Chapter 1

My childhood sweetheart, a cold, straight-A student, fell for a wild girl.

For her, he drag-raced, partied, skipped class, and got into fights. Moreover, when she told him to, he had people break my legs. I was a dancer, and he practically ruined me.

My seven years of secret crush for him ended that bloody night.

When we met again, he looked at me, eyes red, tears falling.

I just stared back, confused. "Who are you? Should I know you?"

*****

I was hauled up and pinned down on a deserted rooftop.

There were seven or eight people standing in front of me.

Leading the pack was Luke Ashford, the guy I'd been secretly crushing on since we were kids.

His eyes softened as he joked around with his girlfriend, Nora Stark.

But when he looked my way, his gaze turned ice-cold and full of disgust.

"What do you want?" I asked.

With hostility all around me, I kept my gaze steady on him.

"Isla." Luke crouched down, blowing smoke rings right in my face. "Nora's my girlfriend.

"Who do you think you are, bringing people to mess with her?"

He glared at me, rage simmering in his eyes.

I tried to force a smile, but nothing came out. "So you're playing hero for her now?"

But inside, I was hurt.

After all these years, I never thought Luke would ever look at me this way.

Luke stayed silent, his eyes gloomy.

The people around us started mouthing off, getting restless.

"Still pretending? What hypocritical bitch," one of them sneered.

"We all saw the slap mark on Nora's face. The proof's right there. Don't even think about talking your way out of this," another scoffed.

"So what if you and Luke go way back? You still need to be taught a lesson," someone else growled.

While they laughed and jeered, someone yanked my hair and kicked me repeatedly.

Crumpled to the ground, humiliated, I still couldn't believe Luke would just stand there and let them do this to me.

Not once had I ever bullied Nora.

I stared at him, shocked and hurt. "Luke, we've known each other for years. When have I ever bullied anyone?"

Nora whimpered, clutching her swollen cheek. "Luke, just let it go. Isla's your childhood friend, after all. It's okay if I have to take a little pain for you.

"I'm just an outsider here. Don't let this ruin what you two have had for so long," she said.

The next second, Luke scoffed.

He gave me an icy look, eyes dark and cold. "Of course I believe my girlfriend."

He didn't ask a single question.

Just like that, after all these years as his childhood friend, he threw me under the bus.

What a joke.

I wanted to laugh it off, but my tears started falling.

Luke said, his voice calm but cold, "Isla, when you screw up, you gotta face the consequences."

He crouched down, sounding gentle but cruel. "Nora's gonna be a model. Since you messed up her face, you need to pay for what you did. That's only fair."

He snapped his fingers.

The crowd rushed in, grabbing my arms and legs, pinning me to the ground and holding me down tight.

As I struggled, I watched in horror as my favorite dance shoes were set on fire, turning to ash right before my eyes.

And my beautiful dance dress? They tore it apart without a second thought, leaving nothing but scraps.

I was stunned, my mind totally short-circuited.

I needed those for my big competition tomorrow.

And now, Luke had ruined them all.

That was when I finally realized that this was the "price" he meant.

Tears blurred my eyes as I screamed until my voice broke. "Luke, are you insane?

"You can't do this to me, Luke! You just can't."

Luke shook his head, his tone chillingly calm. "It's too late for regrets now.

"When you bullied Nora, did you ever think about what would happen?"

I clenched my fists, seething with hatred.

But I'd been way too naive, thinking things wouldn't get worse than this.

That was when a cold metal rod slammed straight into my knee. I felt my knee shatter.

I screamed in agony as pain shot through me, writhing on the ground and unable to stop.

I broke down completely.

Luke wasn't just ruining my shot at the competition tomorrow. He was out to wreck my legs for good.

I couldn't let this happen. Dancing was everything to me. My legs were my whole world.

In that moment, pride and truth didn't matter anymore. I just wanted to save my legs.

"Luke, please, don't do this. I'm begging you," I sobbed, my voice shaking. "I'm sorry, I really am! Just tell me what you want, I'll do anything. Just please, don't hurt my legs."

I clung to Luke's pant leg pitifully, begging him in a panic,

My dance shoes were gone, my dress was ruined, but they didn't matter.

But if I lost my legs, it would destroy me. I'd lose my mind for real.

Right then, I completely broke down. I begged and pleaded, words spilling out in a mess, my face streaked with tears and snot. "Please, just let me go."

But all I got was hit after hit with that metal rod.

Every breath I took was thick with the heavy scent of my own blood.

I looked at Luke, hollow and numb, still pleading for mercy. "Luke, please, I'm begging you, let me go!

"You know how much dancing means to me. Why, Luke?"