Prologue

They saymoney is the root of all evil.

They're wrong, whoever they are. Money isn't evil. No, it's the people who control it.

I glared down at the piece of paper in my hand, the amount of Mum's latest hospital bill staring back at me. She didn't know I had it because she'd never given it to me in the first place. She'd tucked it away in a drawer, and I'd unearthed it while I was searching for paper to do my homework. The more I looked at it, though, the more my stomach churned. I was eighteen and finishing my senior year of high school, and I didn't have a job. How could I help her?

"Mm. Whatcha doin'?"

I smiled down at my boyfriend as he buried his face deeper against my neck. It was late afternoon, nearing six at night, and we'd decided to take a nap after doing homework. Judah had slept longer than I did, and I'd woken to agonize over the bill and once again wonder how I was going to help Mum fix this.

Ideas had been thin on the ground so far.

Mum was currently downstairs, working like she usually did. She was the maid here in the Dailey residence, and she stayed from nine to six every day but Sunday. Mum worked hard, but no one except the rich could pay this bill. Getting up at the crack of dawn every day wasn't going to fix this.

I shoved the invoice into my pants pocket and wrapped my arms around Judah, smiling as he tightened his hold on my middle. "I was lookin' at an essay so I wouldn't get distracted by my hot boyfriend. Don't tell him, though. He can't know about us."

Judah laughed softly against my neck, plopping a wet kiss there. He rubbed his eyes, the sleepiness in his brown gaze slowly fading as he yawned again. His brown hair was longer than usual, but he could style it any way and it would suit him. His thick eyebrows hiked high on his forehead. "I bet I'm hotter than he is."

"Och, I don't think so. My wee bonnie lad is quite the catch." I purposely laid on my Scottish accent the way I usually talked around my mum. We'd moved here when I was thirteen, and over the years of living in the States, my brogue had dwindled—except when I talked to other Scottish people.

Judah groaned and rocked his hips forward, and an enticing hardness pressed against my thigh. "Fuck, you know I love it when you talk that way. We don't have time to mess around. Mom'll be home soon."

Not to mention we'd already had sex this afternoon straight after we'd finished our homework. Keeping quiet hadn't been easy, but with Mum downstairs it had been a necessity. Luckily, it'd sounded like she'd had the vacuum running when Judah and I had come, sweaty and bucking together.

Judah had dumped his used condom in the rubbish bin beside the bed, which wouldn't do much to hide the fact that we were having sex. Mum was all right with the idea of me and Judah in general, since we were legally adults, but she'd been raised Catholic. I wasn't ready to have that conversation with her. No thanks. Not today. Not ever.

I glanced at the full rubber in the bin with a frown. We'd have to get rid of the evidence of what we'd done. Mum cleaned in Judah's room tomorrow, which was a Saturday, while he was at football practice—or soccer, as Judah would say.

"Which reminds me, you need to go for a shower." I gave him a pointed look and patted his shoulder. "Your parents are takin' you out tonight for dinner with your grandparents, remember?"

"Ugh, no." He nipped my neck, and I shivered. "I don't wanna fucking go. I hate when they do that shit."

"Jude." I kissed his forehead a few times. "You're lucky you get to see your granny and grandpa. I've never met either of mine. And they give you tons of free stuff."

Judah received a lot of gifts from his grandparents and from his parents, too. His family was loaded and had one of those surnames that held power in New Gothenburg. The Dailey name was huge in the business world, and they were respected. Living in this beautiful home was one of the many perks Judah had been born with.

He rolled his eyes. "I don't want the stuff they buy me. I want to hang out with you." He grinned up at me and waggled his eyebrows. "And a blowjob."

I shoved his shoulder, causing him to laugh. "You're always horny."

"Can you blame me? Look at you." He stuffed his face against my neck again and began to nibble. Ticklish sensations had me squirming, and I poked him in the ribs. He laughed as he twisted to avoid the attack of my finger. "What was that for?"

"Go for a shower. Now." I pointed at the bathroom attached to his bedroom. He had all the perks, but then again, he lived in a mansion. According to Judah, it was only a house, though. He never saw things the way I did.

He groaned and fell back onto the bed with a thump. "You're so mean. Wait until I tell your mom. She loves me. She'll take my side."

I shoved him, and he went flailing off the mattress. Laughing when he shouted out in protest, I leaned over to stare down at where he lay on the wooden floor. "Shower. Now. And Mum wouldn't believe you. I'm a good boy."

His eyes twinkled. "We both know you're anything but that."

He didn't argue any further and instead blew me a kiss before he made his way to the attached bathroom. I watched him go, then rolled off the bed onto my feet. I made my way out of his room and downstairs to the kitchen, expecting to find Mum, but by the sounds of the vacuum, she was still cleaning somewhere deep in the large house.

I leaned against the kitchen island and slid my arse onto one of the tall chairs beside it. I yanked out the invoice and stared at it again. After Dad died, I'd made it my mission to take care of her, but I wasn't sure how to help with this.

I groaned and dropped my head.

"Is everything all right, Tavish?"

I shot up straight on the chair and smiled at Judah's mum, Elizabeth Dailey, as she strode into the kitchen like the confident woman she was. She was playing with her earlobe as she put in a gold loopy earring that glittered under the sharp lights. Decked out in a pencil dress in a subtle rose color, she looked ready to either dominate the world or take on her parents-in-law. She'd told me more than once it was a constant battle with them.

"I'm fine." I offered her a small smile, then quickly came to a decision. "Mrs. Dailey, do you... need any more help around the house? Maybe someone to mind the garden?"

She tilted her head, her earrings nearly blinding me as the light hit them directly and the gold flashed in my eyes. She patted down her hair, but she didn't need to because it wouldn't move, since she had it pulled into a tight bun. "Why do you ask?"

I hesitated, then shook my head. "Never mind. I'm sorry for bein' a bother."

She stalked to the other side of the island and reached over to grab my hand. "Tell me."

I swallowed around the shame that built up in my throat. The Daileys were rich, but I'd never asked anything from them. I'd never cared for money. "Mum has a hospital bill," I murmured quietly, peeking at the door to the kitchen and hoping Mum wouldn't enter. "From the last time she was in there. And there's also this medical trial comin' up, and I'd really like to help her."

Mrs. Dailey smiled, but it wasn't warm. I didn't think she knew how to be anything except a shark, but I still liked her. She was driven, like Judah. "Hmm, hospitals are very expensive, aren't they?"

I nodded. "I will do any work you'd like. I'll accept any pay."

"Hmm." She squeezed my hand. "How about I give you the money, Tavish?"

My stomach clenched with guilt. "No, I couldn't."

"But you could." Her smile twisted higher on her face, and I frowned, a sick feeling growing heavy in my gut. "I could fund your mother's hospital bills and the experimental treatment and a comfortable amount of money she could use to recover instead of working."

I licked my dry lips. "I.... Would you?"

Her eyes glittered with something I'd never seen in them, and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. "Yes. I'd only ask for one thing in return."

"What?" I whispered, scared that speaking louder would take all this away.

She patted my hand again and her smile turned my stomach further. "Leave Judah."

I shot back, nearly tumbling off the chair and dropping the bill in the process. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged, unrepentant. "You're eighteen. You have a whole lifetime to find the one, but it isn't Judah. Take this money I'm offering and get your mother healthy so she can live a very long life. All you need to do is break up with Judah. That's it. Your mother won't be able to work here after this, of course, but she doesn't have to know why. I'll give her a severance package. This deal can be between us."

I stared at her, my mind processing the words in disbelief. The urge to vomit rose in my throat and I swallowed to tamp it down. "I love Judah."

She laughed. "Tavish, you're a teenager, you don't know what love is. Take this deal. Think about your mother and all those bills. She'll be drowning in debt her entire life. Would your father have wanted that for her? Do you?"

Guilt settled deep into my chest, and I rubbed across my heart, hoping to ease some of the pain. Nothing changed. I was caught between the desire to cry and scream, but she was right. We needed the money, but Judah... was the love of my life. Mrs. Dailey didn't understand.

"Think about it. The offer is only on the table for forty-eight hours. I'll have a contract drawn up." She patted me on the shoulder as she walked past me, and all I could do was stare at her retreating back in shock.

"Tav, where are you?" Judah's yell from upstairs startled me, and I forced my throat to work.

"In the kitchen." I shoved the piece of paper back into my pocket.

Fuck. What was I meant to do?

* * *

It took me forty-seven hours to decide before I went to Mrs. Dailey and agreed to her terms. With a shaking hand, I signed a paper that stated I would never go near her son again. There were witnesses, and my head was really done in.

"Good boy," Mrs. Dailey said, once I'd signed the contract in front of her lawyer at the kitchen island. There was another woman there, also, who was quiet and mostly seemed to exist to make Mrs. Dailey's life easier. She'd been the one to hand over a pen and make Mrs. Dailey a coffee. She passed the thick stack of papers to the lawyer standing next to her.

Mrs. Dailey waved at me. "You'll get a copy of this information. I'll have it delivered. Now, go break up with my son. I'll handle your mom."

Handle my mum. She said the words with little emotion. The woman that I'd known since I was thirteen disappeared—or maybe she'd never existed in the first place. She'd always been fair, but had she been waiting for this opportunity the entire time I'd dated Judah?

I backed out of the kitchen. Everything happening today felt like a nightmare and I was walking toward the worst moment of my life. Judah was upstairs waiting for me. I'd told him I needed to talk to my mum.

I couldn't feel my fingers as I slid them up the stairs' railing, but I didn't think my heart was beating, either. The paralyzed sensation left me breathless, and my legs wobbled beneath me when I made it to the second floor. This was it, the worst moment of my life. I'd chosen Mum over Judah, and now I had to end the relationship that made me happy.

I forced air into my lungs and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand as tears threatened to fall. Maybe Mrs. Dailey was right. We were only eighteen. I had my whole life ahead of me.

Except, Judah was my world.

I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and closed the distance between the stairs and Judah's bedroom. As soon as I opened the door, I froze. Judah lay on the bed, frowning down at a book in his hands, and he scratched his cheek.

"You're good at math, right? Help me with trig. This shit is confusing." He glanced at me over the top of the thick textbook and grinned. "I suck at this."

Words got stuck in my throat and I swallowed, hoping to make them move, but they didn't. I stood there like an idiot, not quite sure how I was meant to do this.

Judah's smile dropped and his eyebrows furrowed. "Tav? Are you okay, Puffin?"

Okay? No, I was not bloody okay.

Stuck.

Lost.

Heartbroken.

Not okay.

I opened my mouth, then closed it and opened it again.

Judah shoved the textbook to the bed and stood, but I held up a hand to stop him before he walked over to me.

"I can't do this anymore." My voice wobbled and lacked confidence, so I cleared my throat. "I can't do this with you anymore, Jude."

He stared at me, and the panic in his eyes drove a knife straight into my heart. "What are you talking about?" He scrambled forward abruptly, and I backed away. "Tav, I don't know what's happening. What did I do?"

Nothing. You're perfect. You are the best boyfriend ever. I love you.

I shook my head as tears flooded my eyes again and threatened to fall. My strength against Judah had never been solid in the first place, but with the added pressure of my breaking heart, I was ready to collapse and scream. "It's just not workin'."

"But why?" Judah's lips shook and he held out a hand to me. "Puffin, don't do this. We're happy, right? Come here. Tell me what's wrong. I'll fix it, I swear. I'll do anything for you."

I'd never been happier, but he couldn't fix Mum's situation. No one but Mrs. Dailey could, and I'd signed a contract. An agreement. I had to break up with Judah.

"It's over," I whispered, holding back a sob as tears trekked down my cheeks. "We're over. I'm sorry."

"Tav, don't do this. Wait!" Judah rushed forward, but I turned and ran like the coward I was.

I sprinted out of his room and down the stairs, nearly tripping on one of the steps halfway. My heart hammered against my ribs and the force of the thumping made it feel like it was shattering the fragile bones that protected it.

"Puffin, stop! Tell me what I did!"

I continued running and left his home completely. There was a commotion behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder. Mrs. Dailey had grabbed Judah's arm to stop him from following me in the foyer. Judah was still watching me desperately, his eyes begging me to come back, but I kept running.

This was it.

The end.

I'd chosen Mum, and I wasn't worthy of Judah. He would hate me, and he had every right.

I deserved the heartbreak and every bit of pain that came with it.