Chapter 99

  VIV’S POV   The sun had dipped beneath the horizon, setting the sky ablaze with streaks of orange and plum. But I barely noticed. My grip on the steering wheel was tight, my jaw tighter. Aaron’s voice still echoed in my ears like a shrill alarm I couldn’t silence. The nerve of Aaron to call me out for speaking to his mother, as if I hadn’t exhausted every ounce of patience trying to bring him back to reality. He had flipped the script like I was the villain, like I hadn’t bent over backward for him. I pulled into the circular driveway of the Preston family estate just as twilight surrendered to night. The house was aglow, all warm light and cozy shadows. But it felt cold to me. Colder than the air that bit at my bare arms when I stepped out of the car. I slammed the door and stomped toward the entrance, heart pounding and fury bubbling just beneath my skin. The second I walked into the house, I knew. He was waiting. My father. He was perched on the armrest of his favorite chair, an u