Page 32 of Fractured Empire

“So you decided to marry him yourself?” she screeches.

“We went back and forth for ages,” I assert helplessly. “He told me you weren’t the right fit and he wanted someone who would focus on his kids⁠—”

“How could he know I wasn’t the right fit? I didn’t even get a chance to win him over! You took all his attention and the rest of us were tossed out of his mind as soon as he saw you. I never thought you of all people would be a threat to me. I should have listened to Ares.”

Hurt hits me square in the chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you care more about the piano and playing dress up with Gaia than you care about finding a husband. You didn’t even want to come here! Ares warned me that that’s exactly why you were a threat. Men want the unattainable, and you made yourself exactly that. You weren’t here auditioning to be a wife, and that’s why you got the part. You weren’t desperate for it.”

“Since when do we care what Ares has to say? He loves to mess with people, Chloe. He talked to me before we came here too, saying things about you that I would never take to heart. He couldn’t have possibly known that Leon would want me, or that I would accept⁠—”

“So you have?” she cuts in, chest heaving. “You’re going to marry him? You’re really going to take him from me and live my dream life while I’m stuck looking for someone who will never be half as good as Leon Moretti?”

“He wasn’t going to pick you!” I finally burst out, tears starting to well up. “He said from Dante’s assessment of you they both knew you wouldn’t be a good fit for his needs. If it wasn’t going to be me, it would be someone else.”

“So let it be someone else!” she yells, voice cracking. “How can he even say he wasn’t going to choose me? He didn’t talk to me, but even if he had, even if he really said he wouldn’t make me his wife, that doesn’t mean it should be you! You can’t leave me for him, that’s too far, Katya.”

“Leave you for him?” I question, dumbfounded. “You mean leave home? You would have left to marry him either way⁠—”

“Not leave home. Leave me, Kat. If you marry him, we’re through.”

“What?” I croak, my blood going cold. “No. You don’t mean that.”

“Yes I fucking do,” she replies without hesitation. “It’s him or me, Katya. I won’t forgive you for taking this life from me. You think I can watch you live it and not resent you every single day? You think I want to be friends with the girl who’s living my dream while I rot away at home waiting for another chance that will never come? You wouldn’t have even been here without me and you expect me to just accept this shit? No. Hell no.”

“How can you ask me to make a decision like this?” I ask, feeling like the wind has been kicked out of me. “I was invited here, too. I let you rope me into coming as your support person but you don’t know if I would have come otherwise⁠—”

Chloe scoffs before I can finish. “How can you even think about picking him over me? You don’t know him, Kat. You just met him and you’re the one making him an option. I’m not the one doing this to you, you’re the one doing this to me.”

“I shouldn’t have to choose,” I plead desperately, trying to fight back while I’m drowning in disappointment. “There shouldn’t be an ultimatum to begin with. I don’t want to choose him over you. This isn’t about picking anyone, this is about the rest of my life, Chloe. If I turn down his offer, I might regret it forever. And you can’t tell me that we’re going to go back to normal as soon as I change my mind, either way. You’ve already said things you can’t take back. I never knew that you thought this way about me…that you think I’d scheme to get ahead of you. You’re my best friend⁠—”

“Not anymore,” she cuts in with a snap.

I feel like my chest is caving in as she steps back, sucking in a startling breath, like she can’t believe her own words.

“You’re right. We’re not going back to how things were before. We’re already done. I’m making the choice for you. So go back inside and replace me with your shiny new family. Our flight is leaving at our scheduled time, and if you don’t want to miss it, you’ll be there. I’m not sticking around here to watch you plan with him, I’m sure your fiancé can get you to the airport in time.”

“The plane will wait for me,” I retort with more bite than intended. Hurt is quickly morphing into anger. “It’s Linus’ plane, so don’t act like you’re in charge of it or in charge of me. It’s not going to leave without me, and if you don’t want to share the space with me, you’re free to make other arrangements.”

Shock and a sense of dark mirth melt into her expression and she tilts her head sharply. “Didn’t take long for you to stop pleading and bargaining, did it, little Kat? Did I strike a nerve?”

“If we’re not friends anymore, I don’t need to placate you with kindness. You keep calling him my father but I think you fail to remember who he is. Don’t treat me as if I’m less than you because you’re angry. I never wanted to hurt you but you’ve made me realize how right I was in accepting Leon’s offer. I can’t worry about hurting someone who would say the things you’ve said to me today. This is my life too.”

I should feel proud of myself for sticking up to her, but all I feel is deep discomfort.

“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.” Chloe glares one last time, nodding to the house behind me. “This family is a perfect little new project for you, and sooner or later, you’ll let the responsibilities bury you, just like you always do. Have fun playing house, Katya. None of them will ever know you like I do, and Leon won’t love you just because he chose you.”

“I don’t need him to love me to be happy. I just need to not be near you,” I retort, spinning around without another glance. “I don’t think you know me at all.”

The words taste wrong on my tongue, but the need to lash out back at her was too great to prevent them from flowing. If she decides to reply, I don’t hear it as I make my escape back inside. Thankfully, I don’t run into anyone immediately, making it less likely that our fight was overheard. At least not by many.

I’m sure some of the security guards surrounding this place heard every word. I’d bet the loud back and forth interaction was caught on camera as well, but if I dwell on it, the embarrassment will eat me alive. I hate confrontation in general, but confrontation around people you’re supposed to be making a good impression on?

It makes my stomach hurt.

Somehow, Leo and Bastian are the first to find me as I make my way back into the common area. The two boys spot me in the hall and scurry over excitedly, their little faces filled with so much joy that I have to snap my smile back into place. They don’t deserve to think I’m any less happy to see them just because my mood has soured. Kids don’t have the capacity to understand adult mood shifts, and the last thing I want is for them to take it personally and assume they’ve done something wrong.

“You’re back,” Leo cheers. “Are you here to pway with us?”