“I thought I would hate it. I really tried to, but there’s nothing rotten about this place, or your family, or you.” She groans, more emphatic now. “But the night of the gala, you said—” “I lied, Vanessa!” I press on even with the cracking of my voice. “I lied. You scared the shit out of me, and I was falling in love with you, and I thought you could never be with me, and I lied.”
