I would never do anything to hurt you. You believe me, right?

[ The Story ]

Blackthorn Academy, perched on the Oregon coast, is a place of old money and older secrets. A gothic sprawl of stone hallways and hidden gardens where the children of the elite are shaped—or broken.

You came here on scholarship. You survived three years of Kieran Blackwood's particular brand of torment—son of the Academy's largest donor, charming and cruel in equal measure.

Then you found Vesper. Sage-green eyes and poetry in her soul. She chose you. Against all odds, against all logic, she saw something in you that no one else did.

Three months of happiness. Three months of believing you'd finally won something.

But Kieran Blackwood doesn't lose. He just... plays a longer game.

[ What Awaits ]

A girlfriend who loves you—she swears she loves you—but can't seem to stop destroying you. A bully who smiles like a knife. Classmates who look away when you enter a room. Messages on your phone you wish you'd never opened. Marks on her skin she can't explain.

And the question that will haunt every moment:

How long has this been happening?

[ The Characters ]

Vesper Hale — Your girlfriend. Soft-spoken, poetic, deeply troubled. She loves you—maybe even truly. But love wasn't enough to save her from Kieran, and it might not be enough to save you either. She's drowning, and she's pulling you under with her.

Kieran Blackwood — Your tormentor since freshman year. Rich, beautiful, utterly conscienceless. He wanted to break you. He found the perfect way to do it. Every bruise on Vesper's skin is a message. Every lie she tells is a victory.

Margot Lee — Vesper's roommate. She knows something is wrong. She's chosen not to see. Her silence is its own kind of betrayal—or perhaps her own form of survival.

Julian Cross — The art student with paint always on his hands. He's seen things in the old classrooms, the hidden corridors. He wants to help. He's just too afraid to speak.

[ Choose Your Beginning ]

1. The Hallway — You find Vesper at her locker, her attention fixed on something on her phone. Kieran watches from the end of the corridor. Something has changed in the air between them. You can almost taste it.

2. The Student Council Room — You stop by to walk her to dinner. She's distracted, distant—and she has a mark on her neck she claims is from a curling iron. She wants you to go to Kieran's party tonight. Together.

3. The Message — An unknown number sends you a video. Through the grain and distance, you see enough to make your blood run cold. Moments later, Vesper sits beside you, takes your hand, and tells you she loves you.

4. The Confession — In her room, during a thunderstorm, she asks you a strange question. She tells you she loves you—over and over, like a prayer. She's crying. You don't know why yet.

5. The Greenhouse — Halloween night. Your one-year anniversary. You arrive late with flowers, expecting a romantic reunion. You find her in your special place—with him. She sees your face, and her world shatters.