Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Melody For five years I’ve lived a false life, one forced upon me by my father’s mistakes. In hiding, I can’t be myself, can never reveal who I truly am, and I will never again have the love of the man who owns my heart. But maybe it’s better this way. After all, how could he ever look at me the same after what my father did to his family? I know he’ll never forgive me, never want me—and when he finds me and kidnaps me, I know it’s only for revenge.
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1
MELODY
I’m never getting out of here. My eyes stay locked on my phone screen. There is a picture of Easton and me at prom together. One great thing about young love is Easton and I will have all of our firsts together.
He is older than me, but he isn’t like the other boys in our fancy private prep school. Some might have thought him to be stuck-up with a side of aggression. But once I got to know Easton, I knew it was far from that. Easton knew what he wanted and would never settle for less. One of those things he wanted was me. He made that very clear from day one.
The minutes drag by at a snail's pace. A girl should never have to go to school on her birthday. Especially one I’ve been counting down the seconds to.
I bet Easton is already waiting for me out in the parking lot. God, I’ve missed him. I smile. That’s all I’ve ever done from the moment he stole my heart and made me believe in life again. Believe in me. That I could lean on him, and he’d always be there even when my dreams and life felt scary.
Since Easton came into my life, so many more things seemed possible. Even during my darkest of times. I hate that we have to be away from each other.
That’s the thing that sucks about going and falling in love with a senior your sophomore year of high school. I only got one year with Easton before he was off to college.
Thankfully, the university he chose was somewhat local. I questioned if he picked it because of me or because it was what he wanted. It wasn’t the traditional college his family went to. Their legacy dated back well before the Civil War.
Honestly, it didn’t matter. Easton always did what he thought he needed to do. It was something I admired in him. I wasn’t going to fight him on it even if it was selfish on my part.
He’s never quick to back down to anything, so it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d tried to get him to go somewhere else that might have been better suited for him. He said whatever major he took would lead him back to his family business.
The whole reason my family moved here was because my father was escaping memories of my mom. Her passing was hard on all of us.
Easton filled a hole in my heart. I clung to him, even if I did try to resist him at first. I was sure he had heartbreak written all over him. I’ve never been so wrong in my life. He was the opposite of what I thought. That man took his time luring me out of my grief, convincing me to be open to letting someone in.
Easton sucked me right into his world when most of the prep school wanted to reject me. I was the new girl. An outsider to all of them. It didn't matter to them how much money my father had. They were all rich. I learned when I lost my mom that money means nothing. In fact, it can cause more problems.
It doesn’t buy time or things the things that are really important. I was happy when we moved. It was a chance to find new friends. The ones I thought were mine slipped through the cracks when I needed them the most. You really find out who stands with you when the darkness creeps in. Too bad I still had no idea how dark times could become.
Then after years of grief, a touch of lucky love hit me. One of the most popular boys in my new school wanted me. I wasn’t the normal pretty girl that made the cheer team. I always kept to myself even before I came to Bradford Prep.