Chapter 1

Rowan's POV

I've got a reputation on campus as a doormat with zero dignity. I bring Wyatt Langley food, do his homework, act as his emotional dumping ground. Been at it for a year.

His rich friends mock my cheap clothes and say I'm reaching way out of my league. He never stops them. Sometimes he even laughs along.

Finally, he announces in front of everyone that he's breaking up with me. His first love is coming back from Europe, so I need to get lost.

Everyone's waiting to see me cry.

I glance at the five million dollars that hit my account half an hour ago and say, with complete sincerity, "Okay. Congrats."

What nobody knows is that I put up with him, tolerated his rotten temper, for one simple reason. His mom pays way too well.

Now the money's here. Time to end this arrangement.

So why, the second I walk away, does he start tearing the city apart trying to find me?

---

"We're done, Rowan." Wyatt stands at the top of the steps, looking down at me.

I'm on the quad in the cold, holding a thermos of stew I spent four hours making. His rich friends circle around us, watching me like I'm something stuck to their shoe.

"Told you Wyatt was just messing around. She really thought she'd be the next Mrs. Langley?"

"Look at her. Good grades, sure, but she's wearing like fifty bucks total. Wyatt putting up with her this long was charity work."

"Right? Playing maid every day. It's pathetic."

A normal girl would be crying right now, demanding answers, or throwing the thermos at his feet before running off.

I don't.

I just stand there, looking at the thermos in my hands. The ingredients cost about twenty-five dollars. Bit of a waste.

"Did you hear me?" Wyatt frowns when I don't react.

He wipes his sleeve where I touched it earlier, like I left a stain. "Gemma's coming back from London. She doesn't want other girls around me. Stay out of my face. And quit reaching for shit you can't have."

Gemma Forrester. Harrington's resident princess and Wyatt's childhood sweetheart.

I nod and set the thermos down on a nearby bench. "Got it."

Wyatt stares at me, confused.

What he doesn't know is that half an hour ago, I met his mother at the coffee shop behind campus.

The woman looked at me like I was trash and pushed a check across the table.

"Rowan, I know all about your background. Your parents are gamblers. Your brother's a mess. We both know why you're with Wyatt. Here's five million. Leave him, leave the country, and don't come back. Otherwise, I'll make sure you can't survive at Harrington or anywhere else in Boston."

I barely held back my joy as I took the check with trembling hands, putting on my most devastated face.

Five million dollars. More money than I'd see in ten lifetimes working minimum wage.

I had my reasons for getting close to Wyatt, but it wasn't about marrying rich. It was about using his connections, having a stable environment to finish my degree, keeping my leech parents from selling me off to cover their debts.

I played maid for a year. Did his homework. Listened to him complain. Put up with his friends mocking me.

Now I've been paid in full.

Five million dollars paid for all my shame, my groveling, my schemes.

Looking at Wyatt's smug face right now, waiting for me to fall apart, I almost laugh.

I look at him with total sincerity. "Okay. Congrats, Wyatt. Hope you and Gemma are real happy together."

I say it, ignore the way his expression freezes solid, and turn to leave.

"Rowan! Stop!" Wyatt shouts behind me.

I don't stop.

I leave all of it behind in this cold autumn. The past, along with that bank card with five million dollars inside.

Back in my dorm, I pack fast. There's not much to take. A few faded shirts, some textbooks, my passport and visa.

Two weeks ago, I got accepted to a top research institution in Europe with a full scholarship.

In the car to the airport, I pull out my phone and block Wyatt and everyone in his circle. Delete their contacts. The whole routine.

When I'm done, I let out a long breath.

The city rushes past my window. The city with every shitty memory I have finally falls behind me.

Hours later, the plane lands.

I walk out of the airport. The air here is cold, but it feels like freedom.

I rent a small apartment near the lab and settle in. Then I open my phone. I only kept a few people I barely talk to in my contacts.

The second I connect to WiFi, my phone explodes with notifications.

Voice messages from my old roommate. Over a dozen of them.

I tap play. Her voice comes through, half gossip, half disbelief. "Rowan! Where the hell did you go?! Wyatt's losing it!"

"Someone told him they saw you leave campus with your suitcase and he ran straight to our dorm. Found your bed completely cleared out!"

"He's been acting like a maniac, looking everywhere for you. He didn't even pick up Gemma from the airport! He's telling everyone he'll dig up the whole city if that's what it takes to find you!"