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“Yep. Apparently, Noah has been planning to screw over his grandfather for years, and he’s been working in secret with my dad.”

"Wow.”

“That’s just the start.” I slumped down on Anna’s bed. “Noah told me that everything he’s done recently—breaking up with me, telling Luther and Kaden to ignore me, dating Veronica—it was all to convince his grandfather he wanted nothing to do with me. To show he was loyal to William so he wouldn’t get suspicious. Then on the drive back here, Noah told me he’s been in love with me all this time and now he wants me back.”

Anna stood motionless as she listened to me, her mouth hanging slightly open. I’d left her speechless. It was a feat I never would have believed possible. I had to admit this was all quite hard to believe—even at Weybridge Academy where the bar for drama was pretty high.

“Shit,” Anna finally said. “I think I need a drink.”

“You always need a drink,” I replied.

“True.” She smiled, but then her expression dimmed. “I thought the story about the surprise takeover was wild. But this…”

“Is a lot.” I hadn’t even told her about the fact Noah and Matthew had discovered William was responsible for the deaths of Liam and Georgina. That part I’d better keep to myself.

“What are you going to do?” Anna asked, coming to sit on the bed beside me.

“There’s nothing I can do,” I said. “The deal is done. My dad owns Noah’s family business now. They’ll continue working together.”

“I meant about Noah?”

“I’m with Wes,” I replied simply, like that was all the answer I needed to give.

“Yeah, but do you still have feelings for Noah?”

I wished that was a question with an equally easy answer. It was hard to know what to feel when just two days ago I’d been convinced Noah hated me, and I’d convinced myself I hated him too.

“It doesn’t matter what I feel about Noah,” I said. “I care about Wes. Noah hasn’t changed that. I already told him that he needs to forget about me and move on.”

Anna nodded. “Are you going to tell Wes what Noah confessed? That he’s in love with you?”

“I’m not sure.” I hesitated. “I don’t want to worry him unnecessarily, and I think it would upset him.”

“Yeah, it’s tricky,” Anna agreed. “Noah’s feelings might not be something you can hide though. He doesn’t seem like the type to sit back and let another guy be with the girl he wants.”

I groaned and lowered my head into my hands. She was right. The last thing I wanted was for Wes to learn about all this from someone else. Especially Noah. I’d already suffered enough because of my family drama. I didn’t want my relationship with Wes to be affected too. We were so good together. Why would I give that up to be with someone who had treated me as badly as Noah had?

I jumped as my phone buzzed in my pocket. When I pulled it out, I saw I had a text from Wes. Speak of the devil.

Wes: Hey, how’s it going? When are you getting back to school? I miss you.

I swore under my breath,and guilt swelled in my chest. I’d been so distracted by everything I hadn’t messaged Wes since yesterday. He didn’t even know I’d just gotten back to Weybridge.

“That’s Wes,” I said to Anna. “I should go see him. On a scale of one to ten, how pissed do you think he’ll be when he finds out I got a ride back from New York with Noah?”

Anna grimaced. “I mean, probably less pissed than if he hears Noah’s in love with you.”

I dropped my head into my hands. “Not helpful,” I groaned.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll be okay once you explain the whole story. You can’t help what Noah does or feels. What’s important is you want to be with Wes, and you told Noah that, right?”

“Right,” I confirmed.

“Then I’m sure Wes will understand.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling a little more confident than before. Although that wasn’t saying much. “I better go. Wish me luck.”

* * *