Unless I tell Dad the real reason why I want to change schools, but I can’t do that. I never told Dad it was Hunter’s fault Brady committed suicide. Only Grandpa knows. This war is between Hunter and me, and I won’t drag our fathers into it.
So here I am, staring up at The Hope Diamond building I’ll be calling home for the next four years.
Luckily Hunter is a senior, and I only have to survive one year without killing him. I’m not sure it’s possible, though.HUNTERJust like my father, I took a year off after school before starting with my studies, and I’m regretting it for the first time. Had I started at the academy right after school, I would’ve been done, and wouldn’t have to face a year of living with Jade.
I walk through the shared space where our living room and the kitchen are. The suites were renovated not too long ago, and the new smell still lingers in the air. There used to be only three bedrooms in the penthouse suite, but after the extensive makeover, there are ten rooms that take up the entire space of the top two floors of The Hope Diamond building. It’s the main dorm on campus. The Pink Star and The Oppenheimer Blue are situated across from our building. Depending on where your family’s wealth and status ranks, you’re allocated a suite in the relevant dorm.
My great grandfather and his two best friends created Trinity Academy and CRC Holdings, where I’ll be taking over as President in a couple of years. It places me at the top of the food chain alongside Jase, Fallon, and Hana.
Being one of the crowned princes at Trinity has its ups and downs. Every girl wants your attention, and every guy wants to be your friend or challenge you.
Fallon steps out of one of the suites, and her brown eyes land on me. A smile forms around her mouth. She’s grown into a beautiful woman. I’ll probably have my hands full this year, keeping all the horny fuckers away from my girls.
When I’m sure she’s alone, and I don’t have to get ready for a fight with Jade, I ask, “Still moving in?”
Everyone knows Jade hates me with a passion that has a nuclear capacity to blow up whenever we’re in the same room.
“Yeah.” She glances around, then asks, “Have you seen my lazy cousin?”
“Jase?” I shake my head. “Last I spoke with him, he said he’d be here in time for classes.”
Jase, my best friend and one of the crowned princes, will take over as CEO from his father in a couple of years. We grew up close and might as well be twins.
Fallon shakes her head, her hair falling over her shoulder from the movement. A loving smile takes the sting from her words as she says, “God help us and CRC when we start there. We’ll probably work our assess off to make up for Jase not doing his work.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle, but it fades when Jade comes out of the room that’s opposite mine.
Fuck.
Her ginger hair shimmers in the electric light. There are auburn strands I haven’t noticed before. Fewer freckles are sprinkled over her nose than she used to have. After the disastrous incident, I haven’t seen much of Jade. I heard she spent her summer breaks on her grandfather’s ranch, and I get a feeling she did it to avoid being around me.
We might not get along, but I’d be blind not to notice how fucking beautiful she’s become. There’s a pang of sadness and resentment when I remember how close we used to be.
After her boyfriend, Brady, committed suicide, I tried to find out why Jade blamed me, but after two years of this shit, I’ve given up. Now I just roll with the punches.
Jade’s brown eyes land on me, and they instantly darken to black with the anger that always bubbles to surface when we come face to face.
“This is going to be one hell of a long year,” she grumbles as she gives me a look I’ve grown accustomed to seeing on her face — a mixture between hatred and pain.
“We can call a truce. At least it will be a bearable year then,” I offer.
Jade stares at me until the air grows thick with the hostility she feels for me. Slowly shaking her head, she says, “There will never be a truce between us, Chargill. Not while you’re still breathing.”
“Jade.” Fallon’s voice is soft and cautious.
Jade glares at me for a moment longer, then she turns her face to Fallon. “Let me know when he’s either sleeping or out. I’ll finish unpacking then.”
Without another glance in my direction, Jade heads for the front door, and a moment later, it slams shut behind her.
“Hunter.” Fallon gives me a pleading look. “This needs to stop.”