I had a past. It was dark. It was ugly. It was my dirty secret. No one knew the weight of the burdens that nearly consumed me. I lived with a singular focus—seeking revenge on my father. Then the new girl, Jolee Ward, moved into the apartment above me and shattered my carefully constructed world. We were like oil and water. . . until we weren’t. Then we detonated like gasoline and fire, but the inferno threatened to destroy us both. One night with her couldn’t erase years spent plotting. Wellington University wasn’t big enough for the both of us.

I played the game. There were rules. There was strategy. There was always an escape. No one knew how my past dictated my every move. I did everything to keep the nightmares of my childhood at bay. I reveled in my playboy reputation. Then Sarah Hodges made a wrong move. One that left me wondering how to match her play. We weren't supposed to work. She was everything I wasn't. But she had secrets of her own. Ones that left me shocked and furious. Ones that gave me a leg up. Or so I thought. It only took one quick game to land us in checkmate, something Wellington University never saw coming.