I'm the whispers in the dark you can't ignore. The bully you can't run away from. I'm the tormentor who makes your life a living hell. The villain you love to hate. I'm the vicious monster sleeping in the next room. The one who knows all your secrets. And I'll stop at nothing to make you pay.

I have a simple plan. Finish Royal Elite School and get into my dream university. One glance from the school’s king blows my plan up in smoke. One glance and he suffocates my air. One glance and he issues his death sentence. His first words spiral my life into irreparable chaos. “I will destroy you.” Everything about Aiden King is black. Black mind. Black heart. Black soul. I should’ve remained quiet and endured the time I have left. I didn’t. I made the irrevocable mistake of provoking the king on his throne.

Five years ago, my fiancé disappeared. He left me with a wedding dress I’d never wear. Left me with the kind of scars that can’t be healed. The man I built my future on vanished like a ghost. All that remained were my broken heart and a million unanswered questions. Until a mysterious stranger arrives in town.

They were my bullies once. Three boys I hated more than anything. They made my life hell for a year - until I escaped their cruelty when my dad's job moved us away. I've never forgotten them, though. Never forgotten what they did. And I know they haven't forgotten me. But when I'm offered a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious Clearwater University, I refuse to let old fears stop me from accepting. Because I'm not the girl I used to be. I'm stronger. Tougher. Angrier. And if West, Reese, and Trent think they can screw with me again...well. We'll just see who breaks first.

Sticks and stones may break our bones…Hockey is my life. After Wren Davis puts my dreams of the NHL in jeopardy, I vow to make her life hell if she ever comes near me again. But she’s my best friend’s foster sister, and even though they don’t live together anymore, their bond is still tight, which makes avoiding each other extra difficult.