Cruel Love

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AMBITION REVELATION PARADISE LOST SUSPICION SCANDAL VANISHED OMINOUS VENGEANCE LAST CHRISTMAS

PERFECT MISTAKE SWEET DECEIT PURE SIN

CRUEL
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KATE
BRIAN

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An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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For Lanie, from beginning to end

Chapter 3: Come Together Chapter 4: The Honor

Chapter 5: What Friends are for Chapter 6: Figments

Chapter 7: Uncle Jazz Chapter 8: A Plan

Chapter 9: The Nomination Chapter 10: Benevolent Chapter 11: The Wrong Girl Chapter 12: Blast from the Past Chapter 13: Catharsis

Chapter 14: The Dungeon Chapter 15: A Lock Chapter 16: The Coup Chapter 17: So Well

Chapter 18: Heaven and Hell Chapter 19: Honor her Memory Chapter 20: If not for her Chapter 21: Peace of Mind Chapter 22: Therapist Past Chapter 23: Psychic

Chapter 25: The Obligatory Entourage Chapter 26: Holding Out

Chapter 27: Too Easy Chapter 28: Mental Health Chapter 29: Benevolence Chapter 30: Resignation Chapter 31: Back on Track Chapter 32: Last Meal Chapter 33: Happy Birthday Chapter 34: Evidence Chapter 35: A Promise

Chapter 36: Almost Everything Chapter 37: Stalking her Prey Chapter 38: Over

All around Ariana Osgood, the sounds of the emergency room dimmed to a dull hum. e flashing red lights outside the thick-paned window faded in and out. An ancient coffee machine in the corner hissed as it gurgled hot brown liquid into a mug. A few droplets of fresh, red blood splattered the tiles as someone limped by. A child cried. A mother screamed. Someone, somewhere, begged for help. But Ariana was unaware. For her, time had stopped.

For her, there was nothing in the world but Reed Brennan.

She must die … she must die … she must die …

The mantra pounded at the base of her skull like a drumbeat, a call to arms, a battle march.

She must die … she must die … she must die …

Ariana focused on Reed’s mouth. On her lips. e lying, back-stabbing, love-of-her-life-stealing lips, as they babbled away to a police officer. Spewing more lies, no doubt. Explaining things away. Claiming innocence. Poor, poor Reed. Always, always,
always
the victim. Steadily, the mantra grew faster.

She must die … she must die … she must—

There was a slam over by the admittance desk and suddenly the world zipped back into focus. Noise and color and light and pain crashed in on Ariana from all sides.

“… don’t know what happened,” Reed was saying. She hugged her scrawny arms around her scrawnier waist. “I thought she had a ride home. I was sure he was driving her home …”

A tear slipped from Reed’s eye and she swiped it away. Ariana tilted her head. It was amazing, really, how unchanged the girl was. Same bland, shapeless clothes, except, oddly, her coat appeared to be a bland Kenneth Cole number rather than a bland Old Navy. Same dirt-brown hair. Same off-putting angular features. Same dull brown eyes. She wasn’t as tall as Ariana remembered. Certainly not as strong. In fact, Ariana was quite certain that if she walked over there right now, wrapped her fingers around Reed’s skinny neck and squeezed, she could have her dead within a minute.

She must die … she must die … she must die …

Ariana’s fingers twitched at her sides. Her mouth began to water. is was it. Her opportunity. e moment she’d been anticipating for three long years. It would have been marvelous if she had been able to execute her original plan and shoved Reed off the roof of Billings House those many moons ago. It would have been dramatic and messy and best of all, done. But this … this would be so much more poetic. She would look Reed in the eyes as she died. Watch the light and the life go out of her. Feel her agony, her desperation, her fear. She would witness the very moment that Reed recognized it was over—that Ariana had won. That she had finally, finally won.

She must die … she must die … she must die …

“I should really call her roommate. She must be freaking out,” Reed said.

She tugged a cell phone out of her pocket and began to turn. In half a second, she would be facing Ariana. Their eyes would meet. Ariana couldn’t breathe. “Ana. I need to talk to you.”

Someone grabbed Ariana’s arm. She looked up into the stricken, pale face of her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend, Palmer Liriano. His green eyes were raw and his brown hair mussed, as if he’d run his hands over it and back a thousand times. Behind him, Soomie Ahn sobbed against Maria Stanzini’s shoulder, her straight black hair sticking to the tears on her cheeks. Jasper Montgomery talked in low tones with Landon Jacobs and Adam Lazzerri, all of them looking fearful and gaunt. Tahira Al-Mahmood cried silently as her boyfriend, Rob Mellon, tried to console her. Everyone she knew was gathered around, looking out-of-place in their formalwear, elaborate hair, and carefully applied makeup as they whispered, blubbered, and prayed. Prayed for Lexa Greene, Ariana’s best friend, who had tried to kill herself by jumping through the glass roof of the greenhouse at Maria’s mansion.

And just like that, the drumbeat stopped. Ariana’s world snapped back into focus. Her
real
world. e world in which she now lived. One that didn’t include Reed Brennan. One that
couldn’t
include her. Reed turned toward Ariana, and Ariana buried her face in Palmer’s chest. She took in a few hopelessly broken breaths, squeezed her eyes shut, and closed her hand around her forearm.

Get it under control, Ariana. Get it under control.

She gripped her own arm as hard as she could, her fingernails digging into the skin. “Ana? Ana? Are you okay?”

Palmer’s strong hands closed over her shoulders. He pushed her back slightly so he could look into her eyes. Ariana blinked up at him. In her peripheral vision, she saw that Reed was gone. Maybe outside to make her call. Maybe to the bathroom. Maybe back to the Georgetown campus, where Ariana knew she currently lived. Whatever the case, for the moment, the danger was over.

Slowly, Ariana began to breathe again.

She nodded shakily. “Sorry. I just … I got dizzy there for a second … thinking about all the … the blood,” she improvised. “Okay. You’re all right now?” Palmer asked, his tone all business.

Ariana looked down at her arm. She was bleeding. Her fingernails had broken the skin. She covered up the wounds with her palm, trying not to wince, and nodded again.

“Anything new about Lexa?” she asked.

Palmer shook his head. “No.” Keeping his hands on her shoulders, he ducked his chin to look her in the eye. “Ana, you’ve been spending more time with her than anyone. Did you have any idea that she was thinking about … about doing
this
?”