✿ She knew how to play, but not how to walk away ✿
The queen of silent battles, Cleopatra Corinne, moves with precision on the board-but when it comes to matters of the heart, the girl's a vulnerable pawn. Every glance, every move, every whispered word is calculated. And she knows it.
Yet, she still played.
As the game made its way, Clay finds herself willingly caught in a gambit she saw coming. But even a great manipulator can make a blunder... and when the final piece falls, the checkmate isn't on the board-it's within her.
Because all this time, he's teaching her how to lose.
The rules are simple: play the part, make it believable, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
A quiet, sharp-tongued French girl named Juliette, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 Madeline, and the feeling is mutual. But when Madeline makes an 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 Juliette can't ignore, hatred turns into a game neither of them can control.
The stares last too long. Fights cut too deep. The tension is 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.
They were never supposed to want this.
Too bad they're already 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 every rule.
[18+]