of her pocket. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she

her phone, and pulled up a photo of the massive black box sitting i

her voice vibrating with anger. "To shut m

He nodded slowly. "It is reasonable compensation from

rt turned to ice. She let out a bitter, broken

omething crossed his dark eyes before b

eks. "Today is my twentieth birthday," she whispered. "And your

his highly calibrated brain completely short-ci

e of guilt in his chest, Arthur default

lculating register. "Then consider the penthouse your gift. Do not

d survived on scraps her whole life, screamed at her to hold on to it. But the image of his smug, untouchable

the dashboard and lan

ace. Chloe wiped her tears away with the bac

hetic," she

d the door handle down,

ificial lake in the center of campus. She sat on a bench, gripping the edge of the

tification to submit her scholarship ap

own the quiet hallway of the administration building.

was left slightly ajar. The sound of the Dean's overly enthus

was saying, his tone dripping with flattery. "She is an incred

nd froze i

p, cold voi

r. He was st

r. "Her name is Chloe Tucker. She is absolutely qualified to

e. It lasted for five agonizing

chuckle. "I did not know she had

had taken her sacred art and twisted it into

rd. She turned around, desperate t

y mahogany door was violentl

he light from the office, castin

stack of scholarship papers slipped from her h

d Arthur. When he saw Chloe, his face li

gers picked up a glossy photograph from the pile. It was a picture of Chloe playin

s eyes darkened, turning into

eached to take it, Arthur intentionally let his finge

nging his mouth rig

ispered, his voice a rough vibration against her skin. "I wo

on the carpet, watching Arthur and his assistant walk