Wicked Rich

by C. Morgan

  Mr. Breyer chuckled quietly as he nodded. “My wife and I used to talk about it all the time. I know he thought we weren’t paying any attention, but we were. We deeply believed that you were the one for him. I, for one, honestly believed that he would marry you someday.”

  I almost burst out crying as I processed what he’d said because I used to think the exact same thing. What we’d had back then had been special for high school kids. What we’d been building until this weekend had been special, too. Unfortunately, Dax had so much more growing up to do and honestly, so did I.

  “I don’t think either of us are ready for the relationship we could’ve had,” I admitted to his father, though I had no idea why. I supposed I had no reason to start holding back in front of him now. “Dax was my first love. He was the boy I used to link my name with in my notebook and the one I fantasized about walking down the aisle to. We could’ve had something great, but neither of us seem to be mature enough to know how to get there.”

  Mr. Breyer chuckled again and inclined his head. “You’re a much smarter young lady than Daxton gave you credit for. As it happens, I completely agree with you. I think you’ve both learned some valuable lessons here this weekend, though. I just hope you keep them in mind and keep building on them.”

  “I’m sorry I ruined your wife’s party while learning them,” I said sincerely, averting my gaze as I took another sip of my coffee. “Please apologize to her for me. I’m not sure if I’ll see her before I leave, but I’m truly sorry for making such a spectacle of myself. I was a guest in your home and I should’ve acted appropriately.”

  He laughed, waving me off as he glanced toward the ceiling. “She’s still in our bedroom. I don’t think you’ll see her before you leave, either. I will tell you this, though. While she might not have appreciated you taking jabs at her son, she loves drama and that was the most exciting thing to happen to her in years. I’d go so far as to say that your little speech might’ve made my wife’s night.”

  My eyes widened, but I smiled when I realized he was being one hundred percent serious. “In that case, I’m glad to have been of service. I still wish I could’ve explained things to her, though. My outburst must’ve appeared so totally random in addition to having been terribly poorly timed.”

  “I spoke to her about Daxton’s plan after I learned about it on Friday night. When I heard you weren’t feeling well and had begged off dinner, I suspected you might not be as in the dark as he thought you were. He didn’t join us for dinner either, which gave us some time to talk about it before all the birthday excitement yesterday. I doubt it seemed random to her. We knew something was coming. We just didn’t know what.”

  “I’m sure I exceeded your expectations,” I commented with a shake of my head as I covered my face with my hands. “I’m so ashamed. Even if I did make her night, please extend my sincerest apologies for the way I handled things.”

  “But not for what you said?” he guessed.

  I shrugged, shooting him a small smile before draining what was left of my coffee. “Nah. I meant all of that. There’s so much more to it than you know, but let’s not go into that.”

  A knowing gleam that threatened to make me blush entered his eyes. “Let’s not go into that. I agree. Now, my dear, if you want to be gone before the rest of the house wakes, I suggest letting David drive you to the airfield.”

  I scooted off my chair and nodded, offering him my hand to shake. “Thank you for everything, Mr. Breyer. I’m not sure I can adequately express how grateful I am to you for arranging the plane to take me home.”

  “It’s the least I can do,” he said, squeezing my hand gently in both of his before shooing me out of the kitchen. “David is waiting for you at the car. Go now before you get held up again. I’ll send Daxton back later. He and I need to have a little talk before he’s going to be going anywhere.”

  With that, Mr. Breyer sent me off for my flight back to campus. David was quiet on the ride back to the airfield, but he kept shooting me these sympathetic looks that made me believe he knew everything that had happened.

  Once I was on the plane, there was none of the awe I’d felt on Friday. All I felt now was incredibly, terribly, achingly alone.

  Daxton had been a huge part of my life since the start of the semester. It felt like there was a huge, Dax-shaped hole in me now, but I couldn’t dwell on it. Nor would I allow myself to miss him when I got back.

  As I thought about returning to campus alone, without him, I hardened my resolve. School was my priority. My education was the most important thing in the world to me. I owed everything to my parents, and this was my one shot at securing a better future for us all.

  I’d come dangerously close to threatening it all by trusting the wrong boy, and I wouldn’t do it again. Right then and there, I recommitted myself to pouring all of my energy into school.

  No more distractions.

  No more boys.

  No more making myself smaller to fit into everyone else’s wishes, wants, and ideas. It was time for me to focus on myself, and from now on, that was what I was going to do.

  Chapter 33

  DAXTON

  What a fucking weekend. I was still struggling to wrap my head around everything that’d happened.

  After having been put on a commercial flight late yesterday afternoon though, I was back on campus and ready for Business 101. Since it was Monday morning, it was my first class and I was damn thankful for it.

  I’d rehearsed everything I wanted to say to Haddie to beg her forgiveness, and having her in this class with me would make tracking her down much easier. I was under no illusion that she was going to make it easy on me, nor did I expect her to trust a single thing I said, but I had to try.

  Yesterday morning when I’d woken up, it had been to the news that Dad had sent Haddie back to campus on the jet. He and my mother had been waiting for me in the kitchen, and it wasn’t for a nice, family breakfast before they sent me on my way as well.

  If anything, it had felt more like an intervention. It had been good, though. Better than I’d thought it would be. Speaking to them after everything that had happened had brought me clarity I hadn’t been able to find on my own.

  They’d also left me with a lot to think about for the rest of the day, and after spending all day thinking about what I did, I realized how fucking terrible I’d been. I regretted my decisions more than I thought could be possible, and I knew now why I’d been so confused about it all before.

  Somewhere deep inside, I’d known what I was doing was wrong. I’d known what I should’ve done, but my anger had blinded me to that part of myself.

  Strangely enough, it was my parents who had sifted through that anger. It was the first time they’d sat down with me like that, and since I wasn’t used to such open communication with my folks, I was feeling out of sorts today.

  There was a shift happening inside me. I felt it. I just didn’t know what to do with it except to ride it out and see where I landed.

  My parents, but more especially my father, was steadfastly in agreement with Haddie for laying into me the way she did at the party. Neither he nor my mother seemed to care that it had happened in front of their friends and family. In fact, Dad almost seemed to find it comical while Mom actually seemed happy it had happened at her party.

  She’d called it a “learning curve” for me that was a birthday present to her. Apparently, she’d known how much anger and resentment I’d been holding on to but she hadn’t known how to help me work through it when I’d always insisted I was over it.

  She’d also said that if she’d known all it would take was a pretty girl to set me straight, she’d have flown Hadley out years ago. It seemed that, in her own way, she even respected Haddie for doing what she had.

  Both of my parents had also apologized to me for letting me suffer in silence when we’d moved to Hawaii. They’d admitted that they’d taken the easy way out by dropping me into a new private school and just assuming I�
��d adjust with time.

  Mom had cried when she’d told me that she should’ve taken the time to make sure I was okay. For the first time, she’d also told me what a dark place she had been in at the time. We’d spoken at length about her fears that my father would be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to years in prison away from us.

  They’d both told me how worried they had been about what would’ve happened if Dad had been sent to prison. He claimed not to have been that afraid for himself, but terrified for us and about what would’ve happened if we’d been left with nothing.

  A lot of the things they’d brought up were things I’d never even allowed myself to think about. Now that I’d started thinking about it, I was having trouble stopping, though.

  Hundreds of different scenarios swirled through my head. My uncle would’ve been able to support us a little, but my life definitely wouldn’t have been what it was now. With my grades being what they were, there was no way I’d have gotten into Edgewater on a scholarship. Mom and I would’ve had to get jobs to get by, but I’d never have been able to save enough to have been able to pay for my education without a scholarship.

  Thinking about that had also made me realize how fucking remarkable it was that Haddie had made it here. That she’d gotten in on a scholarship she’d spent her whole life working toward, and while studying so hard and doing other things to pad her records, she’d also worked to save enough to get by.

  I’d known all of this before, but it was like I was only really understanding it now. It had also made me realize what both Hadley and my dad had meant when they’d said I’d be fucking with her life if I’d gone through with my plan.

  As I’d imagined an alternate reality where I didn’t have cash, credit cards, and unlimited funds at my disposal, I’d tried to come up with how I might’ve gone about trying to get home. Which was about when I’d realized how deeply I’d have fucked her over if I’d gotten my way.

  My chest threatened to cave in on itself when I thought about it now. I realized that this was only the beginning of the shift within me and that I had a long way to go, but I also knew that I had to try to get Haddie to hear me out.

  Once upon a time, when things had been good between us and in one of the moments when I hadn’t been thinking about revenge, I’d made her promise that she’d hear me out when the time came. While I hoped she remembered that she’d made me that promise, I also knew I couldn’t hold her to it. Not after what I’d done.

  The guys at the house had wanted to hear all about how I’d screwed her over this weekend when I’d gotten back last night. When I didn’t have it in me to tell them a damn thing other than that it hadn’t happened, they’d called me a pussy. It was the first time I’d seen them the way Haddie did: as entitled assholes.

  Only Ryker didn’t fit that mold. Unless I was very much mistaken, it had even seemed like he looked at me with a little more respect now than before. Finn hadn’t been around either, but I had the feeling the president would also have been relieved that I hadn’t done something which might’ve come back to bite the fraternity in the ass if it ever came out.

  Disappointment hit me square in the chest when I walked into the lecture hall and found Haddie’s seat empty. I frowned, looking around the room for her. She wasn’t there, though.

  Ryker walked in next to me, obviously also noticing her absence. “I know you said you didn’t want to talk about what happened this weekend, but it looks like your girl is pissed off enough with you to skip class rather than see you. What did you do, man?”

  “Something much worse than leaving her in Hawaii,” I admitted finally, heading down the stairs to take my usual seat in the spot next to hers.

  Ryker sat down in his chair behind me, leaning forward so we could keep talking until Dr. Hastings came in. “She found out, didn’t she?”

  Releasing a heavy breath, I nodded and felt searing pain shooting through me when I thought about what I’d seen in her eyes before she’d stormed away from me that last time. “I think she might be avoiding me. That has to be why she’s not here. She wouldn’t just skip for no reason.”

  “Yeah, I think you might be right,” he said. “I might not have had the chance to really get to know her, but from what I’ve seen, she’s a pretty dedicated student.”

  “How am I supposed to say my piece if she’s avoiding me, though?” I asked, staring up at him like he was supposed to have all the answers.

  He was the one in a long-term relationship, though. From the way I’d heard him speak, he seemed to have all the answers when it came to girls.

  Cocking a brow at me, he let out a dry laugh before he shook his head. “Say your piece? What could you possibly have to say to her at this point?”

  “That I’m sorry,” I said honestly. “That I made a mistake and acted like a selfish, snobbish, childish asshole who should’ve spoken to her instead of going about things the way I did.”

  He snorted. “You sound like someone’s fed you those lines. If that’s what you want to say, I’d seriously rethink it, bro.”

  “She fed me those lines,” I said. “After she found out that I was planning on leaving her there and called me out on it in front of all my parents’ friends and family.”

  Ryker winced, but I didn’t miss the amusement lighting up his eyes while I made my admission. “Man, that’s rough. She’s not wrong, though. I hate to say it, but it sounds like she might’ve hit the nail on the head. Your plan was all of those things and more.”

  “I know that now,” I snapped, then sighed and held up my hand in apology. “You really felt that way about it?”

  He laughed again. “Yes, dude. I really felt that way about it. I know you thought it was justified because she hurt you, but it just sounded idiotic to me. I’m glad you didn’t go through with it, but I’m also not surprised she won’t come near you now.”

  “Okay, but how do I apologize if she won’t come near me?”

  After staring at me for a long minute, he breathed out through his nostrils and shot me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry to say it, but you’re going to have to do something I have a feeling you haven’t done much of before. Especially not when it comes to getting what you want from women.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  “You’re going to have to put in the work, Dax,” he said. “You’re going to have to work harder than you ever have in your life, and then you’re going to have to pray that somehow, that girl is a better person than you. If she’s not, there’s no way she’s going to be able to forgive you.”

  “Well, fuck.” I licked my lips and lifted my hand to scratch the back of my head. “Where do I even start?”

  “I’m surprised you’re ready to start so soon after everything happened, but if you really are, then start by skipping your next class and try to find her. Be prepared, though. You’re going to have to be in this for the long haul if you’re serious about her, so you might want to think about that. If you’re not serious about her, I strongly recommend leaving the poor girl be.”

  Chapter 34

  HADLEY

  When I got to the administration office, I was nervous as all hell. My heart was doing leaps in my chest and my palms were sweaty. I’d managed to snag this appointment with a student adviser at short notice, so I hadn’t had much time to prepare my case and I was definitely feeling it.

  I knew what I was doing and I knew that it was right. I just really hoped I’d be able to get the school to agree. As it was, it was urgent that I got this done. The longer I waited, the more classes I missed and the more classes I missed, the more difficult it would be to catch up.

  As I walked down the corridor to the room I’d been told to meet the adviser at, I shook out my hands and took a deep breath. This was possibly the most important decision I’d made since the one to do whatever I could to get into Edgewater, but I still had to try to keep calm.

  It’s probably an even more important decision than that, but hey. No pressure.


  A tremor ran through me when I lifted my hand to knock on the door, and I waited for it to pass before finally letting my knuckles rap on the wood. Almost immediately, a voice called out from the inside.

  “Come on in, Ms. Sage,” the female voice said. “It’s open.”

  Dragging in another deep breath, I pushed down on the door handle and let it swing open. The office on the other side was surprisingly unintimidating. It was almost warm actually.

  A dark-haired lady sat behind a huge desk, which I’d expected, but I hadn’t expected the freshly cut flowers on her desk and on the small coffee table in front of me. Nor had I expected the pops of color on the cushions arranged on her couches or the bright paintings on the walls.

  She looked up when I walked in, pulling her glasses off her nose as she stood and offered me a hand. “Hadley Sage, I assume? I’m Elena Adams. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  Her smile was soft and genuine as she motioned me into one of the chairs opposite hers. “Sit down. Sit down. I believe you’ve come in today to discuss changing your courses?”

  I nodded tightly. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Ah, none of that.” She waved a hand, smiling again as she slid her glasses back on after sitting down. When she closed the folder she’d been studying when I’d come in, I saw it had my name printed on the front. “Call me Elena. I’d like to call you Hadley, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Of course.” I lowered myself into the chair she’d motioned to, but my spine was so rigid that it was sort of difficult to move. Elena and her office made me feel more at ease than I’d thought, but I was still damn nervous. “It’s very nice to meet you too, Elena. I’m sorry about booking an appointment on such short notice.”

  “It’s no problem.” She folded her hands on my desk, her green eyes almost unnerving on mine as she looked at me. “What’s this about changing your courses, then? That is what you filled in on the booking form for this appointment, correct?”