Mia’s pov

I stood near the school gate and watched Sophia climb into the back seat of Lucian’s car. She didn’t look at me. She just sat there, staring out the window with that same tight, wounded expression she had worn all afternoon.

She should never have come back.

The thought settled cold and clear in my mind as I turned and started walking toward the quieter path that led behind the school buildings. My feet moved on autopilot while my head spun through possibilities.

How exactly was I going to do this?

There was a cliff behind the school steep, rocky, half-hidden by trees. Students sometimes went there to...