Edel doesn't do soft. She doesn't do safe. And she definitely doesn't do sober. She walks into BCS with sharp eyes, dirty secrets, and an addiction she pretends she controls. A dead father. An alcoholic mother. A home that never felt like one. Until John Kavanagh. John has money, a future, and a family that still works. A life Edel was never meant to touch. Different worlds. Same school. She doesn't need saving. He doesn't know he's trying anyway. Some girls don't run because they're reckless. They run because staying would kill them.

Tadhg Lynch He's the forgotten witness-the Joey Lynch doppelgänger who was too young to truly comprehend the gravity of Lynch's tragedy but too old to ever forget. Determined, athletic, attractive and an adopted Kavanagh Kid. For the most part, Tadhg Lynch was perfect. Lonely, but perfect. But there's one person who's a balm to that loneliness but also a walking migraine wrapped into one clusterfuck. Tadhg doesn't chase fights like an addict chasing their high, he bites when provoked. That being said, that notion seemingly dissolves around Ballylaggin's resident Wildflower, one Olivia Kataria. Olivia Kataria The wildflower is one of the lucky six scholarship recipients with a brain like no other-but an equally one-of-a-kind mindset that makes her a walking contradiction. Sporty, ambitious, beautiful and intelligent-Olivia Kataria is the dream-girl with an attitude that's the stuff of nightmares. And nobody's as well acquainted with her attitude as the boy who has been her academic rival since the first year, Tadhg Lynch. As their sixth year progresses; dynamics shift, their futures rewrite day by day. And as the pressure builds, what will be left? A diamond or collateral damage.

Tadgh Lynch doesn't lose focus. He's sharp, volatile, and not here to play nice. First year at Tommen, he's already collecting enemies-and Leah Daly's at the top of the list. Leah Daly's fierce, stubborn, and hiding the kind of damage you don't talk about. She's built for survival, and Tadgh's the last person she wants anywhere near her. She hates him. He hates her. That should've been the end of it. But the more he sees, the more it looks like his history repeating itself. And once he recognises it, walking away isn't an option. Even if saving her burns him all over again.