The second time sitting through this New Year's Eve party was even worse than the first for Aaron because Keeley wasn't there.

He knew she was nearby at a party with her friends because Anomaly told him—how he found that out, Aaron didn't even want to know.

He wanted to see her so badly it hurt. It would be so easy to slip away for just a little while…

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

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

He really didn't care to tread lightly around this witch anymore. There wasn't a point.

Lacy had already attacked his woman; she couldn't do anything worse to him right now since Keeley was safely off living her own life.

"Why are you so mean to me?" she whimpered with tears in her eyes. "I love you!"

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

She had confessed to him multiple times since they went off to Harvard and he shot her down swiftly and cruelly each time so she wouldn't get any bright ideas.

There was no one in this world that he despised more than Lacy Knighton, except perhaps his father. But she was ultimately the one who caused Keeley's death so…

Lacy flounced off in tears and his mother saw, approaching him with a disapproving look on the sharp features of her face.

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

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

Roslyn sighed. "Aaron…she's one of the best candidates for your marriage. She has many fine qualities befitting a high society wife."

He decided that speaking his mother's language might be the best way to get through to her.

"She's faker than a knock off handbag. You think that would benefit the Hale name in the long run?"

"Your father—"

"My father," Aaron began scathingly. "Does not know what he's getting himself involved with that family. Lacy Knighton is a snake. No, that's an insult to snakes; she's much worse."

She sniffed haughtily. "She is from one of the most prominent families in the city. Who could benefit you more than her?"

"I can think of at least a thousand people," he lied coldly. He only had one person in mind and no one would stop him from being with her, least of all his father.

"Bring up Lacy Knighton again as a possible marriage candidate and I'll elope with an unknown stripper in Las Vegas."

"You wouldn't dare—"

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

Roslyn rubbed her forehead as if she was warding off a headache. "Fine. But I hope you know there are only so many women qualified to be your wife."

"I'm eighteen, hardly old enough to get married. I have all the time in the world to find the perfect candidate. You have no need to worry about it," Aaron said firmly.

The only reason they never tried to arrange a marriage for him previously was because he said he had a girlfriend at school. Harvard was such a prestigious institution that they weren't terribly concerned about him associating with the rabble.

Aaron knew what was expected of him and would choose accordingly. Or so they thought.

As his mother walked away, he missed Keeley desperately. Today was the day she was supposed to become his officially and she had never felt further away.

He stood up and glanced at the clock. 11:37 PM.

Enough people had seen him that his absence wouldn't be noticed until after the chaos of the ball drop had settled.

Everyone in the Rainbow Room was on a high enough floor that they would be able to see it clearly through the window.

Keeley was at a party on the first floor of a nearby building so she would most likely go outside to see it the ball drop. But how was he supposed to find her in a crowd of thousands? He pulled out his phone and shot Aiden a text.

'Do you have GPS tracking abilities?'

The reply was instant. 'Duh, what do you take me for?'

'I need your help'

Aaron stood out quite a bit in his tuxedo since everyone else in Times Square was bundled up in casual clothes, wearing hats and gloves along with their coats. The air was cold enough for people to see their breath in front of them but he didn't care; he needed to find her.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. 'Getting warmer. Walk about a hundred feet to your left then turn right and walk forward another thirty feet'

He followed Aiden's instructions and scanned the crowd. He saw men, women, children but no Keeley.

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

'Her phone is definitely there! Maybe you need glasses'

Aaron huffed. Annoying kid. Why did he even put up with him? There had to be more reliable hackers somewhere…

He checked again and noticed a blond head wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans. Keeley didn't normally dress like that.

It had to be her though—he recognized two of the people in the group surrounding her as the scholarship students she used to sit with at lunch.

She turned her head and his heart pounded. Her makeup and outfit were different than usual but it was definitely the love of his lives.

Keeley was grinning as she talked with her friends. Her earrings—there was no way they were real gold—glinted under the neon lights of the billboards as she shook her head.

She looked happy. Content. At peace with the world. She never let her guard down enough to be like this when he was around.

More than anything, he wanted to march right over there and kiss her at midnight just like they did before—a tradition to start the year off right. He nearly went mad seeing her standing there so lively and beautiful without him.