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 day after Mateo's outburst felt strangely muted. It was like the argument didn't even happen and I was yet to hear gossips regarding it.


Funny how for a school filled with rich and privileged kids, gossip was an Olympic spot. That could be an exaggeration but given everything I've seen and heard about my own self since this case began, I highly doubt it.


The corridors of St. Augustine's hummed with their usual rhythm, shoes clicking against the marbled floors, voices murmuring over last-minute notes, the occasional bark of a hall master but to me, everything sounded muffled, as if my ears had been stuffed with cotton.


Chapter 32 - Unlikely Partners