Page 181 of Ruthless Chaos

Whatever the case, I will share it with her when I’m ready.

“I didn’t know I could be this excited to be back here,” I say, sitting up to shrug out of my jacket. “I hated this place the first time I got here.”

Tara chuckles, taking off her hat and putting it on her bed. “I think that’s a rite of passage,” she grins. “You hate it here until you start to love it.”

“Love is a strong word,” I say.

The rush of being back wears off quickly.

I get out of bed and go to the bathroom to change my clothes. I glance out the window. The sun has just begun to set, but I don’t feel the least bit tired. When I get back into the room, I find Tara standing in just her underwear, scrolling through her phone.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

She chews her lip absent-mindedly. “I’m just looking what’s up on campus this week.” She looks up at me, a cheeky smile on her face. “We have to party until you forget about that dickhead.”

I laugh. Usually, I would protest. Parties still aren’t my scene.

Things have changed though. This time around, I won’t be saying no to any of Tara’s suggestions. At least for the rest of the week. I made that pact with myself on the flight back. Maybe Idoneed to have fun with someone else to get a grip on the way I feel about Alexander.

My mind drifts back to the Chaos House girl who kissed me that night at the Kingmaker Party. Maybe my soulmate isn’t a guy.

“I would like that,” I say, and a tendril of excitement curls in my chest.

I reach over for my phone on the nightstand.

It buzzes almost the same time I pick it up. My heart stutters at the notion that it could be a text from Alexander, but when I pull down the notification bar it’s an alert from the SFU app. I open it quickly, expecting to see a new poster for an upcoming party.

What I see makes my blood run cold.

It’s a post with the headingPotential Breach of Treaty: Alize Moreau.

There’s a picture of me attached to it, very obviously pulled from my admission file—when my hair was still brown and curly.

The text reads: “Following reports from a dutiful student,it is believed that Allie Clarke A/K/A Alize Moreau has been deceitful about her identity. There will be an investigation by the Executive Body. If the allegations prove to be true, her protected status will be revoked, and the entire gamut of the Peace Treaty will apply—the student who kills her will receive $750,000 OR be eligible for admission into the Legacy House of their choice.”

My fingers start to shake.

My head is spinning, and the world is closing in on me.

There’s only one person who knew this.

You need my protection, you’re lying about who you are.

I thought it sounded like a threat, but I didn’t believe he would do this. It was foolish to think that a man like Alexander would ever play fair.

Hot tears stream down my face.

I should have killed myself in the bath at that hotel a few days ago. If I got this notification, it means the whole school did too.

Everyone knows I’m a fraud.

Worse than that, they also know that killing me will get them the one thing that their blood money would never be able to get them—the prestige of belonging to Hemlock, Chaos or Kingmaker House.

I look up from my phone to see that Tara’s crossed the room to lock the door.

Oh fuck.

I bolt from my bed and barricade myself in the bathroom.

With wobbly fingers, I dial the only person I can think of who isn’t out for my blood—Uncle Laurent.

* * *