Chapter 2

Nolan's expression darkened, his gaze fixed on me, swirling with complicated emotions.

As the whispers around us grew louder, he yanked a red string from his neck, revealing a faded necklace.

My heart dropped.

It was the one my mom had gone all the way to a distant town to get before she passed.

I gave it to Nolan before he left town for an important competition, saying, "Here, this is something special from my mom. I want you to have it."

His eyes were rimmed with tears as he swore he'd cherish it with his life.

"Ivy," Nolan said, pulling out a lighter. He flicked it open, and a blue flame danced near the necklace. "Apologize, or I'll burn it."

I stared at the flickering flame, my mom's kind face surfacing in my memory.

All the pain, anger, and resentment melted away in that instant.

"Burn it," I said.

Nolan froze, clearly not expecting that. The flame lit up his shocked expression.

"Go ahead. Burn it," I repeated, my voice cold. "Nolan, we're done."

After that, I didn't look at him or anyone else in the room. I gritted my teeth against the pain in my side as I stepped out of the suffocating room.

The room behind me fell completely silent.

*****

When I got home, I locked myself in my room, quietly staring out the window.

Unexpectedly, a friend who had once been close to me and also knew Nolan sent me a video.

In the video, Nolan had his arm wrapped tightly around Hazel's waist, his smile radiant.

Hazel snuggled up to him and said, "Ivy's mom was the real mistress who came between my mom and dad. Nolan, don't you think?"

Nolan stayed silent for a long moment before nodding.

My phone lit up in the dark, notifications and missed calls popping up nonstop.

I skimmed through them. Most were from classmates, either pretending to care or curious, all responding to Nolan's recent post.

There was a photo of him holding Hazel's hand, captioned: [True love doesn't dwell on the past. I'll always be here for Hazel. Don't believe the lies.]

Lies? I could barely keep from scoffing.

I sent my Oxford acceptance letter to my grandfather, and after seeing the stock transfer notice he sent, I finally felt a sense of calm.

Then I reposted Nolan's post, adding three photos.

The first showed my father with a woman in intimate poses, taken years after his marriage. The background was blurry, but their gestures spoke volumes.

The second was a copy of Hazel's birth certificate. The mother's name matched the woman in the photo, and the birth date was clearly a year after my parents' wedding.

The third was a photocopy of faded diary pages, evidence my mother had collected of my father's affair.

I wrote: [The truth won't be twisted. Oh, and congrats.]

I hit send.

Less than five minutes later, Nolan's name popped up on my screen.

He yelled, "Ivy, have you lost your mind? Delete that post right now. Do you know how hurt Hazel was when she saw what you shared? She's so sweet and innocent. How could you say those things about her?"

Hearing him go on about Hazel being innocent and sweet, I felt my stomach twist.

"Nolan," I cut him off, my voice unnervingly calm. "What I posted isn't a lie. Hazel is the illegitimate daughter. There's no changing that. I'm only defending my mom; how is that hurting her?"

He choked on his words, fury flaring up even more.

He said, "Ivy, I was wrong about you. You've gotten so narrow-minded and aggressive. I'm so disappointed. Delete that post and apologize right now, or I won't let you go.

"You've always wanted to go to Oxford, right? Trust me, I can make sure you never even set foot there."

"Stop me from going to Oxford?" I repeated his words, a bitter smile brushing my lips.

"Nolan, did you forget what you promised my mom when she was dying? You said you'd protect me, never let anything happen to me," I said.

He paused for a second, then started ranting again. "That was in the past. Look at yourself now. You're holding onto the past like some resentful woman. Hazel would never do that."

"No, she wouldn't," I said with a soft laugh. "Because when she gets something, she never lets go. Just like she took you."

Before he could rant further, I hung up and deleted every way to contact him.

When a promise could be broken that easily, the person who made it wasn't worth keeping in my life.

Not long after I blocked Nolan, my so-called father called. He sounded unusually strict and told me to come home right away.

I could pretty much guess what this was about.

As I pushed open the door I hadn't touched in years, an unfamiliar, sweet perfume slammed into me.

Hazel was sprawled on the couch, her head pressed against Nolan's shoulder.

Nolan had an arm around her waist, and they were both looking at travel guides on the iPad, their laughter grating.