Business magnate's daughter, Isla Templeton (Feather), is the youngest of André Templeton's three children. And the top topic in the upper-class gossip in New York City.
Isla has always been a fighter; after losing her mother at a young age by sui...
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I lay on my bed, tossing a small stress ball to the ceiling, letting it bounce back down into my hand over and over, letting myself daydream about something normal.
I've never known what a twenty-year-old man was supposed to do. What a life with just one worry—school— was all about.
I never knew what being an average teenager felt like—hanging out, drinking with friends, or even the simplest things, like sharing a meaningful kiss with someone you love. For me, those things never felt within reach. I always knew that my match would be named on my twenty-first birthday, and because of that, I never really saw dating as an option. Playing with my heart and somebody else's, knowing nothing real could ever come of it, just felt... wrong.
I guess that's what makes me different from Philip or Isla. They'd always had this freedom, this reckless disregard for boundaries that I couldn't quite understand. They lived in the moment while I felt like I'd been watching my life from a distance, waiting for it to start—waiting for someone else to tell me who I was supposed to be.
A sharp knock on the door snapped me out of it, and I sat up, blinking as the door opened to reveal a tall, skinny figure.
"Lisa?" I managed, still processing the surprise.
She just smiled, that cocky smile of hers. "You're needed in the meeting room," she said, her tone leaving no room for questions.
"Meeting room?" I raised an eyebrow. "Where's that supposed to be?"
She gave a small chuckle, her eyes glinting with some unspoken mystery. "Follow me."
I never thought I was going to be following Lisa down the winding halls of the Clarkson's mansion... or anywhere, to be honest. My footsteps echoed in the quiet. This place was a maze, and I was beginning to realize just how little I actually knew about it. She led me through unfamiliar corridors, past closed doors and rooms draped in shadows. Each turn felt like it was taking us deeper, as if she was guiding me to some hidden corner of the house that few had ever seen.
As we walked, I glanced over at her, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice laced with disbelief. "I mean, how... how are you even involved in this?"
She looked at me with a smirk, her eyes glinting with something almost playful. "Are you surprised, Noah?"
"Of course I am," I replied, shaking my head. "Last time I saw you, you were... I don't know, Claude's ex, the normal hot crazy lady who didnt leave my best friend room to even breathe?"
She chuckled. "Normal? Just that? Oh, Noah. I've been hanging with your birth father for years now. Everything you see here is part of a bigger plan."
I stopped, staring at her. "Part of... what plan, exactly?"
She tilted her head, amusement dancing in her eyes. "All in good time," she said, and with that smirk still lingering, she turned and continued walking, leaving me with a thousand questions and no answers.
