Sweet Ruin: A YA Boarding School Romance (Weybridge Academy Book 3)

“Isee a handsome man in your future…”

“Go on,” Anna said. Her eyes were wide, and she leaned forward as she clung to every word coming out of Norma’s mouth.

We were having breakfast in the café, and Norma had sat down with us immediately. She’d wasted no time in giving me a crushing hug before turning to Cress and Anna. She’d barely learned their names before she was telling their fortune. Cress hadn’t stopped smiling since Norma told her that her heart was in the right place for love and, if she was open to it, there would be “many pleasures” ahead. Anna had been sitting on the edge of her seat ever since, desperate to hear Norma’s predictions for her own future.

“He’s tall and muscular with hair the color of sand.”

Anna grinned and started rubbing her hands together. “Just my type.”

“Yes,” Norma agreed. “But I foresee a bumpy road for you as a couple.”

“Wait, what?” Anna’s shoulders slouched. “What does that mean?”

“It probably means you’re going to torment the poor boy, whoever he is,” Cress said with a laugh.

“That sounds about right,” Anna grumbled before turning to Norma once more. “Why couldn’t you tell me some sexy man is going to sweep me off my stilettos and carry me off into the sunset?”

Norma lifted an eyebrow at her. “I didn’t say that’s not what’s going to happen, did I?”

Anna’s lips twisted in a sly smirk. “Good. Do Isobel next.”

“Uh, I don’t think I need my fortune told today,” I said. “I’m quite happy in the present.”

Norma smiled and nodded. “I can see that. I will tell you one thing though…”

“Which is…” I asked.

“Always trust your heart.” She gave me a smile and sighed. “All this talk of love’s got me wishing I had a little of my own.”

“You don’t have someone special?” Cress asked.

Norma shook her head.

“But what about in your future?” Anna said. “Surely you can see that.”

“Oh, well,” Norma replied. “The future’s a different matter. I’ll have love. He’s just taking his sweet time realizing I’m the one.” She was clearly talking about Frank.

“Well, make him realize,” Anna replied. “You can’t wait around for a guy forever. For all you know, he’ll never figure it out. Maybe he’ll even move on with someone else.”

“Move on?” Norma’s voice was alarmed, and she started to frown. “He wouldn’t, would he?” She looked thoughtful as she murmured to herself. It might have been the first time she’d ever considered that her love for Frank might go unrequited forever.

Her attention was pulled away as she glanced up at some customers who’d just entered the café. “I better go take their orders. I’ll see you girls later.”

Anna watched with awe as Norma walked away from the table. “She. Is. Awesome!” she gasped. “I can’t believe there’s a real psychic working at your mom’s café.”

“Real psychic?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Norma doesn’t really have a history of accurate predictions.”

“They sounded totally legit to me,” Anna said. “What do you think, Cress?”

“Well, I definitely liked the sound of my future.” Cress smiled, but she wasn’t looking at Anna. Instead, her focus was on the cup of coffee she had her hands wrapped around. She was staring into it as though it might somehow confirm or disprove Norma’s predictions.

“Do you think she was talking about Kaden? She has to be talking about Kaden, right?” Cress asked when she looked at us again.

“Definitely,” Anna agreed. “I’m pretty jealous of the many pleasures that lie ahead of you.” She gave Cress a wink, and Cress’s cheeks went bright pink.

“Get your head out of the gutter, Anna.”

“What? I may not be a psychic, but Norma was definitely alluding to a future of hot, steamy—’

“Uh, what do you think she meant with your prediction, Isobel?” Cress quickly asked, raising her voice as she cut Anna off. She was suddenly desperate to get off the subject of her and Kaden.

“I’m not really sure you could call mine a prediction.”

Anna shook her head. “No, it totally means something.”

It sounded to me like the kind of advice you found in a fortune cookie, but I didn’t say that to the girls because they both seemed very excited by Norma’s “abilities.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I let out a sigh. Whether Norma had been giving me a so-called psychic prediction or just honest advice, I wasn’t quite sure I was capable of following it. My heart had already led me astray multiple times before and proven itself thoroughly untrustworthy. “Anyway, we should be talking less and eating more,” I said. “The waffles are going to get cold.”

I started to dig into the food before us, and the girls begrudgingly followed suit. I could tell they wanted to keep chatting about our predictions, but I was worried they were getting their hopes up. Norma wasn’t exactly a reliable psychic.

As we were eating, the little bell above the entrance to the café chimed, and the front door swung open. My heart skipped a beat as I realized it was Matthew. I almost hadn’t recognized him. For once, my father wasn’t dressed in one of his fine suits, and instead, he was wearing a pair of casual chinos and a pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was strange to see him looking so relaxed.

I hadn’t seen him since Halloween, but we’d talked briefly on the phone once since then. That night at the carnival had brought out a side of Matthew I didn’t know existed. He had been emotional. Angry and aggressive toward Noah and William but defensive and protective of me when he felt I was being threatened. It was a stark contrast to the calm and composed man I’d first met in the office of his Weybridge mansion.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a crack in his stoic personality though. He’d let the mask fall and been honest and vulnerable at the White Ball when he revealed the truth about why he’d been missing from my life all these years. And again in New York when he’d explained his history with the Hastings family and opened up about the death of his sister. Today though, there was a hint of a smile on his face and a lightness to his steps that suggested those serious issues were far from his mind. One of the only times I’d seen this side of Matthew was when he was strolling through the Halloween carnival with my mom next to him.

When he caught my gaze across the room, his smile broadened, and he walked over to our table. “Hello, Isobel,” he said.

I had thought I’d never get used to my father’s polished English accent, but it was actually starting to feel familiar to me.

“Hey, Matthew,” I said. “How are you? I’m glad to see your eye is looking better.”

The last time I saw my father, his eye was starting to swell and his cheek was bruised, thanks to Noah’s fist. There was no sign of the injury now, but I still felt like the damage Noah had done when he punched Matthew was a wound that would never heal.

“Yes, me too,” Matthew replied. “It was all rather unpleasant.”

Unpleasant felt like a bit of an understatement, but I didn’t feel the need to go into any more detail. It seemed like my father was just as relieved as I was to be in Rapid Bay, far away from memories of that night.

“You remember my friends, Cress and Anna?”

“Of course.” He turned his attention to my friends. “It’s lovely to see you both again.”

Cress and Anna both had their mouths full, so their responses were muffled, but it sounded like they said something along the lines of “You too.”

“Thanks for organizing the flight here for us,” I said. “The plane was really too much.”

“It was no problem at all,” he replied. “It’s just nice that we could all be here.”

I smiled and nodded in agreement. “Do you want to sit and have some breakfast with us?” I gestured toward the free seat at my side.

Matthew shook his head and straightened his back slightly as he glanced around the café. “Thank you, but I ate on my trip here. I should go and say hello to your mother. Is she here?” He didn’t look at me as he spoke, his eyes instead still scanning the café as though he was eager to catch sight of her.

“Yep, she’s in the kitchen.”

“Excellent. Maybe I’ll see if I can do anything to help prepare for lunch.”

“You can ask, but Mom takes her hosting duties on Thanksgiving very seriously, and she’s a bit of a perfectionist. She doesn’t even ask me for help.”

Another smile formed on his face as he glanced down at me. “Well, I’ll try my best not to get in the way.”

I grinned back at him and gestured to the swing door that led to the kitchen. “It’s through there. Good luck.”

Matthew nodded before turning to head toward the kitchen.

“Was that your father?” Norma asked, returning to our table just as he disappeared out back.

“Yeah, he just arrived. He’s gone to see if Mom needs any help.”

“Did you warn him?” Norma chuckled. “You know how she likes to do everything herself on Thanksgiving.”

“Yep, I warned him. He went in anyway.”

“Well, maybe she’ll make an exception for him.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But I think it’s more likely that he’ll see how hectic it is back there and then think twice before offering to help next year.”

The words were out of my mouth before I knew what I’d said. It was only after I heard them that I realized I actually thought Matthew would be here with us for Thanksgiving next year. That he was actually going to be a real part of my life from now on. The most surprising thing was I didn’t totally hate the idea.

“I guess we’ll have to see,” Norma said, a knowing smile on her lips. “Now, I’m going to sneak a peek in the back and see if he’s as handsome as your momma says.”

“Oh, he is,” Anna said.

I shot her a glare.

“What?” she protested. “I’ve told you before he’s hot for an older guy.”

Norma let out a full-bellied laugh and was still shaking her head as she started toward the kitchen.

“I think Norma likes you, Anna, even if I don’t right now,” I said.

She simply smiled. “Don’t be silly; you love me too.”

After we finished breakfast, we went to check on Mom in the kitchen. We cautiously offered to help, but she predictably refused, insisting I show the girls around Rapid Bay and not return until it was time for lunch.

She didn’t seem to have the same problem with my dad being in the kitchen. Norma was right; she had made an exception for him. He’d been assigned to peeling potatoes, and he looked so awkward I had to wonder if he’d ever even chopped a vegetable himself. Probably not, at least in recent years. He caught my eye and waved nervously with the peeler in his hand, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I did as Mom suggested and took the girls for a tour of Rapid Bay. Most of the shops were closed because of the holiday, so we couldn’t do any shopping, much to Anna’s disappointment. Instead, I took them to the beach. It was a cool day but pleasant enough when the sun broke out from behind the clouds. When we reached the sand, they gasped at the glistening turquoise water stretched out before them.

It was strange being here with them and having them in my home. I’d worried they wouldn’t like it here, that perhaps they’d secretly judge me for the way I’d been brought up once they saw the stark differences between their world and mine. If anything, I actually felt even closer to my friends. They knew all of me now and had never treated me any different.

As I peered up at the large houses that lined the foreshore, I wondered if perhaps I was the one who no longer fit in here. At least, not the way I used to. Once upon a time, I’d looked up at the grand holiday homes owned by the rich and elite visitors who vacationed here in the summer—and they’d made me feel so small. They’d reminded me of all the things I would never have. The things that felt out of my reach.

These days, it felt like I could achieve almost anything. Rapid Bay was what felt small. I’d grown so much in the short time I’d been away. I’d moved to a new school, made new friends, overcome heartache, and met my father for the first time. This place was always going to be my home, and I was still the same girl, but for the first time, I felt okay with the fact my life would take me beyond Rapid Bay and deliver unexpected twists.

But I also wondered if that was part of reason why I had been struggling so much with my college applications lately. My future was so much broader now. I had options. It was easier when college was just a dream—a fantasy in my head that would never come true. Now that it could, I worried I might screw it up.

“I can’t believe you grew up here,” Cress said, drawing my attention back to the beach. “That you got to see this view every day.”

“And your mom’s so great,” Anna added. “I wish I was as close with my parents as you are with her.”

I smiled and nodded as I looked out at the water. “Yeah, I feel pretty lucky.” I’d always appreciated my mom, but it was only once I started at Weybridge Academy that I realized just how special the relationship we had truly was.

“My parents haven’t even sent me a text to wish me a happy Thanksgiving,” Cress said. “Knowing them, they’ve probably forgotten what day it is.”

‘Yeah, I haven’t heard from mine either,” Anna said. “But they don’t celebrate it in England, so I guess it’s not that big of a surprise.”

“When do you guys think you’ll see your families again?” I asked.

“My parents will be back in New York in a week or so and then back again at Christmas,” Cress replied. “At least, that’s the plan. They’re always changing their minds.”

“I’ll be heading back home for Christmas,” Anna said. “Though I’m going to try and spend as little time there as possible. My mom is completely overbearing, and my dad takes way too much interest in trying to dictate my life. If you ever meet them, you’ll see why I was happy to go to school on the other side of the world.”

“What about your brother?” Cress said. “It’ll be nice to see him, right?”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Dev’s a little punk. He recently decided he wants to be a rapper, so he’ll be even more unbearable than both my parents combined.” From the slight smile on her lips though, I got the feeling she was more excited about a reunion with her brother than she let on.

Eventually, we reached a small, secluded section of the beach that could only be accessed when the tide was out or by a hidden path none of the tourists knew about. My stomach twisted as I realized I’d brought the girls to the place Noah and I had shared our first kiss. My trip to Rapid Bay with him had been so perfect, and even now, I still struggled to believe he’d gone to so much effort for our first date.

I tried my best not to think about that day, that moment. How it had felt like the world stopped when Noah looked in my eyes, and how I’d wanted our kiss to last forever. The feel of the sand under my feet and the light breeze against my face caused the memories to flow through me.

I didn’t want to miss Noah. I didn’t want to think about him at all. But standing in the place where I’d first accepted my feelings for him, just weeks ago, made it so much harder to pretend they were truly gone.

I wasn’t listening as the girls kept happily chatting. Both were completely oblivious to the inner turmoil I felt. I continued walking alongside them, listening to the ocean crashing against the beach, and tried my best to erase the memories of Noah like the waves washed away the footprints we left behind us.

I was finally beginning to put him from my mind when I saw a figure jogging toward us. The girl must have been running from the other end of the beach, but I had only just noticed her. As she neared us, she came to a sudden stop, and my gaze instinctively drifted to look at her. When I saw her face, I too became frozen in place. Recognition flared in her eyes, and my insides began to churn.

“Nina.” Her name tumbled from my lips unbidden, but she was standing far enough away she couldn’t have heard.

She looked so shocked to see me, but there was clear sadness in her eyes that couldn’t be faked. She was the last person I wanted to see while I was in town, and I could think of nothing worse than having to talk with her.

“Did you say something, Isobel?” Anna asked. She and Cress had stopped a couple of steps in front of me and were looking back.

I tore my gaze from the girl who was once my best friend. The girl who had betrayed me and stolen my boyfriend. The girl who had made the thought of running away from Rapid Bay so appealing.

“We should head back for lunch,” I said.

Anna and Cress looked slightly confused, so I stepped forward and took them both by the arm, steering them back the way we’d come before they could ask any questions.

“Come on, let’s go,” I said. “I don’t want to be late. I told you something crazy always seems to happen during my mom’s Thanksgiving lunches. You won’t want to miss a moment.”

The girls followed without protest, but I was sure they were surprised by my sudden urgency to get home. I was worried Nina might come after me. She might want to talk. I had no idea what I’d say to her or what she’d say to me. But either way, I couldn’t imagine it would be a pleasant experience. Thankfully, she let me walk away without saying a word.

I just hoped seeing Nina wasn’t a sign I was going to be the center of this year’s Thanksgiving drama.