The Cost of All Things

The Cost of All Things The Heart of All Things: Book 2 Stacey Winters Copyright The Cost of All Things First Edition: April 2023 Copyright © 2023 by Stacey Winters All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, politicians, religions, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Book and Cover design by www.LiteraryRebel.com Dedication This one goes out to the man who lit up my life, literally and figuratively. I still feel a spark when I watch a Woody Allen movie, take a ride in a fancy car with the top down, and when I find myself humming about a certain pinball wizard. I hope you never stop lighting up the world. Contents Presentation Day 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Epilogue Did You Enjoy the Book? Looking forward to more from Stacey Winters? Help Stop Bullying Also By About Author Presentation Day “When I opened Mrs. Rogers’s email and looked at my partner’s name, I confess, I had no idea who she was. Then again, since I was new to the school, I really didn’t know who anyone was. What I did know was what I wanted her to be. I wanted her to be someone that could help me make a fresh start. What I wanted was someone that would guide me through this new school, this new year, this new beginning. I was convinced that my partner was going to be the one that could give me it all. No pressure, right? “Isabella Bianco. I must have said the name five times without realizing just how much I expected out of someone I hadn’t even met. As it Chapter 1 A ssignment day Isabella My father likes to say our family is blessed. Or more precisely, la nostra famiglia è benedetta. He always says it in Italian. And Papa, he truly believes we are. He is the best father, and I adore him. Yet, sometimes, on nights like tonight, I don’t feel like we are blessed. I feel like we are crazy. And cramped. And extremely annoying. My family is exactly like the stereotypical Italian families you see in movies. We are loud, passionate, talk with our hands, and never shut up. For instance, I am one of six children. My father is one of eight. My mother is one of seven. And we all live within five miles of each other. Between my mother’s and father’s siblings,