Page 59 of One Sweet Lie

"Howdare you." Her father stood up. "You can’t talk to my wife that way.”

“I’m talking toyou, too,” I said. “You might want to go through her phone and see how your daughter talks about the students who aren't in her 'mean girls' circle. I’d hate for you to learn that you’ve raised a psychopath before it’s too late.”

“Get the hell out of my office, miss.” The headmaster fumed. “Now.”

“Gladly,” I said, turning around. “You should be ashamed of yourself, by the way. This situation has been under your nose for months, and you only took action when therealvictim lashed out.”

“Whenever Mr. Dawson brings her back after the suspension, I’ll be sure to tell him how his ill-mannered nanny spoke to me.”

“Olivia is never coming back here,” I said. “Consider this her permanent withdrawal, and send her father a prorated refund check for this semester. Do it within thirty days, and I won’t insist you return all the donated money he’s given you."

Her face paled.

“That’s what I thought.” I squeezed Olivia’s hand. “Let’s go.”

TWENTY FOUR (B)

HARLOW

The following morning

Olivia approached me as I prepared breakfast. Out of habit, she’d put on her uniform and grabbed her bag.

Leaning against the counter, she watched me mix batter before clearing her throat.

“Miss Hawthorne?”

“Yes?”

“If I’m not going to school anymore, what am I supposed to do all day?”

“You’re not getting away without any school, Olivia.” I flipped a pancake. “We have to find a better one, so I scheduled some tours at other academies. I figure with a twenty-one-day gap, you can take your time picking which one you want.”

“In the meantime,” I said, tasting the syrup, “we’ll fill our days by giving you a whole new start. We’ll decorate your room, do some shopping and sightseeing with your uncle’s credit card, and you can hang out with me and the twins whenever you feel like it.”

She blinked.

“Pancake?” I held it out for her, and she carried it to the table.

To my surprise, she helped with the twins for the rest of the day.

TWENTY-FIVE

PIERCE

Thirty Cold Showers & Fifteen Aprons Later

(Translation: Two & a half Weeks)

It was official.

The world around me was no longer under my control.

I’d lost count of how many times I’d had to use the players’ locker room for cold showers because every time I came home and saw Harlow, it felt like shebelongedthere.

Worse, Iwantedher to be.

“Pierce?” Brian shook my shoulder. “Pierce!”

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