eight hours, I beca

me, a pile of blankets, and the

eeped in desperation, delusion, and pathetic longing. It forced me awake. It forced me to look back on everythi

e do I ev

, I ordered three bottles of the shampoo he'd once praised. My scalp broke out in hive

how to bake and brought him a box of pastries in the rain. He didn't even open the

seem "graceful and agreeable." I spent the entire night crouched over a toilet, writhing in pain until 3

the

lm essays just to casually drop the quote at a party. I got it wrong. He corrected me in

ed and said, "You've g

realized I was never

more than a low-rent version of the "perfect

m the faint illusion of having her

ntil I shook. Not because it was funny-but b

red their final ultimatum two days

did Rhys intervene? Did he f

the door

dn't stop

ll five

pillow. Oh god.

sted body to the

had the legal right to yell at me-stood on the other

ght in her eyes dimmed. "Wha

rying to sound casual

king a strand of hair behin

-sil

rous kind. The kind that comes

hit

trying not to draw the neighbors' a

my arm and spoke through gritt

d into her arms. My face buried in her sweat

d me, her hand moving in calm,

roat to burn and my nose to turn bright red like Rudo

hy

didn'

o needed to throw punches to destroy someone. One phone call to the right p

ng of a Rolex. When he chose to go to war, he was a nobleman wielding

rrogant. No one eve

just said, I could practically hear the

if denying it out loud might somehow make it

to be the gentleman. The golden boy. The

im," I sa

rubbing my back again, this time

his place. I, uh. acc

ody tensed.

odd

swear to God, if you tell me it was some pricele

Katherin

and froz

was my concerned best friend. The ne

uld get ahold of something worse.

all

in two and Sky City sank into t

rom storming out t

nymore and she's still managing to wreck your life! And your parents? They just stand there watching! I

l-too-familiar ache settled deep in my chest. I knew some parents would al

orry,

y and managed a weak smile. "Actually, I think it's a good thing. At least I found out

oftening. "Mira, you know no matter

owled loud enough to inte

lled out a takeout bag, giving me a look that p

I was too busy eating lik

went off to clean up. I lay on the bed, staring a

on the phone. I didn't catch every wor

le of

fucking

it till I tell you what this

Hasterton. And unlike Rhys, Zan

hout hesitation, without question-made my throat ti

e very top of the food chain-untouchable. And I had no doubt h

r the blanket and le

y parents love

r way out of their master plan, I became Plan B

as because I got engaged to Rhys. That little arrangement somehow elev

this sounds-was because I thought maybe I could finally get somethin

the engagem

isposab

p me off to some remote jungle where I'd spend the rest o

solutely cap

pillow. What the

d someone more p

onaires are just wandering around Sky City hoping to marry

d

lashed i

ago. My n

uldn't mind being alone with him in his apartment

I didn't even know his name. Just that he had th

too da

aned

t stupid mug, everythi

it's not. And the

when I wasn't even the one who messed it u

eel worse. We're getting up, and we're going to fin

AT

ad already changed m

ff to Sky City's most exc