Don't Regret When She Let Go

Bella Robert wasn't supposed to fall this hard. She's the queen bee of her elite high school—top of her class, every guy's fantasy, every girl's desperate wish. But none of that matters to Louis, the quiet transfer student she's been chasing for two years. She throws him birthday parties, buys front-row concert tickets, plans the night she'll lose her virginity to him. Everyone at school already sees them as a couple. Bella believes persistence will eventually win his heart.

Then she finds out the truth. Louis isn't some poor new kid she needs to protect. He's Louis Astor, heir to the wealthiest family in the country, and he's been playing a role for one reason: to get close to Vivian, Bella's stepsister. Every moment Bella thought was real was just a step in his plan. He's been using her as a bridge to another girl. When the Iris Prize—the award Bella spent her entire high school career fundraising for—is handed to Vivian instead, courtesy of a last-minute nine-million-dollar donation from the "anonymous" Astor heir, the betrayal is complete. Louis didn't just steal her heart. He funded her defeat.

The cruelty doesn't stop there. During a sudden earthquake at the ceremony, Louis shoves Bella aside to save Vivian. At Vivian's birthday party, she dangles Bella's dead mother's bracelet as bait, then throws herself to the ground and blames Bella for the fall. While the crowd chants for Bella to strip off her dress as an apology, Louis stands there watching. "Believe whatever you want," Bella finally tells him. "She's not my sister. She took everything from me." Then she walks away for good, transferring to a public school in another state, leaving behind a boy who is only just beginning to understand what he threw away—and a stepsister whose mask is starting to crack under the weight of her own schemes. The tables are turning, and when they do, everyone who underestimated Bella will learn exactly who they pushed aside.