Chapter 96
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Nathan stiffens slightly, but his grip on my waist tightens almost to the point of pain.
I pull back a hair’s breadth and whisper against his lips. “Is this okay?”
His breath caresses my lips as he laughs softly before reaching around to cup the back of my head and press our lips back together.
I melt into him, slipping my arms around his neck. Our lips slide across each others tenderly, and my heart starts a speedy gallop in my
chest.
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Nathan’s tongue flicks out, tracing the seam of my lips, and I waste no time in opening up for him. A soft moan escapes me as his tongue strokes mine. I revel in the now–familiar taste of him and shift closer, desperate for more.
As I do that, the sharp edge of something digs into my hip, and I break the kiss to glare at the offending object.
When my gaze lands on his laptop, I suddenly remember why I went looking for Nathan in the first place.
I exhale, my head falling on his shoulder. “Right.”
“What’s wrong?” he asks. His voice is a little shaky, and the idea that it’s because of me sends a thrill through me.
I lift my head to look at him. My arms are still around his neck, and my fingers idly play with his hair.
“I have a favor to ask you,” I admit.
Nathan nods. “Shoot.”
I sigh. “I’m the worst big sister ever.”
He frowns. “Now, you know that’s not true. Why on earth would you say that?”
I shake my head. “I’ve been so in my head with this competition and you that I couldn’t even see how my sister was feeling.”
Nathan tenses. “Did something happen to June?”
I shake my head. “No. But she misses home, and school.” I scoff. “I completely neglected the fact that she’s been missing school. She should be hanging around kids her age, not navigating press conferences and fancy balls and-”
“Hey, hey.” Nathan squeezes my waist, effectively muting me.
“Stop that right now. You and I know without a doubt that June is the luckiest girl in the world to have a sister who loves and protects her as passionately as you do.”
“But-”
“But nothing,” he interrupts. “I’ll work things out and assign her a driver to take her to and from school every day till the end of the competition.”
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Chapter 96
I exhale, my head falling on his shoulder. “Thank you, Nathan.”
He squeezes my waist in reply.
“What about you?”
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Still resting on his shoulder, I turn my head to look at him. “What about me?”
“How’s your schoolwork going?”
I scoff. “It’s…not?”
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He frowns. “What do you mean?”
I mirror his expression. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the provisions my parents made for the contestants attending college–you know, the one where they attend their classes online in between events and lessons and their universities are kept in the loop,“–he shrugs-“well, bribed, more likely.”
I lift my head and blink at Nathan. “What?”
He gapes. “I figured you knew, and the provisions were not made for June because she wasn’t originally in the plan.”
My arms drop from around Nathan’s neck. “Are you saying I could have kept up with my classes? Are you saying other girls have been doing that?”
He nods. “They were provided with laptops and they use a monitored closed network so they can’t send any private messages or go on social media, but…yeah.”
I abruptly stand up from his lap. “What the hell? Nobody told me I could keep attending school! They took all our devices on the first day and that was it!”
Nathan curses softly.
I feel a sob build in the back of my throat. “Why was I exempted?” I whisper.
Nathan stands, too. “I don’t know, but someone’s going to pay for this oversight, I promise.”
I snort. “Oversight, yeah, right.”
“April-”
“Why am I in this competition, Nathan?” I ask, folding my arms.
He pauses. “What? Why would you-”
“Everyone treats me and my sister like second–rate citizens,” I say sharply.
“Anna hates my guts,“–I begin to count off my fingers-“Easton barely tolerates me and seems to think everything that goes wrong is my
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Chapter 96
fault. The night June had her accident, no one–not the doctors or guards–would help me. And despite what they want the public to believe, I know your patents aren’t happy to have me here.”
I take a deep breath. “I’m the only contestant from a poor background. How did I even pass the selection?”
Nathan’s brows furrow, and he drops his gaze.
I frown. “Nathan?”
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He shakes his head. “Look, April, I’m sorry, but-”
“Don’t apologize,” I interrupt as anxiety runs a finger down my spine. “Give me an answer.”
He sighs heavily and then pulls out his phone. Déjà vu washes over me as he types on the device. Then, after a while, he hands it to me.
I frown, not expecting or quite understanding what I see.
It’s a girl’s Instagram page. She has bright blonde hair, several shades lighter than mine, and a beautiful heart–shaped face.
Her Instagram is a mosaic of luxurious living–selfies on yachts, reels of New York Fashion Week, vlogs from backpacking trips across Europe, a graduation photo from Yale, a group photo in front of the Eiffel Tower.
When I’m sick–and jealous–of going through her glamorous life, I scroll back to the top. Then I see her Instagram handle, and my heart drops to my stomach with a dull thud.
April_Farrow
There’s a dull ringing in my ears as I read the name over and over again.
I can imagine how it happened–maybe it was the system, maybe it was an absent–minded employee.
Applications were submitted; applicants were chosen.
But instead of April Farrow, the beautiful, smart heiress, April Farrah, the broke, inept orphan, was chosen.
I shouldn’t be in this competition. It wasn’t fate that brought Nathan and me together after all these years.
It was one big fucking mistake.
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