A False Heiress's Guide to Love and Power

“Are you heading straight back to the studio now?”

“Yeah. Oh–and i just realized, I never wished you a happy New Year. I actually had a gift for you, meant to give it in a few days, but I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

“Thank you.” Every year, Eddie gave Alessia a gift. It was never expensive, but the thought was what mattered. She always accepted it, planning to give him something in return later.

“Sorry, nothing for you,” Eddie added, turning to Cole, though he hardly sounded apologetic.

“That’s fine,” Cole replied, his tone flat.

Alessia couldn’t help but laugh, tugging gently at Cole’s sleeve.

The two of them looked so at ease together, hands linked without a second thought. Eddie’s gaze lingered on their entwined fingers before he quietly looked

away.

“I’ve got my car here. Want a ride?”

“No need, we drove too.” Alessia nodded toward the car parked ahead.

his goodbyes and left–polite as always, neither too distant nor too

river road until he found a quiet spot

cut right through his coat, but he barely noticed,

been a

that world–where everyone looked down on you, yet you still had to

he’d acted on impulse. He just

the end, he’d lost his nerve, resorting instead to a roundabout way of meeting her, something that would look more natural if

if he ever took that first

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12:38

Chapter

him so deeply. When everyone else had turned their backs, she was the only one

survived

She had better options, someone like Cole–born lucky, loved by all. Eddie’s occasional barbs were nothing but envy, directed at the golden boy who’d had everything handed to

was bright, and he–stuck in the mud–would never

tried to inherit Xander’s legacy, choosing instead to become a therapist. He knew that getting

to emulate her way of dealing with people, pushing himself to be better. He used what he’d