When her brother Blake leaves for their father's dangerous world, Bexley Lopez is shipped off to boarding school-alone, abandoned, and desperate for anything to fill the hollow space he left behind. That's where she meets Felix. Beautiful. Charismatic. Addictive in all the wrong ways. He gives her the distraction she craves... and introduces her to the pills, the hunger, and the slow, quiet destruction no one notices until she's already drowning. After a near-overdose leaves her barely standing, Bexley is dragged back home. Cassius-someone she only ever knew in passing from her darkest moments-suddenly becomes the closest thing she has to a friend. He sees more than she wants him to. He cares more than she knows how to handle. But he's not the only one watching her. Rodrick Sterling, the new bodyguard assigned by Blake and her father, is older, calm in a way that unsettles her, and far too perceptive. He sees the weight she's losing. The messages from Felix she can't ignore. The girl she's trying to hide beneath oversized clothes and shaky hands. He's supposed to protect her, not get close. She's supposed to avoid him, not feel safe around him. Nothing happens between them-nothing that should matter-but boundaries blur when secrets get too heavy, and sometimes the person who shouldn't care ends up being the one who does. As Bexley fights her way out of addiction, loneliness, and the pieces Felix left behind, she finds unexpected light: new friends, a real chance at happiness, and a boy who might actually love her the way she deserves. But recovery isn't a straight line. Healing isn't simple. And when your past wants you back, it never returns quietly. Bexley is finally learning how to breathe again... But is letting go ever that easy?

This is the sequel (continuation) of After. Hardin and Tessa's relationship will be tested in ways she never expected, but he knew of all along.

Tessa Young is an 18 year old college student with a simple life, excellent grades, and a sweet boyfriend. She always has things planned out ahead of time, until she meets a rude boy named Hardin, with too many tattoos and piercings who shatters her plans.

The passionate story of Tessa and Hardin continues as family secrets, deep betrayals, and career opportunities threaten to tear them apart.