Locked in a basement and forgotten by the world, seventeen-year-old Grace Lowell has learned to survive silence, cruelty, and the cold sting of being unloved. But when she’s finally allowed back into school, her return isn’t freedom — it’s war. Especially with Kieran Wolfe. The arrogant golden boy of Crestfall High has it all — wealth, power, and a cruel smile that cuts deeper than any wound. From the moment their eyes meet, he makes her life a nightmare. He mocks her. Breaks her pride. Uses every chance to humiliate her in front of everyone. But Grace can’t explain the other thing he does. The way her body betrays her under his gaze. The way his touch — even when cruel — makes her breath hitch. The way her heart stutters when he gets too close. She hates him. She hates how he makes her feel even more. But something ancient stirs beneath the surface of Crestfall. Something that ties them together — something neither of them can escape. And the boy who torments her? Might just be the only one who can save her… or destroy her completely.