Chapter 50 Chapter 50
The tension at the reservoir was thick enough to choke on. Jace pulled me closer, his heart thumping against my shoulder, oblivious to the fact that his twin was standing thirty feet away in the brush, watching the one thing he couldn't have.
"I have to go back," Jace whispered into my hair. "If I’m not home by 2:00 AM, my dad will check the GPS on my car. He’s already looking for a reason to send me to that internship in London early just to get me away from the 'drama'."
"London?" I pulled back, my heart dropping. "Jace, that’s thousands of miles away."
"It’s his way of 'fixing' things," Jace said, his jaw tightening. "He thinks if he removes the 'perfect' son from the equation, Marvin will finally step up. He’s using me as a pawn to motivate a guy who doesn't want to be motivated."
I looked toward the trees where Marvin had been standing, but the shadows were empty now. He was gone, likely heading back to their house to beat Jace home—to play the part of the witness who caught Jace breaking curfew.
Tuesday: The School of Whispers
When I walked into school the next morning, the "Beyoncé Tour" had officially been canceled. Zayelle wasn't surrounded by the popular girls anymore. She was sitting alone at a cafeteria table, staring at her phone with an intensity that bordered on manic.
I sat down across from her. "Zayelle."
She didn't look up. "He didn't answer my texts last night, Cass. I went to his house after you left. I waited by the gate for an hour."
"He was with me," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Zayelle finally looked up. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but there was a spark of something sharp in them. "I know he was. Marvin sent me a photo of you two at the reservoir."
I froze. "Marvin is playing us, Zayelle. He’s trying to make you jealous so you’ll turn against me, and he’s trying to make Jace look bad so their dad sends him away."
"It’s working," she whispered. "Because every time I see him with you, I remember that I was the one who was there for him back home. I was the one who kept his secret for a year. Why does he want you?"
Before I could answer, a commotion broke out by the lockers.
Marvin was there, but he wasn't bullying anyone. He was standing with Jacinta, who looked like she’d been crying for a week straight. Marvin was holding a flyer for the Winter Formal, shouting for everyone to hear.
"Big announcement, everyone!" Marvin yelled, his arm draped heavily around Jacinta’s shoulders, though his eyes were locked on Jace, who had just entered the hall. "Since my brother is too 'busy' being a hero, I’m throwing the pre-party of the century. Everyone’s invited. We’re going to settle all the rumors once and for all."
Jace stopped in his tracks, his face turning that familiar, calculating pale.
"Don't do it, Marv," Jace said, his voice low and dangerous.
"Do what, brother?" Marvin smirked, stepping forward until they were chest-to-chest. The resemblance was haunting—the same height, the same build—but Marvin looked like a storm, and Jace looked like the wall trying to hold it back. "I’m just celebrating. Unless you’re afraid I’m going to tell them about the 'London' deal? Or maybe about how you’re playing two girls in the same house?"
The hallway went silent. Lena, who had been standing by her locker, mouthed the word 'Damn' at me.
"Leave Cass out of this," Jace hissed.
"Which one?" Marvin laughed, glancing at Zayelle. "Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve got one girl keeping your secrets and another girl keeping your heart. Hard to keep the 'perfect son' image up when you’re a mess, isn’t it?"
Jace’s fist clenched, but he didn't swing. He knew that one fight—one more mark on his record—and his father would ship him to London by noon.
Marvin knew it, too. He patted Jace’s shoulder mockingly and walked away, Jacinta trailing behind him like a ghost.
The Winter Formal: The Breaking Point
The night of the dance, the school gym was transformed into a silver-and-blue wonderland. But the atmosphere was anything but festive.
I arrived with Lena, wearing a dress that felt like armor. I saw Zayelle across the room in a stunning gold gown, her eyes scanning the crowd for Jace. When Jace finally walked in, he looked incredible in a black suit, but his eyes were darting around like he was waiting for a bomb to go off.
He found me near the punch bowl. "Cass. You look..."
"Scared?" I finished for him.
"Beautiful," he corrected, taking my hand. "Look, my dad is here. He’s talking to the principal in the office. He wants to make sure there are no 'incidents' tonight before he signs the final papers for London."
"So we have to be perfect," I said, a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Just for two hours," Jace pleaded.
But "perfect" was impossible. Because ten minutes later, the music cut out.
Marvin stepped onto the stage, grabbing the microphone from the DJ. He was disheveled, his tie hanging loose. He looked at the VIP section where their father—a tall, imposing man who looked exactly like an older, colder version of Jace—was standing.
"Hey, Dad!" Marvin shouted into the mic. "You watching? You see the golden boy over there with his girlfriend? You see how happy he is?"
Jace started moving toward the stage, but Marcus (Zayelle's dad) held him back, not wanting a scene.
"Jace isn't the hero you think he is!" Marvin screamed, his voice breaking. "He didn't save Maya for her. He did it because he knew if I went down, it would look bad on his college applications! He’s been using me as a scapegoat his whole life so he could be your favorite!"
Then, Marvin pointed at Zayelle. "And you! Zayelle! Tell them! Tell everyone how Jace told you he’d never love you because you were 'too much work' compared to Cass!"
Zayelle gasped, her face turning white. She looked at Jace, her heart breaking in real-time. "Jace? Did you say that?"
Jace looked at Zayelle, then at me, then at his father, who was watching with a look of pure disgust.
The "Cold and Calculating" Jace snapped. He didn't go for the mic. He went for Marvin.
He tackled his brother off the stage, and the two of them went down in a tangle of expensive suits and shattered illusions. It wasn't a "cool" fight. It was desperate, sad, and loud.
"I hate you!" Marvin screamed, pinning Jace down. "I just wanted you to be real for once!"
"I am real!" Jace yelled back, trying to push him off. "I’m real enough to know that I’ve spent my whole life trying to keep you from drowning, and you’re finally pulling me under!"
I ran toward them, but Zayelle got there first. She didn't pull them apart. She stood over them, looking at Jace with a coldness I’d never seen.
"He was right," Zayelle said, her voice carrying over the silent gym. "You are using us, Jace. You used me to keep your secret, and you’re using Cass to keep your sanity. But who are you when we aren't there to hold you up?"
Jace froze. He looked up at Zayelle, then at me. For the first time, he didn't have a plan. He didn't have a calculation.
And then, his father stepped out of the shadows. "London. Tomorrow morning. Pack your bags, Jace. And Marvin? You’re going to military school. I’m done with both of you."
The twins stood up, bruised and breathing hard, looking at their father. They had finally gotten what Marvin wanted—they were both losers in their father’s eyes.
But as the crowd began to whisper, Jace walked over to me. His hand was shaking. "Cass... I'm so sorry."
"Don't," I said, the tears finally falling. "Just... don't."
I walked out of the gym, Zayelle following close behind me. We didn't look at the twins. We didn't look at the mess. We just walked out into the cold night, two girls who had been caught in a war that was never ours to begin with.