Princess-marigold
Theodora "Theo" Bennett has always been the girl who does the right thing.
A Sports Journalism major with a Creative Writing minor, Theo arrives at college with a plan, a future, and a boyfriend she's loved since sophomore year of high school. Xander Walker is familiar. Safe. The kind of love everyone assumes will last forever.
At least, that's what Theo thinks.
When hockey star John Logan starts paying attention to her, Theo writes it off as harmless flirting. Logan is charming, reckless, and exactly the kind of distraction she doesn't need. But every stolen conversation leaves her wanting more, and every accidental touch makes it harder to remember why she's trying so hard to stay loyal.
Because the truth is, Theo has spent years being the girl everyone expects her to be.
The perfect girlfriend.
The dependable daughter.
The responsible friend.
But with Logan, she gets to be someone else.
Someone impulsive.
Someone selfish.
Someone who doesn't have all the answers.
As her connection with Logan grows, Theo finds herself caught between two versions of her life-the one she's built with Xander and the one she's beginning to imagine with Logan. Torn apart by guilt and attraction, she convinces herself she can keep both worlds separate.
Then everything falls apart.
A devastating betrayal reveals that Xander has been keeping secrets throughout nearly their entire relationship, shattering the future Theo thought she was protecting. Suddenly, the love she spent years fighting for doesn't look anything like she remembered.
And the one person she can't stop thinking about is the boy she was never supposed to want.
Now Theo must decide whether she's willing to let go of the story she's always told herself and risk her heart on something uncertain.
Because sometimes the hardest goodbye isn't to someone else.
It's to the girl you've always been.