wanted me to. After choosing Vanessa over and over again, he shouldn't be surprised I followed his cue. I got back to the hall, and the style had changed. There was a huge table running across the hall with chairs on opposite sides of the table. It gave me an image of the Last Supper. I found Caleb and my dad, who were seated side by side, having the time of their lives, having a conversation that made my father smile. “Here you go." Caleb jumped out of his chair and pulled mine. I froze at his caution. We had barely been able to fathom the

RIVERI tried to look for every excuse in the book to get out of this, but my father seemed to have a response to every claim I had. "It's a Sunday morning; what else could you be doing?” he asked. I looked to Taylor, hoping he would say something to stop my father from putting us in this very awkward position. Instead, he just faced him squarely and nodded once. “If you want to, Mr Wilson, then I think we can," he then trailed to me gently as if the final decision rested in my hands. “I mean, if River is up for it." ‘Wonderful, Taylor, why not throw me under the bus with my father?’ They both turned to me with expectations. I couldn't break my father’s heart with a no, so I shuffled on my feet and smiled warmly. “Of course, that sounds wonderful." "Great," he clapped happily. He was treating us like there was no raging feud between us. “You both get ready, and I will see you downstairs in three hours." Three hours were not enough to get my act together. I had contemplated ru