Page 106 of Because I Liked A Boy
My chest caved in, suffocating. “No,” I whispered, the word clawing free. “No, not again.”
Penny screamed as the car jolted, the seatbelt cutting hard into us, rubber burning thick in my throat. My nails dug into her back, anchoring her to me, as if my arms alone could fight inevitability.
The brakes gave another crunch, useless, mocking. Liam’s face was a ghost in the dash light, pale, furious, terrified. “Hold on!” he roared, like volume alone could change physics.
Red lights ahead flared brighter. Traffic blurred into obstacles, metal, glass, lives that had no idea they were about to be collateral.
The headlights behind surged, snarling closer. The hunter ready to strike.
“Bella!” Penny’s scream split the air, sharp enough to tear me in half.
I kissed her hair, clinging as the promise ripped from my throat like blood. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Metal shrieked. Tires split. Glass exploded.
The world spun sideways—light, dark, light—everything ripping apart at once.
For a heartbeat, I heard Nathan’s scream again, layered with Penny’s, tangled with my own. History folding over itself.
And then nothing.
Black.
Next In The Trilogy ; Why You Gotta Be So Vicious
Isabella Ashbourne thought escape would mean freedom. But after the crash, freedom feels like a cruel illusion and her father’s grip only tightens. Keeping Penelope safe is all that matters now, even if it means walking straight back into the fire she tried to leave behind.
Hunter Hayes has been waiting in the shadows. Watching. Regretting every lie, every secret that shattered them. When Isabella is forced to stand against her father again, Hunter knows one thing: this time, he won’t let her fight alone.
Their reunion is combustible desire tangled with betrayal, trust colliding with heartbreak. To win, Isabella will need Hunter at her side. To love again, she’ll have to risk the one thing her father could never break: her heart.
But in a world built on lies, power, and vengeance, love may be the most dangerous weapon of all.
The war isn’t over.
It’s only just begun.
Why You Got to Be So Vicious: Prologue
It’s been a fucking month since I let her walk out of my life.
A month since Isabella Ashbourne—my princess turned her back on me and left me standing in the wreckage.
And every god damn day since, I’ve been watching her. From the shadows. From the sidelines. Online.
Every article. Every headline. Every glossy photograph of her stepping out of court, chin high, shoulders squared, pretending she doesn’t bleed. Every single one I’ve saved, read twice, sometimes three times, searching her eyes for the girl I knew the one who kissed me like I was her whole universe, who laughed with her head tipped back when I teased her, who let herself be soft when no one else was looking.
But she’s not there anymore.
What I see now is polished steel. A weapon.
She’s dismantling her father’s empire piece by piece, calculated, brilliant, merciless. Board members arrested. Court documents leaked. Shares gutted overnight. She’s turning his empire into ash and she’s doing it all without me.
She’s strong I’ve always known that. But her eyes… Christ, her eyes. They’re colder now. Hollow. Like she carved out everything that used to make her warm just to survive.
And I hate it.
Because I know her better than anyone. I know what it cost her to stand there looking untouchable. I know what it cost her to leave me.
