Stephanie’s POV:“Please,” she pleaded, widening her eyes in what I supposed she thought was a playful, disarming way. It only irritated me more. What grated on me even harder, though, was how her gaze kept flickering past me, toward Nicholas, Alex, Aiden, and Caden, as if silently begging them to step in and tip the scales in her favor.I let out a quiet scoff when I caught on. It wasn’t subtle, not to me. She was setting a stage, carefully arranging the scene so I’d look like the villain no matter what I chose. If I refused, I’d be the cold, inconsiderate one in front of them. If I accepted, she’d get exactly what she wanted while basking in the satisfaction of having cornered me into it. Either way, she walked away victorious.Two birds. One stone. Classic.Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t playing along.I didn’t care what they thought of me. That might’ve been my greatest flaw or my greatest strength, depending on who you asked. I could be a lot of things—difficult, blunt, even cru
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