In the mysterious Louisiana town of Belle Marias, the fates of two very different women collide after a tragic night, setting off a chain of secrets, betrayals, and supernatural consequences that will shake the town’s most powerful families.

“I felt him watching. The air changed, like gravity shifted. But I didn’t turn. I didn’t give him that. Not because I was angry—because I was done giving him pieces of me he didn’t know how to hold.” Summary: Ivy senses Jace watching her from the hallway, but she doesn’t acknowledge him. For the first time, she doesn’t shrink, doesn’t chase, doesn’t even look. She sits steady, calm, letting him see the girl who’s starting to choose herself over waiting. It’s not about power. It’s about peace. And this time—she keeps it.

“She looked peaceful. Sitting there with him, like I hadn’t shattered her just days ago. And it hit me—all at once—that maybe she’s learning how to feel okay without me. And that… scared the hell out of me.” Summary: Jace wasn’t supposed to see her. Wasn’t supposed to stop. But when he catches Ivy tucked into a couch beside Caleb—calm, not hurting, not alone—he freezes. For the first time, he’s on the outside of her world, watching someone else fill the space he keeps leaving behind. And the ache he feels in that moment? It’s not jealousy. It’s real loss—the kind you can’t charm or run from.

“I didn’t cry. I didn’t break. I just kept walking. And when Caleb found me sitting alone and didn’t ask questions, I let him stay. Because maybe I was tired of waiting for someone who keeps walking away.” Summary: After walking away from Jace for the last time, Ivy doesn't fall apart—she gathers herself. She ends up in a quiet corner of the art building, where Caleb finds her and offers quiet, no-pressure company. And for the first time, Ivy lets someone else in—even just a little. She’s not replacing Jace. Not yet. But she’s realizing she doesn’t have to wait in the wreckage anymore.

“She didn’t say a word. Just stood there. And still—it felt like everything I’ve ever been afraid to feel. And when she walked away, it was the quietest heartbreak I’ve ever known. I felt her leave like a punch to the ribs I didn’t block in time.” Summary: Jace feels her presence—knows Ivy is there, just around the corner, watching him fall apart. But she doesn’t speak. Doesn’t come. And when she finally turns and walks away, the silence she leaves behind is deafening. For the first time, he’s the one being left, and it forces him to face something brutal: maybe this time, she’s the one who won’t come back.

“I didn’t mean to look for him. But when I saw him, folded in on himself like something was breaking inside, I didn’t want to walk away. And still—I did. Because wanting him isn’t enough. Not if he doesn’t want to stay.” Ivy takes the long way to class… and ends up exactly where she knew he might be. She sees Jace, alone behind the gym, visibly unraveling. It shakes her. For one breathless moment, she almost walks to him—but she doesn’t. Because even though she wants him—loves him—she knows she can’t fix someone who keeps choosing to leave.

“I left. But it didn’t feel like escape—it felt like failure. Because even with my back turned, I could still feel her. Like her stare had branded something into me I didn’t know how to burn off.” Summary: Jace tries to outrun the stare Ivy gave him—but it follows him. He feels it in the air, the quiet, his skin. No matter how many steps he takes away, her eyes are still on him in memory. Something inside him is shifting, cracking, breaking through the armor he’s built for years. He wants to stay. He wants to speak. But all he can do is hide—and wonder how long she’ll wait before she stops looking for him at all.

“He left. But it didn’t feel like silence—it felt like pressure. Like the air still remembered him. Like the space across from me still belonged to him, even when it was empty.” Summary: After locking eyes across the quad, Ivy is left with the weight of Jace’s stare lingering like a bruise. Though he walked away—again—the silence doesn’t feel empty. It feels full of him. She hides in the library, but even there, in the stillness, she can’t shake the feeling that what passed between them meant everything. She may be alone… but she’s not the only one feeling it.

“She looked back. And it wrecked me. Because in that one second, she saw through every wall I’d built—and didn’t look away. And I knew right then… I could lose every part of myself to her, and still want more.” Summary: Jace told himself he could handle it—watching Ivy from a distance, pretending she didn’t still get under his skin. But when she turns and meets his eyes, something in him breaks. The connection is undeniable, electric, and more terrifying than anything he’s ever felt. He walks away again, but this time it’s not to protect her. It’s because he knows—he’s falling, and falling hard.

“I turned around, and he was already looking. Like he hadn’t blinked since I walked away. Like I was something he couldn’t stop watching, even if it hurt. And when our eyes locked across that quad, it felt like the whole world just… stopped.” Summary: Ivy feels his stare before she sees him—and when she finally turns, Jace is already watching. Silent. Still. Devouring her from across the quad like he never wanted to look away. For one breathless moment, it’s just them, caught in a stare that says everything words haven’t. But when she finally looks back again, he’s gone—and this time, it feels different.

“She wasn’t mine. I’d told her not to be. But watching her smile at someone else made me want to break every rule I built to keep her out. And the worst part? She didn’t even look back.” Summary: Jace told himself he didn’t care. That walking away was the right move. But when he sees Ivy laughing with another guy, something inside him snaps. Sitting with his teammates, surrounded by noise, he can’t hear anything but her laugh—and he can’t stop the storm brewing in his chest. Jealousy is new. Ugly. Real. And now? Pretending not to want her isn’t working anymore.

“He watched me laugh with someone else. Just stared, like I’d stolen something from him. But I didn’t steal anything—he gave it away when he walked out that coffee shop door. And I wasn’t waiting anymore.” Summary: Ivy isn’t chasing Jace anymore. When another guy starts giving her attention, she lets herself smile—lets herself feel seen. And when Jace catches her laughing with someone else? She doesn’t flinch. Because she’s done being the girl who waits. She’s not his to break if she doesn’t let him anymore. And for the first time… she’s the one holding the power.

“I told myself it was the right call—walking away, shutting her out. But it didn’t feel like winning. It didn’t feel like control. It felt like I’d just left a fire I didn’t want to put out. And now all I can smell is smoke.” Summary: Jace walks away from Ivy again—but this time, he doesn’t feel in control. Her bravery, her voice, her truth… it all lingers in him like a bruise. He wanted space. He thought distance would fix it. But now, outside in the cold, silence pressing down, he realizes what it really feels like: regret. For the first time, Jace Wilder is scared not of hurting someone else—but of having already ruined his own chance at something real.

“He said I wasn’t what he wanted. But the way he looked at me said otherwise. And when he said I was what he couldn’t stop wanting—then left anyway—I didn’t feel rejected. I felt like I’d just watched someone run from the thing they wanted most.” Summary: In a quiet coffee shop, Ivy finds herself face to face with Jace Wilder again—and this time, she doesn’t wait for him to speak. She calls him out, pushes back, and doesn’t flinch when he tries to push her away. Jace tells her she’s not what he wants… then confesses he can’t stop wanting her. But instead of staying, he walks out. Ivy doesn’t chase him—because now she knows the truth: he’s not rejecting her… he’s afraid of her.

“I told her to stay away. Then walked off like it didn’t gut me. But the truth? I didn’t want to leave. Not this time. She looked at me like I was something worth choosing—like I hadn’t already decided to ruin it.” Summary: After their quiet confrontation in the hallway, Jace walks away from Ivy again—but something’s different. Her words linger. Her eyes haunt. For a guy who built his entire world around rules and distance, Ivy is becoming impossible to ignore. He’s not supposed to chase. He’s not supposed to feel. But now Jace isn’t sure how much longer he can pretend he doesn’t want her—or why walking away felt like losing something he never had.

“He said my name like it meant something. Like he wasn’t just remembering it—he’d been holding it in his mouth, waiting. I told him I knew I should stay away. He said I should. But we were still standing there, breathing the same air, like maybe we both wanted the same mistake.” Summary: When Ivy runs into Jace again—alone this time, no crowd to hide in—there's no escaping the tension between them. Words are finally spoken, truths half-admitted. He warns her to stay away, but neither of them moves. And as Jace walks away for a second time, Ivy realizes something chillingly sweet: he didn't want to leave her at all.

“She looked at me like I was more than every bad thing people say I am. Like I was real. Worth knowing. Worth… keeping. And that scared the hell out of me. Because I don’t want to be wanted by someone like her—I want to be forgotten. But Ivy Wren? She doesn’t forget.” Summary: Jace never meant to see Ivy again. But when their eyes meet across campus, something shifts. She’s supposed to be a one-night thought—a soft, too-innocent girl he warned to stay away. But now, even after walking away, she’s lodged in his chest like something permanent. And for a guy who doesn’t do love, Ivy Wren is becoming impossible to unsee… or forget.

“He looked at me across campus like he hadn’t meant to. Like I wasn’t supposed to still be in his head—and he sure as hell wasn’t supposed to be in mine. We didn’t speak. Didn’t smile. Just made eye contact for three seconds… and that was enough to ruin my entire day.” Summary: Ivy tries to convince herself that what happened at the party with Jace Wilder was just a moment—nothing more. But when she runs into him on campus the next day, everything inside her reignites. Their eyes meet across a crowded quad, no words exchanged… yet the connection is still there. Still electric. Still dangerous. And Ivy realizes some people don’t need to touch you to leave a mark.

“I don’t do firsts. I don’t lose sleep over soft girls in cardigans. But Ivy Wren looked at me like I could give her something better—something safe. And that’s the real problem. Because if I touched her, it wouldn’t be safe. It would be unforgettable.” Summary: Jace Wilder doesn’t fall. He doesn’t remember names, doesn’t replay conversations—until Ivy. After one meeting, she’s already stuck in his head, the kind of girl he swore never to touch. But when he finds himself looking her up, thinking about the way she stared at him like he was something more, Jace knows he’s already in trouble. Ivy’s the first girl he should walk away from... and the last one he wants to.

He didn’t touch me. Didn’t kiss me. Just looked at me like I was something he shouldn’t want—but couldn’t help staring at anyway. And now I’m lying here, hours later, still trying to breathe normally. Still hearing his voice. Still writing about a boy who didn’t even ask my name. Summary: Back in her dorm room after her first college party, Ivy Wren can’t stop thinking about Jace Wilder—the boy with sharp eyes and a rough voice who warned her to stay away. He didn’t flirt. He didn’t ask for her number. But somehow, he left a mark. Now, alone in the quiet, Ivy puts pen to paper and confesses the one thought she can’t shake: what if she wants him to be her first mistake?