What’s the worst part about having a guy like Jace as a roommate? Other than the fact that he’s a total asshole—and doesn’t even try to deny it—there’s this: you hear some crazy news on TV, some viral video about him getting into an accident with a shady cab driver, and your heart stops. You’re worried, right? And the least he could do is fucking answer his phone.But no. He doesn’t. He ignores your zillion messages. Doesn’t even drop a “I’m alive” text. And honestly… at this point, you’re half-convinced you might have to go fetch his corpse from wherever the hell they keep dead bodies.And even if you, like Paxton, already knew your fate and were trying not to lose your sanity waiting for him, you definitely didn’t expect Jace to come back with a hell of shopping bags in his hands.“I thought you almost died?” Paxton blurted, staring at the mountain of bags on the floor.“Yeah. Paid for all of it with my fucking card. Couldn’t let him get away with it. Some of the clothes are a bit

“When you told me I was going to help you, you didn’t mention it would involve my family business,” Maya snapped, each second of Dave keeping her in the dark making her tighter and tighter.“I only needed you to be present at the dinner with your parents,” he said, his tone calm, like he wasn’t even listening. That made Maya even more pissed.“So now you dragged us into this whole mess—what, you and Jace?”“I didn’t, Maya. You heard everything. I’m not going to repeat it, right?” He glanced at her in the back seat, saw the glare, and frowned. “Do you feel sorry for Jace?”“I don’t!” Maya shot back faster than she intended. “He’s useless. He deserves everything that happens to him. But… it would’ve been nice if you’d told me this involved the family business.”“I didn’t want to worry you. I already spoke with your parents—they’re okay with me going on dates with you. If things work out, we can even get married, collaborating both our family businesses. Millions that could turn into bi

Jace’s mind snapped into action. Paxton might have gotten some of the food in his eyes. He rushed forward, but another guy stepped in, blocking his path.“You want more of that on him?” the guy asked with a grin, thinking he looked cool. Jace clenched his fists but told himself: no violence.By now, a crowd of students had gathered, whispering. Only the brave ones dared even lift a phone.“You should behave like a human. You’re not some animal,” Jace said, surprised at himself that he hadn’t yet used his fists.“The same way you behaved like a human some days ago? Standing us up at the bar and sending someone over to tell us you don’t drink with peasants?” one of them shot back.“What a joke you are!” another added.“Oh,” Jace muttered, a gentle smile crossing his face like he’d just had some sudden revelation. “Figures. I had no idea it would bother you that much. I mean, it was just me telling you the reality. But…you sure look like you haven’t had a wink of sleep since that night.”

Jace rolled down the window. The guys were right next to it. You’d think he’d stop there, but hell no—he lifted the roof of the car. Special Rolls-Royce flex, extra loud.The guys were fuming, obviously. And for a second, they thought maybe Jace would apologize. Wrong. Very wrong.Each of the three basketball dudes had a girl by their side. The girls looked…curious, maybe a little intrigued.“Um, Jace,” one of them started, “you’re not going to get off this easily. If you’re sorry, just admit you were a bad dude and we’re fine.” He tried to flex gentlemanly, show his girl he was “in control.”Jace didn’t care.“Hey, girls,” he said, smooth and casual.The guys tightened their grips on their girlfriends.“I was hoping I could borrow some girls. My guy here and I are hitting a party tonight—but I’m girl-free at the moment,” Jace said, not breaking eye contact with the first dude who protested.“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” the first guy snarled. “This is a fucking stupid in

This was the second time that week her parents had helped clean up her mess, and Maya was not happy about it. The fact that it was because of that idiot Dave made it worse—made her blood boil. But if that was all she had on her mind as the car drove her to meet Jace, it would’ve been easier.Deep down, she wasn’t ready to face him yet. Sure, what she did was reckless—but his reaction? Wild—was what really pissed her off. All she’d done was make videos, live videos that everyone watched. Shouldn’t he be grateful? A lot of people would kill for that attention.And yet, here she was, walking into the coffee shop, her stomach twisting. She opened the door, expecting only Jace. But no…Paxton was with him.She froze. Wait—what?She already had a rocky history with Paxton. She loathed his very existence, and the sight of him here, standing casually beside Jace, was infuriating. And the worst part? Jace didn’t even flinch at her presence.Maybe…this was why she was so mad.Then, unexpectedly,