No drama, no long texts. I just told him it was over. At first, Owen kept showing up at the hospital, trying to talk to me, win me back. But when his attempt result for nothing, he gave up.
My cousin, of course, was thrilled when she found out. Thought she’d “won.” Thought her irresistible charm had finally done the trick.
And Owen? He wasn’t just licking his wounds—he was hell-bent on payback. The two of them dove headfirst into something even more reckless than before. The toys got darker, the stunts even more unhinged.
It wasn’t long before the consequences caught up.
She started smelling… off. Like something rotting underneath all that designer perfume. And instead of fixing the problem, she just sprayed more on—trying to mask it, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.
Then came the big day.
Aunt Hannah had found her next target—a rich heir named Soren Armitage. She’d pulled out all the stops: luxury dress, fine jewelry, salon appointment booked. The whole nine yards.
“Alison, this is your big chance,” she gushed as the tailor adjusted the hem. “Soren Armitage is the real deal. He’s been raised on manners and money. And he likes innocent, wholesome girls like you.”
I caught the way my cousin flinched—just barely, but it was there. The panic. The guilt.
“I already have a boyfriend,” she muttered, eyebrows drawn tight.
“Then break up with him,” Aunt Hannah snapped. “You think your little boyfriend can hold a candle to someone like Soren Armitage?”
She waved it off like it was nothing. “Besides, you’re not even sleeping with him. Break it off, have Fran give you the surgery and you’ll be good as new. Clean as a whistle.”
That was the plan. One surgery away from being a virgin again. One lie away from landing a fortune.
But for once, Alison hesitated. She faked a stomach ache, refused to go to the event no matter what Aunt Hannah said.
Aunt Hannah wasn’t about to let a golden opportunity slip away. So instead, she turned to me.
“You’ll go in her place,” she said, like it was a simple favor. Like I owed her.
I refused, of course.
That’s when she pulled out her favorite line. The one she’d used for years, the one that always made my blood run cold:
“Don’t forget who gave you everything you have, Fran. I worked so hard to raise you and this is how you repay me? With disobedience?”