You lost everything to me\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first thing I saw when I went to the back of the house was Riley sitting down on a chair like a queen waiting for her servant. Her legs were crossed and she had a bikini on that barely covered any of her body, a black pair of sunglasses on, and a table in front of her that was set with drinks and snacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harper stood behind her, now smiling unlike before, as if Riley\u2019s presence alone gave her a reason to be smug again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stopped for a moment, taking in the scene. The air was cold, and yet here she was, sprawled half\u2013naked. My eyes flicked from Riley to the pool behind her. I frowned, then locked my gaze back on my cousin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d I asked flatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley didn\u2019t bother sitting up. She only tilted her head, a smile curving her lips. \u201cWhat do you think? I\u2019m just relaxing, waiting for my favorite tutor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at her again, then at the notes I carried with me. She had actually asked me to come out here by the pool in the freezing morning. We could have been inside, where we could actually study like normal people. I opened my mouth, ready to say it, but then shut it again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It hadn\u2019t even been one full minute since I arrived, and already Riley was testing me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed it down and walked forward, because her mother would hang me if I didn\u2019t do exactly what Riley\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reached the table, pulling out the chair across from her and sat down, setting my notebook across my lap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go through what you don\u2019t know,\u201d I said, flipping to the first page. I just wanted to get this over with and leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley, still staring up at the sky with her sunglasses shielding her eyes, let out a small laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re doing, Vileot?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes lifted to her. \u201cI\u2019m trying to tutor you on the aspects you\u2019re not good at.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley chuckled again, louder this time. Harper joined in behind her, their laughter echoing by the pool. Riley slowly slid her sunglasses down her nose and finally looked at me with an expression that made me feel like an insect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what you\u2019re doing, dummy, I just don\u2019t get why you are doing that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My brows drew together. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley smirked, leaning forward now. \u201cI guess Mother didn\u2019t really tell you what you should do, and you\u2019re not that bright to begin with. Okay, let me explain things to you, since you\u2019re having such a hard time knowing anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers pressed harder into my notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. \u201cViolet, you are to tutor me by finding out a way to switch our exam sheets without anyone knowing during the exams.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
((\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c}\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at Riley as if she had grown two heads and I was trying to figure out what her other head was thinking. But\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
You lost everything to me\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
she didn\u2019t even blink at her own words, she sat there calm, like what she was saying made perfect sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She even sighed, like I was the one being ridiculous for not catching on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley pointed lazily at the drink on the table. \u201cGet me that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, miss Riley,\u201d Harper answered immediately, rushing to grab it like the loyal little dog she was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley took the glass, sipped it slowly, then set it aside. She leaned back against the chair and looked me dead in the eye, her lips curling in amusement. \u201cIt\u2019s quite simple. This is what will happen, you\u2019ll write your papers on time, and if you finish, you\u2019ll look for the best time to pass them to me, exchanging our papers. If there\u2019s still time, you could even write the blank paper and submit it. That way, we both pass\u2026\u2026well, you\u2019ll have to write the wrong answers on your own paper so I come out first this time around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes widened, my mouth falling open before I even realized it. I looked at her, utterly dumbfounded. Each word that left her mouth was worse than the last, as if she had actually sat down and planned this whole thing in advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How? How could someone think like this? No matter how dumb, no matter how spoiled, a human being should still have at least a speck of common sense in their brain, right? There should be a little understanding of consequences?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to control the anger bubbling up in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Calm down, Violet. Anger isn\u2019t the answer, I told myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExcept that it\u2019s morally wrong,\u201d I finally said, my voice barely a whisper. \u201cDo you even realize how many ways this could go wrong? This isn\u2019t some small\u2013time school. This is one of the best colleges in America. There are CCTV cameras everywhere. And even if we somehow pulled it off, nearly every teacher would recognize it. My handwriting is unique, and different from yours. They\u2019d know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just insane, Riley. If we tried something like this, we could both get expelled. So maybe you should think before you talk-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley cut me off, rolling her eyes. \u201cThat is why I told you to come in the first place, dummy. You have a good brain. You can use it, can\u2019t you? Think of a way the both of us can do this without getting caught.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd besides,\u201d she said lazily as if she were talking about the weather, \u201cwe all know if you teach me, there\u2019s no way I\u2019ll learn anything that fast. And I have to be the top student this year if I ever want to show Daddy that I\u2019m the best person to take over the hospital.\u201d She smirked, tilting her head. \u201cOr\u2026 are you trying to take the hospital from us, just because it was your father that built it, Violet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hands clenched instantly at the sound of my father\u2019s name on her lips. The way she said it, so mockingly, as if she had every right to, made my chest burn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite tragic, isn\u2019t it? You lost everything to me. Your house, the hospital, the comfortable life you had\u2026\u201d She let out a little laugh, like she was enjoying every word, then added, \u201cOh, and I couldn\u2019t forget the most important thing, you even gave me your kidney.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, why can\u2019t you just close your eyes, like all the other times, and give me the top spot?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dont you a\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you dare\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was eighteen when Riley fell sick. One day she just collapsed, and by the next, the doctors were saying kidney\u00a0<\/p>\n
failure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nobody saw it coming. Seeing Riley, the same girl who spent years tormenting me, lying pale and weak in a hospital bed was strange, and unsettling. I didn\u2019t know if I was supposed to feel pity or emotionless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few days later, her mother came to me, and asked me to get tested. I still remember sitting there, waiting for the results. And when they told me I was a match, everything changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My aunt, who could hardly stand the sight of me, suddenly smiled when I walked into a room. She bought Sebastian everything he wanted, and even transferred him to a better school. She tried the same with me, but I wasn\u2019t stupid. I could see right through her. None of it was real, they just wanted my kidney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honestly, they didn\u2019t even need to pretend. I had already decided if I could save Riley\u2019s life, I would do it. Even if she hated me. Even if she would\u2019ve laughed if it had been me dying instead. We were family after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After I signed the consent papers, my life wasn\u2019t mine anymore. I was put on a strict diet. I wasn\u2019t allowed to leave the house without permission. My aunt was terrified something might happen to me before the surgery, and might ruin her daughter\u2019s chances of living.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the surgery was over, they dropped their masks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I got sick afterward, and it was me lying in a hospital bed with tubes in my arm and pain tearing through my body. No one was there. I didn\u2019t even tell Sebastian, I couldn\u2019t risk him blaming himself. I couldn\u2019t tell my friends either. None of them would have let me go through with it if they\u2019d known. So I suffered alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave them everything, and they left me with nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So now, hearing Riley throw it back in my face, using my kidney as a weapon to humiliate me, didn\u2019t hurt. It was just another day in this family. Another reminder that no matter how much I gave, they would always want more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And one day, I knew, they would take everything from me until there was nothing left to give.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I just stared at Riley. My face was blank, my eyes hollow, as though I was looking through her rather than at her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And in that still moment, my mother\u2019s voice echoed in my head. \u201cNo one is truly evil, Violet. Sometimes, when they show you their bad side, show them your good side. It will eventually get to them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No, Mother. You were wrong. There are evil people in this world. People who can\u2019t be changed. No matter how many good sides you show them, they will never appreciate it. They will only take your kindness and spit it back in your face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A small smile tugged at my lips. I looked down at the notes in my lap, my fingers digging into them until the paper nearly tore. It was the only reaction my body allowed me to show. After a long breath, I lifted my gaze back to Riley, who was still watching me like she expected me to obey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will pretend I never heard such things,\u201d I said flatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the first time, Riley blinked, taken aback. She hadn\u2019t expected for me to reject her. How low did they truly see me? How foolish must I have been in the past, doing everything they wanted, for them to think I would actually agree to this madness?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood up slowly, my notes pressed tight against my chest. \u201cSince you have no intention to study, then I have no\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you dore\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
reason to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took one of the notes, laid it neatly on the table between us, and added, \u201cYou can still use this to study if you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s lips curled, amusement flickering in her eyes, but I ignored her. At the end of the day, it didn\u2019t matter if my aunt threw another tantrum, I would never cheat for her daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned my back and started walking away. I barely took two steps before a sudden shove slammed into my back. My eyes flew wide, my hands clawed at empty air, desperate for something to catch. But there was nothing to hold\u00a0<\/p>\n
on to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stumbled, lost my balance, and with a splash, crashed sideways into the freezing pool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God!\u201d I gasped as water slammed into my face and rushed up my nose. I choked, lungs burning, until my fingers scraped the slick edge of the pool. Clinging hard, I dragged myself up, coughing, hair plastered to my forehead, jeans and shirt clinging against my skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harper looked down at me, arms crossed, a smile fixed on her face. My stomach dropped. Had she completely lost her damn mind?!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Splashing me before was one thing I could overlook, but shoving me into an entire pool? That was a whole different matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, don\u2019t glare at her. You just needed a little cooling down, so I told her to do it.\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
A voice cut in, and I turned to see Riley. She looked at me as if she\u2019d done me a favor, still lounging in the chair before finally standing and stretching her arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pushed my palms into the rough tile and hauled in air until it burned. My heart thudded hard enough I could feel it in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNeeded cooling?\u201d I repeated. \u201cHow could you push me into the pool? You know I can\u2019t swim!\u201d My voice cracked as I remembered that day with Nora and Matthew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nora had shoved me into a pool to get Matthew\u2019s attention, I\u2019d almost drowned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thank God this pool wasn\u2019t deep, or I would have honestly died this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why on earth were they all trying to drown me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, don\u2019t be dramatic, Violet. It\u2019s not that deep. You wouldn\u2019t die,\u201d Nora said, indifferent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou-\u201d I started, but Riley cut me off the way she always did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me tell you one thing, because it seems like you have forgotten your place, Don\u2019t forget our family still controls you and your brother\u2019s lives. Well, not necessarily your life, but your brother, and I know you can die for him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I want, I\u2019ll tell Mother to make his life harder. I also have friends whose siblings are in your brother\u2019s class, should I tell them to make his life miserable? From what I\u2019ve heard, he\u2019s already a loner because he\u2019s different. Maybe I\u2019ll make his school days as hellish as yours were.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words hit me hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare,\u201d I warned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why I will give you a chance,\u201d she replied without flinching. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want anything to happen to the\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you dare\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
people you love, just do as I say. I will give you a week to think about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned away as if our exchange were finished. \u201cLet\u2019s go, Harper. I have some shopping to do.\u201d Her heels clicked as she left. Harper trilled obediently, \u201cYes ma\u2019amn!\u201d and shot one last sneer over her shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, you are a nobody. You\u2019re just a worthless woman who no one will ever love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They walked off together. I crouched there, hands splayed on the tile, water dripping from my hair and body. My chest felt tight, ribs aching as if I\u2019d been punched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a sigh, struggling to pull myself up, when a voice interrupted. \u201cHere, let me help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze. I didn\u2019t have to look to know whose voice that was, my stomach dropped anyway. Slowly, I lifted my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing at the edge of the pool was Conrad, smiling as he looked down at me the way a hunter looks at an animal with nowhere left to run. 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
BIG SALE: 3500 bonus free fou you\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 74 You lost everything to me\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 The first thing I saw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27990\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}