old money family

The Boy I Was Never Supposed to Notice

Hazel Adeyemi has spent most of her life knowing exactly how to survive around the Ashfords. See nothing. Hear nothing. And never, ever notice the boy. Theo Ashford is everything Hazel has been taught to avoid. He is rich, reckless, infamous, and suspected of pushing his own mother from the balcony of Ashford House. Hazel knows the story everyone at Ashgrove Academy believes. She also knows it is not the whole truth. Nine months ago, hidden inside the servants’ staircase, Hazel witnessed the moment before Celeste Ashford fell. She saw a man’s hand gripping Celeste’s arm. And on that hand was the Ashford signet ring. Now Theo has returned for senior year, and Hazel has been chosen as the peer mentor responsible for keeping him out of trouble. The closer she gets to the boy everyone calls guilty, the harder it becomes to believe he is the monster they say he is. But Theo is searching for the truth too. And Hazel is hiding the one thing that could change everything. Because in the Ashford family, secrets do not stay buried without a price. And falling for the boy she was never supposed to notice may cost Hazel everything she has spent her whole life trying to protect.