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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The room went still when Alexander asked the question like everyone had the same thing on their minds.


I drew in a breath, steadying myself, though my legs still felt like they belonged to someone else. "Because I know what Mateo wants to hear," I said quietly. "He wants the dutiful girlfriend. The one who listens. The one who takes the blame, even when it isn't hers. He likes it when I make myself small, when I accept fault to keep the peace."


I hesitated, then met Alexander's gaze. It was funny how I had never noticed that that was what Mateo wanted until recently. And admitting it in front of Alexander made me worried about what he would think of me, about how he would see me even if I shouldn't be.


The light from the bulb in the room caught in his eyes, and it almost made me falter but I continued. "So I'll give him exactly that. I'll use it to get him to talk."


Chapter 26 - A Dutiful Girlfriend