The time read 9:58 a.m. when Jace got back to his room.Iris—or whatever the fuck her name was—was still standing in front of the door.Of course she was.He didn’t even look at her. He was done. Completely. Girls were a mistake. Always had been. He and James had figured that shit out early—back when they were kids.Rule one: if you don’t want to die faster than necessary, don’t date girls.Rule two: don’t get involved at all.They mess with your head, twist the story, then somehow make you feel guilty for bleeding.He brushed past her, shut the door, and grabbed his laptop.The email.The one his “uncle” said would be sent.He found it instantly—timestamped one hour ago.Great. If he’d known today would spiral like this, he would’ve fucking eaten in here.He clicked the link.A video call.“Shit.”He glanced at his reflection on the black screen—messy, tired, looking like a kid who’d knocked over his parents’ dinner and tried to pretend nothing happened.A tight, unpleasant feeling s

Everyone was buzzing for the party. Official start: 8 p.m., but by 5 p.m., the first arrivals were already squeezing into the hall. Everyone wanted to know—which group was Maya in? Would she be with Jace? The five-hundred-dollar outsider ticket didn’t stop people; it only made the crowd wilder.Cameras, tripods, and smartphones were everywhere. Girls decked out in full glam, short dresses, and sky-high heels were practically vibrating with hope—hope that Jace would end up in their group, hope Maya would provoke him, and maybe—just maybe—he’d spin around and kiss one of them.The thought alone made these girls come out in droves. Who wouldn’t want a moment with a guy like Jace? The danger, the charisma, the charm—it was intoxicating.By 7 p.m., the hall was almost packed. Music thumped through the space, lights bouncing off glittering dresses and polished shoes. Cars kept arriving. The absence of a Rolls Royce? Clear sign—Jace had not arrived yet.“He’ll be here soon,” one girl murmure

Some girls immediately started calculating the price of everything Jace was wearing—the jacket, the shades, the boots. A few gave up instantly on their fantasy of catching his attention. That blushing, joke-cracking guy from earlier? Now, a distant, untouchable dream.Jace circled the car and opened the door.Out stepped a girl who was every guy’s fantasy wrapped in one. The dress, the sunglasses, the confidence—it made the crowd lose their damn minds.“Are you two dating now?”“Jace, tell us about Maya!”“Is she just another date??”Inside, Maya sulked—but she plastered on a perfect smile. No way anyone, not even Jace, was going to see her falter. She maneuvered through the crowd, forcing herself to ignore Jace holding Iris’ hand like it was nothing—like they’d known each other their whole lives.The crowd went silent, cameras raised, all vying for the perfect angle and the cleanest soundbite.“Hi, Iris,” Maya said, her voice smooth. “So nice to see you here. Didn’t expect you’d come

A chill ran across the whole room. The music in the hall was barely audible now, reduced to some distant, useless noise that no one was really hearing anymore. The couple of people who stood around recording couldn’t even react. It all looked unreal, like a badly scripted movie that suddenly decided to turn serious.No one knew what to believe again. Maybe he was still in on this quietly behind the scenes with Maya? Because why—why would he slap the white-haired guy like that? Who the hell does that?Or maybe Maya had some beef with the basketball guy for the past couple of days… maybe that was why this whole thing was happening. Maybe this was all just another twisted plan.The white-haired guy stood up, just as shocked as the others at Jace’s audacity.“You’re fucking drunk?” the guy asked, standing up. But it was more embarrassing that even with the dangerous rage carved on his face, he still didn’t compare to Jace’s height.“You fucking slapped me?” he asked again, like his brain

Jace had managed to escape the stupid party unhurt. He didn’t know if Iris was hurt—really, he didn’t give a damn if she had lost her head and it was a headless body that had followed him into the car. Well… maybe that wasn’t the case, because he could still hear her panting faintly beside him.And because he wasn’t about to fucking ask her if she was okay, he turned on the music and cranked the volume higher. Louder. Enough to drown out everything. No girl was ever getting close to his heart again. Ever.The fucking damn party—he would’ve regretted the whole shit if not for the fact that he had put fucking Daryl in his place. A bunch of kids organizing parties when they couldn’t even clean up their own mess. Pathetic.His phone vibrated against the fucking console.He picked it up, half-expecting it to be James. That bastard would definitely have jokes lined up already, ready to laugh his lungs out.But it was a strange number.He didn’t bother turning the music down before answering