corridor and waved her arms toward the classrooms. “Go on, folks, nothing to see.” But even she cast a sideways glance at me, like my mere existence made her job that much harder.
Headmaster Bradford had asked me to keep a low profile, and I wanted nothing more than to do exactly that. Unfortunately, there was something else I needed to handle before I could get to flying under the radar.
As soon as first period was over, I went to Merritt’s locker and waited. She came down the hallway with Tinsley and Poppy, strutting in her heels that were well above dress code regulation height.
Her eyes lasered in on me, and her glare narrowed to ash-inducing levels. She had a vendetta, and it wasn’t hard to see who it was against. The people around me who had been staring and pointing this entire time now saw what I was looking at—who I was looking at—and a low murmur broke out.
Whispers of “fight” and “drama” rang throughout the crowd, but I ignored them and kept my eyes on Merritt.
Finally, she stood only feet away from me, and students circled us.
“What do you want, harlot—I mean, Zara?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes. “That was weak, even for you, Merritt.”
“Well, try this on for plus-size,” she jeered. “We had our home disinfected after you were there. Didn’t want dirty slut all over our seats.”
A gasp rang out around us, and even my jaw went slack. Merritt wasn’t one to be hostile like that in public. Ever since getting in hot water over the cupcake situation when she had the whole school throw cupcakes at Rory, she usually played it safe. Made her insults so subtle that if a teacher overheard them, they wouldn’t get her in trouble.
Her steely gaze stayed on me, daring me to say something, to even try to fight back. But she didn't know who she was going up against. I’d lost everything that mattered to me. It was one thing for her to decimate my life—it was another yet to bring Ronan into it.
“Look,” I began, “I know this marriage was important to your family—"
Her eyes turned wild, desperate, and she cut me off. “It was important to my brother because he loved you.”
The skill with which she said it made me laugh. “That's hardly true. If anything, he's in love with Ambrose.”
Poppy’s eyebrows rose. “Ryde’s gay?”
“No, no, no.” I shook my head again. We were getting way off track here. “I just wanted to let you know, Merritt, that it wasn't okay to go to the press. A lot of people have been hurt because of you.”
“I could say the same for you.”
The bell rang for second period. And we all looked around like we were suddenly being snapped out of a trance.
Mrs. Bardot came down the hall, saying, “Get to class, everyone,” in a sing-song voice, as if she somehow missed the tension hanging over the halls like the graduation countdown banners.
The people around us reluctantly departed until it was just Merritt and me standing there.
“Why did the marriage matter so much to you anyway? Your family’s loaded.”
She snorted bitterly. “Talk to my dad and his bad investments about that.”
Mrs. Bardot approached us. “Girls, do you have a class to get to?”
I didn’t respond to her. Not yet. Instead, I kept my eyes on Merritt.
She didn’t shy away from me, but her eyes seemed too moist. What was going on? Finally, she nodded and said, “Yes, it hurt our family, and it wasn't me who shared the news. And”—she lowered her voice—"Ryde was in breach of the NDA they signed by telling you. I didn’t even know about it until that night.”
My mouth fell open. Partly at Merritt’s display of vulnerability. She had never let her perfect façade fall. Not when she “apologized” to Rory in front of the whole school, not even when Beckett broke up with her. But now? She looked so defeated, and I swore I saw dark circles under her eyes.
“Please,” she said, “don’t tell anyone about the...finances,” she whispered. “If it gets out, it will ruin us.”
I was still reeling from her ask. I felt for her; I did. But if she hadn't told the press, who had? My dad? That didn’t make sense. It made him look just as bad as me. Was this just another ploy to try and force me into an arranged marriage that I didn't want? The thought made me sick to my stomach.
I didn’t have time to