That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, but I don’t say that out loud.
Instead, I retort, “Well that sucks for you, because I have nothing of value to pay you back with.”
Except for the Jacoby fortune.
Which Nora wants to use to destroy his family.
“Oh, I disagree.” He pushes me so I fall back on his mattress, then he crawls up over me to pin my arms above my head. “Because I really do own you now, little masochist.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Note From The Author
EDEN is a dark high school romance with enemies-to-lovers and bullying themes. It is not recommended for readers under 17 as it contains dubious situations and triggers that some readers may find offensive. As it is the third book in the Angelview Academy series and closes out the storyline started in Saint, it is recommended to read SAINT and MALICE first.
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Playlist
Monster - Meg Myers
Rockstar - Post Malone & 21 Savage
Castle - Halsey
Music to Watch Boys To - Lana Del Rey
Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars
Sick Boy - The Chainsmokers
Lovely - Billie Eilish & Khalid
Fuck it I love you - Lana Del Rey
Him & I - Halsey & G-Eazy
Close - Nick Jonas & Tove Lo
Adore You - Harry Styles
Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey
Mary Jane - Halsey, G-Eazy & Tyler Grey
Human - Ellie Goulding
When the Party’s Over - Billie Eilish
Paradise - Coldplay
Prologue
Saint
“I hope you all go straight to hell.”
My little masochist’s words rattle around in my skull as she storms from my room, but I know she’ll be back. Mallory always comes back. So, I light up and wait.
Inhale.
Wait.
Exhale.
Suck in until my brain goes numb.
Twiddle my thumbs like a fucking fool.
Puff hatred and lust and something I never want to admit for that ungrateful bitch.
By the time I figure out she’s not coming back, I’m so fucked up it shouldn’t matter, but it does. I still taste her on my tongue. Smell her in the air, clean and good, with a hero complex that makes me sick to my stomach. And that shit makes me loathe everything she represents even more.
Fuck me?
No, fuck Mallory Ellis.
Fuck her for coming here. For coming back to this school. Fuck her for being too naïve to leave, even when the devil’s breathing down her pretty neck.
Fuck her over, sideways, and under.
Gritting my teeth, I snatch the Altoids tin from the corner of my desk, prepared to roll another to shove her out of my head, but the knock on my door stops me. A grin snaps into place.
Patience has never been my thing, and this is just another reminder.
Because Mallory always crawls back. That’s her downfall.
I stagger to the door, through a haze of smoke and her, and allow a smirk to tug at my mouth as I throw it open and gaze down at her.
Instead, I’m staring at red hair, a tight Gucci sweater, and raised eyebrows.
“Oh goody, you’re high. That means we’ll get somewhere,” Rosalind practically sings, shoving me aside and prancing into my bedroom. My jaw clenches when I hear the squeak of my mattress. What the fuck does she want now? I slam the door and whirl on the sight of her fluttering her lashes.
“Saint, I’m worried—”
“Why the fuck are you here?”
She has the goddamn nerve to look surprised. Then angry. Fuck her, too.
“You asked me to come back, remember?” She shoves off the bed and meets me halfway, jabbing a pink nail into my chest. “You held what we did over my head so you could—”
I shush her dumb ass with a finger over her big fucking mouth.
Rosalind’s always talked too much. Just like Mallory.
Except Mallory…
I shove the rest of that thought aside. Just like I’m supposed to shove her aside.
“You wanted to come back because you wanted Liam,” I remind Rosalind, and she swallows hard.
“Yeah, well, he’s not all that interested anymore, is he?” she whispers once I drop my hand from her mouth.
Fuck, I hate the way she’s looking at me. Like I’m a goddamn monster.
I should own that and wear it like a shiny medal, but I can’t with Rosalind.
Once upon a time, she was my closest friend and I’d almost failed her.
“I’ll fix it.” I’m not even sure I believe that shit anymore. Liam’s just as lost as I am and it’s all on Mallory-Fucking-Ellis.
Everything is because of her.
Fuck her.
“Yeah, sure you will.” Rosalind gives me a half smile and backpedals, almost crashing into my desk. Her features crease, then she whispers, “Why is she so special, Saint? And don’t give me that crap about wanting her to fuck off, okay. I’ve known you my whole life, and I’ve never seen you like this. I know what you did to her last year. I know—”
“You don’t know a fucking thing.”
She lifts her chin. “I know that you only wanted me here to keep your parents off your back and when you found out Mallory Ellis was either too stupid to leave— or too brave—you shifted gears. So why? What is she to you?”
I’m in her face in an instant, but Rosalind doesn’t cower. Why the fuck would she, though? Her only fear is gone.
I did that for her, just like she’s going to help me until whatever the fuck is happening with Mallory is done.
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” Rosalind exhales, and I feel my lips curl up.
“Don’t you have a reluctant ex to seduce?” I demand, making her flinch. “Get the fuck out, Rose.”
She stares at me for a long time, nostrils flaring and her breath heavy until she finally flings flaming hair into my face and rushes for the door. “Just so you know,” she announces in a shaky voice, swinging it open, “the girl you’re not in love with just took off with the sexiest piece I’ve ever seen.”
That makes my blood run cold. Makes the haze start to dissipate. I pause from carving my fingers through my hair to glare across the room at her. “What?”
“Tall. Tattooed. Looked like he was going to give her death by dick,” she continues, and a smarmy grin flays my memory.
Ghost.
That’s what Mallory had called him, isn’t it?
I stalk across the room, caging Rosalind in and slamming the door shut. She’s not leaving. Not when so much is at stake. “When?”
She just smiles because she knows she has me.
Knows that Mallory, the little fucking masochist that she is, is my kryptonite.
“Where?” I grit out, and Rosalind’s smile goes wider.
“So, you do like—”
“Where, Rose?”
“Outside her dorm. I was visiting Chelsea Madnick for my weekly—”