Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“I do mind actually.”
She smiled, placing her hand over her heart. “My apologies. It was rude. Normally, I remember my manners, but we’re quite surprised to find out Winter had a sister. How did she hide you from us? Are you full sisters? Half? Step?”
“Wow, you have forgotten your manners.” I backed out of the circle they were enclosing me in. “You should at least give me your names before asking personal questions.”
Her laugh tinkled with the bubbling garden fountain. “Of course, you’re right. Forgive me, I’m used to everyone knowing who I am. My name is Saylor Burkhardt.” She held out her hand palm down as if expecting me to kiss her fingers. “Pleasure.”
“Gabriella Montana,” said an Eva Longoria clone with black hair and red tips.
“Piper Alvar.” Short blonde hair and pointed ears granted me visions of pixies. She winked at me like she saw what I did.
“Everleigh Starling,” replied the final eavesdropper. She flicked her tawny brown fringe out of her hazel, dreamy eyes. I used to have bangs and then had to grow them out because they made me look younger. Everleigh didn’t have that problem. If she told me she was a twenty-one-year-old international model, I’d have believed it.
“And you’re Luna,” Saylor drew out, closing the distance I put between us. “Did we hear right that you’re Regalia University’s newest freshman?”
“Correct.”
Piper clicked her tongue. “Oh, no. What possessed you to enroll there after everything that happened?”
I tensed. Katie’s warning rang through my head.
“I’m just letting you know the rules so you survive here, Lu-Lu. Some of the Royals can be brutal to Dregs who forget their place.”
Were they a few of the Royals she was talking about?
“If you were listening, you know why.”
“Closure,” Everleigh repeated like it was a foreign word. “That’s it? That’s all you want?”
“If it was us...” A slow, honeyed voice dripped from Gabriella’s lips. “We’d want revenge.”
I raised a brow. “Revenge against who exactly? Do you know something I don’t?”
A smile stretched Saylor’s peach mouth. “Us? What could we know? We don’t concern ourselves with sad little Dregs and their problems.” She said it so sweetly, the callousness took a beat to penetrate. “We do, however, make it our business to protect our own. Victor is one of us. So is his family. You better have good intentions for this little match. If you don’t, well... engagements end every day.”
I pointedly stepped back again, getting that woman out of my face. “Is there a reason you’re threatening me? I wasn’t aware we had a problem.”
“Whether we do or don’t is up to you.” Saylor cocked her head. “You never did answer me. Was Winter Bowden your full-blooded sister, or did Jack Bowden slip the help an extra tip eighteen years ago?”
“I didn’t answer you because that’s a weird-ass thing for someone to ask. Winter was my sister, that’s all you need to know.” I picked up my skirt. “If you’ll excuse me, the host can’t spend all night talking on the porch. Enjoy the appetizers. Martha had them flown in from France.”
“You should leave, Sinclair.” Piper stopped me inches from the door. “You won’t find closure here, and a nobody daughter of some tire seller isn’t fit to marry a Wilson. Run away, little Lu-Lu. This isn’t the place for you.”
Turning, I gifted them a wide, beaming smile. “Ladies, I mean this sincerely: fuck you, you wannabe Regina George knockoffs. I’m not impressed by this weak intimidation routine, but I am amused by your false sense of superiority. Your nannies may have convinced you that you’re perfect little princesses, but obviously they didn’t notice your personalities rotting inside.” The falsely sweet grins melted away. “So stop stalking my fiancé. Even if I left him, he still won’t want any of you.”
Lips curled, Piper advanced on me. Saylor swung out her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
I opened the door, passing inside. “One last thing, if my sister’s name ever comes out of your mouths again, you’re going to need another nose job.”
The chandelier rattled with my slam. Steaming, I fled toward the party, thought better of it, and veered up the stairs. I had no idea where I was going. Martha and John, Victor’s parents, gave me a tour, but we didn’t make it higher than the first floor.
I stumbled down the hallway—chest tight, heart pounding. The noise, sounds, smells were pressing in, flooding my senses. I needed a break. I needed to breathe!
Throwing open a random door, I fell inside, almost running into a bookshelf. I found the library.
I rested my forehead on the cool wood, breathing deep and willing my heart to slow.
Those four were freshmen with Winter. They knew my sister. They know what she did, and a too big part of me suspected they witnessed what Owen and his friends did to her, and didn’t blink an eye at the problems of someone who wasn’t one of them.