Asher pushes past me on his way out. I stumble backward with the force of it, but I hold my ground. As he disappears from the scene, I stare directly at the camera. It’s a full-on glare, one that’s meant to dissect souls and ruin lives.

It’s the harsh Reina.

The Reina no one fucked with.

The screen goes black right after.

I continue staring at it as if Asher and I were still there.

“That’s only a fraction of your relationship.” Jason brings my attention back to him. “You were never actually together.”

My gaze slides from the black screen to his face. “Who recorded that?”

He pauses as if it’s the last question he expected I’d ask. I want to know who I looked at with that icy stare. There was someone who filmed something they shouldn’t have, and I want to know if they paid for intruding on my privacy.

“Someone from the football team? I’m not sure. I found it online a few years ago.”

“You keep all videos you find online?”

“The ones concerning you, yes. We’re friends, princess, remember?”

“No, I don’t remember. That’s the whole thing, Jace.” My voice is resigned more than anything. “What do you know about my involvement with Arianna?”

Asher and I might have had problems, but they weren’t so huge to the point he’d have murderous intentions toward me. Something tells me all of this started after Arianna’s death.

Jason abandons his position near the TV and flops beside me. His gaze gets lost in the black screen like mine was earlier. “You were friends.”

“Define friends.”

“From the outside? Best friends. She never did anything without you by her side. You were her role model and she relied on you so much, to the point Asher didn’t like it.”

The sound of his name slaughters me all over again.

My lashes flutter over my cheeks as I fight the onslaught of pain hitting me out of nowhere. Those broken pieces are now trying to puncture what remained of my heart, as if demanding that everything should be left for dead.

“What changed?” My voice is higher than normal. “Earlier you said she hurt me and I didn’t hold back.”

“I’m not sure either.” He lifts a shoulder. “All I know is that Arianna was acting weird right before her suicide.”

“Weird how?”

“She clung to you more. Asher distanced himself from you more than usual. You were miserable and appeared to have a million thoughts going on in your head.”

“You said I drove her to suicide—how?”

“Those are Asher’s words, not mine. Apparently, Arianna said you were to blame before she jumped.”

A soft gasp tears out of me, and my voice turns haunted. “I was to blame how?”

“No idea, but Asher believes it as if it’s his religion. He fought with Alex about it right after Arianna’s death. He demanded his father sever all ties with you, but he wasn’t having it and told him to stop being irrational.”

My chest squeezes at the kindness from the man who’s filled the role of father since Dad passed away. “Alex didn’t believe him?”

Jason shakes his head.

“How about you?” My voice is so filled with hope it’s pathetic.

“It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

“It matters to me.” If Jace is Cloud003, he’s possibly the only friend I have in this pile of chaos, and right now, I need someone I can lean on.

“Of course not, Reina. There might have been disagreements before her death, but you loved Arianna as if she were your sister. She was the only one you never acted snobby or robotic with.”

“Then how come Asher believes I’d hurt her?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, there’s no proof of what he said. He was the only one on the roof when Arianna committed suicide, so there are no other witnesses. I think he’s only using his sister’s death to inflict pain on you. Since he couldn’t get rid of you before, that opportunity was golden for him.”

My palms turn sweaty as I clasp my hands together.

No.

As monstrous as Asher’s grudge is, it’s real and tangible. I saw the intensity of it in his green eyes and tasted it on my tongue.

He didn’t make it up. He really thinks I had something to do with Arianna’s suicide.

Now, I must figure out a way to prove my innocence, and I need to find it quick.

Judging from Asher’s pace with things, I won’t be so lucky next time he comes back for my soul.

I meet Jason’s gaze. “Yesterday you said something about things escalating before Izzy stopped you.”

“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I think he’s after your life, Reina. Those attacks were only a preparation for the grand finale. Next time, he’ll force you to jump off a roof like Arianna did.”

I gulp at the thought, not because I’m scared, but more because of how that possibility hurts.

“Do you think he’s the one who beat me up in the forest?” I ask.

“Probably.”

The remaining part of my heart shrinks and turns into stone.

Asher took everything from me.

Maybe I have taken everything from him, too.

Now we have nothing.

Don’t they say those who have nothing to lose are the scariest?

Life is strange.

One day it’s all unicorns and rainbows, and the next, it’s a straight-up trip to hell.

It’s fight or flight.

It’s kill or be killed.

I straighten in front of Ari’s grave, one hand clutching the other in front of me.

Arianna Carson, beloved daughter and sister.

Each word is a ruthless stab. The sentence is as gruesome as if it were written in blood.

She died so young, in her prime years, seventeen going on eighteen.

Her smile is starting to fade from my memories. It crashed and burned that day three years ago.

All I can see is her tear-streaked face, the trembling of her lips, and the white dress that flew in the wind behind her as she stood on the edge.

Her face was pale as she shook like a leaf and confessed the words that killed me on the spot.

The words that ended my fucking life with hers.

I’m so sorry.

I briefly close my eyes to push away the onslaught of memories—the look on her face, the way her legs gave out…

She should be standing here with me as we visit Mom’s grave. She would’ve told me not to hate the man who acted as our father. She would’ve said she missed Mom and hugged me.

Since I was ten, I’ve known Alexander is a useless father. If I wanted my baby sister and me to have a good life after Mom, I needed to step up. So I did just that; I became her mother, father, brother, and best friend.

I became Ari’s world, and she was mine.

Until she left me and joined Mom.

I lean over and stroke my fingers over the tombstone. At her funeral, I sat here for the entire night wondering where I had gone wrong.

Was I too protective? Was I not attentive enough? Was I too fucking stupid?

Then I realized, I hadn’t done anything. Ari had told me she was sorry. She hadn’t wanted to leave me, but she couldn’t stay in this world.