[ review contain spoilers ]
The first 35 chapter, “the past" was so good 😭 They were so cute together, had so much chemistry, everything he did for her just melted my heart! He was so obsessed and in love with her. The relationship she had with his family, vice versa was everything ❤️ I loved how close he was with her mom and when he said that her mom was the closest thing he had to a mother, it broke my heart 🫂 They were so in love and so good together all throughout those 2 years they dated. He even went and begged his grandma to let him marry her, and his brothers went there with him too, but she was against it. Even then he didn’t think for a second to give up on her but instead decided that he would leave everything to be with her. I actually wish we got chapters of their high school years and then this “the past” and have the book not have the present. After everything was going so well, the thing with Lily happened and she left letters, where she stated Zane was cheating on Celeste with her… and shit just went downhill.
The “present” was 5 years later after everything went down. When I was reading it I wasn’t sure how and when they broke up or if she ever told Zane about the letter, but later on we find out what happened… which was actually insane to me! And I’ll tell you why. Celeste did in fact ask Zane if he cheated on her and he said he never cheated on her, and that she was his only one (which she was, they were each other first kiss, first time, FIRST EVERYTHING 😭 and it stayed that way until the very end of the book). She didn't believe him, even when he begged. She didn’t believe him, even when he showed her his phone and company security cameras (there was nothing on there to prove he had an affair but she decided that letters were “evidence” enough). And on top of all that we find out that she used the trust he had for her and framed him and sent him to jail… of course his family, being the windsor’s were able to get him free without any charges BUT NONO she didn’t stop there! She used more information he trusted her with and tried to take down his company… it was actually so bad that his grandma had to get involved. And after everything she’d done, he retaliated by attacking her family business (but he never went as far for them to go bankrupt as he still had love left for both her and her family). I was in disbelief about how mad she was at him about what he was doing to her family company, when she did way more and way worse 💀 I get her, I do, I understood that Lily was her best friend so she wanted to believe her no matter what, BUT that man was the love of her life? He was with her everyday and when he wasn’t they were talking to each other constantly… they were planning their future together, he was ready to walk away from EVERYTHING he had, for her. Then she broke his heart and didn’t believe him 😭
There was something that didn’t sit right with me at the start of the “present” where they meet after 5 years… they actually kissed the first time they met, which was??? You hated him then, you didn’t believe him then, you wanted to ruin his life then and apparently YOU STILL DO! So how are you gonna kiss him the first time you see him??? Also the fact they had sex the second time they meet was confusing to me as well… I get it “hate sex” OKAY but up until 60+ chapters they were having sex. Previous to that and even after they were having absolutely no conversation… either it was her getting jealous and saying something, or him being mean or them saying absolute NOTHING. Like why would there be 30+ chapters with legitimately nothing happening in the plot? 😭 NO WONDER THIS BOOK WAS THIS DAMN LONG!
So let’s fast forward to nearly the end of the book (chapter 80) she finds out about Lily having BPD and that being the reason as to why she did what she did. I don't know much about BPD, but I know that every case is different, so I will not comment on the matter. But I would say that I didn’t and still don’t see the reason why the WHOLE BOOKS SOLE PLOT TWIST WAS THAT? And the fact the doctor let Lily have those delusions for two years is not okay at all 😭 And also the fact that Lily’s father found out about it right after she passed away but he didn't say anything to Celeste, for 6 DAMN YEARS???
After everything was out in the open she told Zane and she did the whole "groveling" thing for months and he did forgive her and wanted to give them a chance. And after that everything actually seemed to go well, well that was until she saw him working in the observatory with the female botanist and got jealous and didn't even wait for him to explain. Zane said that he couldn’t do this again, because she clearly still doesn't trust him, even after finding out that everything was a lie and that he never did what he was accused of. He just doesn’t want to be accused of doing something he didn't do, again. She even had a talk with her brother and told him everything, and he said if it was him, he would have a hard time to forgive her too. But that Zane loves her and she loves him, so she should give him a real chance to choose. So she went and begged their grandparents to end their marriage contract, so she could let Zane go and that he could be happy, but Zane stopped her and said they will try and work it out, as he couldn’t handle being away from her.
After all of that the rest of the chapters were actually good, he apologized too and they started working on trusting each other again. He proposed with the rose diamond ring (the same ring he’d gotten for her 5 years ago) which was really cute and sweet. I loved that in "10 years later" epilogue they renewed their vows every single year (their daughter was so adorable too ❤️) The first 35 chapters, some of the last chapters and the two epilogues, were the only reason this book was a 3 starts for me! I loved the Lex and Raya crumbs in both epilogues and I'm super excited for them! AND OMG we also saw that Xavier and Sierra are together and married in the “10 year later” epilogue 😭 I’m so excited for both of the couples and hope they will be better.