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CHAPTER ONE

ARABELLA ‘REBEL’ DANIELS stood at the back of one of the lass and steel roup of four to board Sing down the lingering taste of the second double-shot , she took a deep breath to calh she’d needed the boost very badly at the tiret

Caffeine and panic did noton both, she was more than ready to ditch them

Her heart pounded with trepidation, but, thankfully, she couldn’t hear it above the loudin her ears

Grappling ould greet her once the lift journey ended was consuh there was also the real and present albatross of having lost her biggest sponsor three weeks ago and the resulting media frenzy, to deal with Of course, far fros to cope with her problems, the media would’ve been shocked and sorely disappointed to know the strongest substance she’d touched was coffee

She stared unseeing before her, the words of the letter that had been burning a hole in her bag for the last teeks emblazoned in her mind

Arabella,

First of all, happy twenty-fifth birthday for Wednesday If you’re surprised at this out-of-the-blue cohter and I have a duty of care to you There’s no judgement on my part for the way you’ve chosen to live your life Nor are there any strings attached to the enclosed funds You need it, so put pride aside and use it It’s what your mother would’ve wanted

Your father

Steeling her heart against the lance of hurt at the stark words, Rebel shifted her mind to the banker’s receipt that had accompanied the letter

The five hundred thousand pounds deposited into her bank account was a little less than what her sponsors would’ve donated had she still been on their books, but it was enough to get her to the Verbier Ski Championships