The second New Year's Eve party was even worse than the first for Aaron; Keeley wasn't there. He knew she was nearby, at a party with friends, because Anomaly had told him—how Anomaly found out, Aaron didn't want to know. He wanted to see her desperately. Slipping away for a while seemed so easy

"Aaron!" Lacy trilled. "There you are! Come dance with me!" The jazz band had begun a slow song, and couples were pairing off.

"I'd rather be hit by a taxi," he said flatly. "Go find Max and leave me alone."

He no longer cared about being gentle with Lacy. There was no point. She had already attacked his relationship with Keeley; she couldn't do anything worse now that Keeley was living her own life.

"Why are you so mean to me?" she whimpered, tears welling. "I love you!"

"And I think you're a speck of dust. Are you done?"

She had confessed her love multiple times since Harvard, and he had swiftly and cruelly rejected her each time to discourage her. He despised Lacy Knighton more than almost anyone, except perhaps his father. But she was the one who, he believed, had caused Keeley's death.

Lacy flounced off in tears. His mother, Roslyn, saw and approached, her sharp features disapproving.

"Aaron, you need to be more respectful. She's the daughter of one of your father's most important colleagues."

"She's worthless trash, unworthy of my respect," he responded crisply. "I don't care whose daughter she is."

Roslyn sighed. "Aaron she's an excellent candidate for marriage. She possesses many qualities befitting a high-society wife."

He decided to speak her language. "She's faker than a knock-off handbag. Do you think that would benefit the Hale name?"

"Your father—"

"My father," Aaron interrupted scathingly, "doesn't know what he's getting himself into with that family. Lacy Knighton is a snake—no, that insults snakes; she's far worse."

She sniffed haughtily. "She's from one of the city's most prominent families. Who could be more beneficial?"

"At least a thousand people," he lied coldly. He had only one person in mind, and no one would stop him from being with her, least of all his father. "Mention Lacy as a marriage candidate again, and I'll elope with a stripper in Las Vegas."

"You wouldn't dare—"

"I'm serious, Mother. I will not have anything to do with that woman. End of discussion."

Roslyn rubbed her forehead. "Fine. But there are only so many women qualified to be your wife."

"I'm eighteen, hardly old enough to marry. I have plenty of time to find the perfect candidate. You needn't worry," Aaron said firmly.

They hadn't arranged a marriage for him before because he'd claimed to have a girlfriend at Harvard. The university's prestige meant they weren't overly concerned about his other associations.

Aaron knew what was expected of him—or so they thought.

As his mother walked away, he missed Keeley intensely. Today was the day she was supposed to officially become his, and she felt further away than ever.

He stood, glanced at the clock: 11:37 PM. Enough people had seen him that his absence wouldn't be noticed until after the ball drop. Everyone in the Rainbow Room was high enough to see it clearly through the window. Keeley was at a party on the first floor of a nearby building, so she'd likely go outside to watch. But how was he to find her in a crowd of thousands? He texted Aiden:

'Do you have GPS tracking abilities?'

The reply was instant: 'Duh, what do you think I am?'

'I need your help.'

Aaron stood out in his tuxedo among the casually dressed, bundled-up crowd in Times Square. The air was freezing, but he didn't care; he needed to find her.

His phone buzzed: 'Getting warmer. Walk about a hundred feet left, then right, thirty feet forward.'

He followed the instructions, scanning the crowd. He saw men, women, children—but no Keeley.

'You better not be messing with me; I don't see her.'

'Her phone's definitely there! Maybe you need glasses.'

Aaron huffed. Annoying kid. Why did he tolerate him? There had to be more reliable hackers

He checked again and spotted a blonde in a leather jacket and skinny jeans. Keeley didn't usually dress like that, but he recognized two of her companions as scholarship students she'd sat with at lunch. It had to be her.

She turned, and his heart pounded. Her makeup and outfit were different, but it was definitely the love of his life. She was grinning, talking with her friends. Her earrings—certainly not real gold—glittered under the neon lights. She looked happy, content, at peace. She never relaxed like this around him.

He wanted to march over and kiss her at midnight, just like they used to—their tradition to start the year right. Seeing her so lively and beautiful without him nearly drove him mad.

(The final sentence about NovelFire.net was removed as it's promotional material and not part of the story.)