At St. Augustine’s Academy, privilege and power run through every marble hallway. For some, this final year means freedom. For others, it’s the stepping stone to even greater influence. But for a few, it will become a life-altering secret they can never escape.

Isabella Marquez has her future mapped out; graduate top of her class, enter the most prestigious university, and one day take control of her father’s empire. Nothing and no one will stop her.

Especially not Alexander Hawthorne with his smirk and blue eyes, the Duke’s reckless second son. To Isabella, he’s nothing more than a chain-smoking, party-throwing menace who will likely end up in jail before graduation.

But when a classmate turns up dead in Isabella’s dorm room, Alexander becomes the only person who can help her prove her innocence. Forced into an uneasy alliance, Isabella discovers that behind his arrogant smirk and scandalous reputation lies someone far more complicated than she ever imagined.

And in a world where secrets are currency and friends can become enemies and enemies can become something dangerously more, Isabella may find herself risking more than just her future, she may risk her heart.



Dive in to explore Isabella's life as it either takes a turn for the best or the worse.


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Chapter 59: The Confrontation We Couldn't Avoid


Yvette stared at me like I'd just told her the sky was falling.


I repeated it quietly, almost wishing I hadn't. "Maeve said she saw Clara and Mateo… together."


Her mouth fell open, and for a long moment, she just gawked at me as if I'd started speaking another language. Then she scoffed...loud, incredulous, the kind of sound that could slice through silence like glass. "Oh, please. There's no way that's true."


"I didn't think so either." My voice came out smaller than I intended.


Yvette shook her head hard, pink-tinted hair falling in front of her face. "No. Not Clara. She wouldn't do that. You know how she is... I know she ate lunch with him at the same table but there's no way she would be seen alone with Mateo. That's just not possible. Maybe he had something to tell her."


Chapter 59 - The Confrontation We Couldn’t Avoid