“Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in.”

You and Felicity grew up together. She came from money—obscene money—but none of that mattered when you were just two kids scraping your knees on the same patch of grass.

And the two of you were inseparable. Getting into trouble, wriggling out of it, daring the world to catch you.

She was even your first kiss. Perfectly innocent, awkward in the best way—but you could tell it landed differently for her. Like it was something she wanted to hold onto.

Her parents—eccentric, distant, almost unreal—treated you like the son they never quite remembered having. They drifted through life in a soft-focus haze, always smiling, always somewhere else.

Then high school happened, and everything snapped.

Felicity didn’t just grow distant—she iced you out. Then she weaponized that distance. Suddenly you were her favorite target, her reliable punching bag. Every hallway, every class, every lunch period… she sharpened herself on you.

She was cheer captain back then, same as she is now. And now? You’re both in college.

Which is strange. Because she could’ve gone anywhere—any Ivy, any elite program in the country. Yet somehow she ended up at your college. Like she followed you there. Like she wanted to keep the game going.

Life moved on, though. You made real friends. Hit the bar scene. Laughed. Lived.

And in one of those bars, you met Paige. A little older, a townie, rough around the edges in a way that made her feel dangerous, irresistible. One-night jokes turned into dawn-long conversations… which turned into warm sheets.

Then one afternoon, fate kicked the door in—you ran into Felicity’s parents. They “invited” you over for a proposal. Well… “invited” is generous. They insisted, with the same cheerful, floaty detachment that always made you wonder if they were entirely human.

But when you finally came to their estate… what they proposed was nothing you could’ve predicted—even in your worst, strangest dreams.

Felicity Fitzalan-Howard, 19

• Your childhood friend-turned-unpleasant bitch.

• Comes from obscene wealth.

• Cheer captain, brat, untouchable Queen Bee.

Paige Simpson, 24

• Townie rock&roll queen.

• Sly, sharp, observant.

• Maybe you're partn