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.

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.