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Ignoring the cheerleader, I spin around and open the locker. I’ve watched Aleeka put her code in more than once. It’s empty.

She left? She fucking left and didn’t say a single fucking word.

Slamming the locker closed, I storm past the chick who is still talking to me—though I don’t hear a word she says—and walk straight back out of school.

Chapter One

Fifteen Months Later

Ican’t believe I’m here. At New York Prep, the last place I ever thought I’d see again. When my father gave me the news we were moving back a month ago, I was ecstatic. And then reality hit me, and I’ve felt nothing but dread ever since.

It’s not that I haven’t thought about coming back to New York. I have. Every day since I left. I should have told him. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, though. There’s a lot I should have done differently. But you can’t go back and change the past. I just have to figure out how to navigate the future. How to survive this next episode of my life. How to avoid him in a place he rules over.

I shake the thought from my head. It’s been a long time. I doubt he’d even remember who I was. I don’t exactly look the same. My figure is different now. Fuller. My eyes have constant dark circles and bags under them from the lack of sleep. And I’m not as put together as I was before.

And still, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because when I look down into the angelic little face of my son, all I see is blessings. A love unlike anything I’ve ever known. He’s mine, and I won’t let anyone take him from me. Which is why I’m determined to stay under the radar. Keep to myself. Finish high school and move on to the next part of my life.

“Aleeka, sweetheart, are you ready?” my dad’s voice calls out from downstairs.

“Coming,” I holler back.

My dad has been my rock through everything. I don’t know how I would have done this without him. He knows that Sebastian’s father is a student at New York Prep. I have my suspicions he re-enrolled me on purpose too. Dad has wanted me to reach out to the father. He was adamant that the guy deserved to know and make his own decision. I wouldn’t give him the name of the boy, though.ThatI’ve kept closely guarded to my heart.

It’s not that I didn’t want to tell him. I did. I tried to call him when I found out. I couldn’t get through. He’d blocked my number. I don’t blame him. He texted me a few times after I left and I never returned his messages. By the time I got the courageto call him, it was too late. And then I saw him. Well, I saw him on the television anyway and in every headline. He went on tour. He’s had a couple of hit songs that blew up and went viral.

If I tell him now, what would he do? He’d hate me. That much I know for sure.

Not to mention the fact that his family is powerful. If they wanted to take Sebastian from me, they could. And there wouldn’t be anything I could do to stop them. I can’t let that happen. Which is why I’ve kept this secret. Kept my child’s paternity to myself.

It’s not going to be a problem, though. Because, like I said, he’s not going to even remember who I was. I was just one of the many girls who’ve warmed his bed.

I pick up Sebastian and walk downstairs to find my dad waiting with the car seat in hand.

“How’d you sleep?” Dad asks while plucking Sebastian from my arms.

“Better. He only woke up twice,” I say.

“You should let me take him tonight. You need sleep, Aleeka.”

“You already do so much for us, Dad. It’s fine.”

“You’re my daughter. It’s my job to look after you. And this little man is my grandson, which means it’s my job to look after him too,” Dad reminds me.

I fight back the tears. I blame the exhaustion for my emotionally vulnerable state. It’s always been just me and my dad. Mom passed away giving birth to me. “Are you sure you want to take him to work with you? I can continue with my homeschooling,” I offer for the third time.

I’ve been taking classes online since I found out I was pregnant. Dad was petrified of losing me. He had doctors in every other week checking up on how I was doing. I let him fuss, because I knew where his concern came from.

“Your mother would be so proud of you,” he says. “You’re going to school. You need this. Trust me. And I want to show the little man off to my staff here.”

“If he needs anything, you’ll call, right?” I ask, handing over the diaper bag I packed twice just to make sure I didn’t miss something.

“I’ll call. Believe it or not I’ve done this before, sweetheart. We’ll be fine.” Dad holds out a set of keys to me. “Take the Range. I’ll see you after school. Try to reconnect with your old friends.”

I ignore the hidden message in there. He wants me toreconnectwith Sebastian’s father, at least tell him about our son anyway. I nod and kiss Sebastian’s chubby little face, before pushing up on my tiptoes and kissing my dad’s cheek. “Thank you. Love you.”

“Love you, sweetheart,” Dad says as I disappear through the front door.

The ride to school is quick. It only takes fifteen minutes. After spending another ten sitting in my car people watching, I finally get out and walk inside.

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