Page 221 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 5-8

Livia quickened her pace along the soft dirt path over roots and over a spread of flat rock. When she reached the forest edge, she paused, taking in Adele’s school. Ivy climbed the side of the stately brick building that rose up from the neatly cut grass, and in the center of it was an arched walkway to the quad at the center of campus. Livia ignored the strange sense of nostalgia for another school at another time and focused on the clusters of girls walking through the walkway. It was later in the day, which meant there was a good chance Adele was in her room, reading. If she could slip into the dormitory hall without attracting attention, she could go up to Adele’s room, help her sister throw a few belongings into a bag and sneak her out.

Then, when they finally got to Greece…well, Livia wasn’t sure what would happen next. Maybe they could talk some sense into their parents. The plan had always been to go Greece after Adele turned eighteen, after she graduated. Leaving now meant neither of those things would be the case. Livia pushed these uncertain thoughts out of her mind and focused on what she needed to do for her sister’s sake.

Livia kept her head down and her sunglasses on, hoping no one would look too closely at the fact she was not wearing a school uniform. A few of the girls at the doorway stared at her, but they said nothing. She climbed the stairs, running her hand over the old wooden banister, to the second floor, then hurried down the hall. She knocked on her sister’s door.

No answer.

She knocked again. Nothing. Livia slumped against the wall. She hung her head and tried to think, but the only thing that came to mind was the refrain You’re making a big mistake.

“Livia?”

Livia startled back to the present. She turned, and Adele was there. Her sister was walking toward her. Her hair was much shorter than the last time Livia had seen her. Messier. But she looked good. And also worried. Livia ran to hug her sister.

“What are you doing here?” Adele asked. “Are you okay?”

“I have a way out,” she whispered. “We can go to Greece now.”

Her sister pulled back a little. Adele looked more confused than excited. “I can’t leave. What about my passport? I’m a minor.”

Livia shook her head. “Gustav’s royal jet doesn’t go through regular customs. We can just go.”

“Why do we need to go? Did something happen?”

“You called me,” said Livia. “I thought…”

She had thought it meant Adele needed rescuing, but the way her sister was looking at her suggested otherwise.

“I called to warn you, not for you to save me,” said Adele slowly. “I was worried about you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You.” Her sister frowned. “You were ready to marry someone you barely knew, then I find out through the tabloids that you’re instead now married to the guy you dumped back in high school. And I couldn’t reach you.”

Okay, maybe Adele had a point.

“You didn’t even tell me,” her sister continued. She sounded…hurt. “You left that message for me like everything was okay.”

“Cryptic messages only, remember?”

Her sister gave her a lopsided smile.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to worry,” said Livia. She ruffled her sister’s hair. “Nice cut, by the way.”

“Like it? I did it myself.”

“I never would have guessed.”

Adele laughed. “I asked some friends to do it, but no one would cut it this short for me.”

She shrugged. The hall was quiet for a while, as Livia digested everything her sister had just said. Her sister tucked a strand of Livia’s hair behind her ear. “You know you can lean on me, too, right? You’re not alone.”

Livia bit her lip. For as long as she could remember, Livia had worried about her sister, but the truth was that Adele had been doing well for a long while now. She had friends in this school where she’d been since the Incident, and she seemed genuinely happy. Still, Livia felt herself clinging to the past, as if she was waiting for the worst to come. It was hard to let go of the image of her sister in that hospital bed. But her sister had made it through, and now she was so much stronger.

Livia was holding so tightly on to the past that had hurt so deeply. Which was basically what she had accused Gustav of doing. In all her thoughts about their similarities, she had somehow missed this one.

She bit her lip. “I suppose I should have asked if you wanted to leave.”

“I know this is our plan, but I didn’t think it would happen like this.” Her sister looked down the hall as if she was far away. “What did Gustav say when you left?”