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“If it were true, why didn’t you tell me earlier? It seems awfully convenient to only bring it up now when you want me to leave Richard.”
“Of course I want you to leave him!” Olivia wasthis closeto losing her shit. “He’s a sleazy, entitled, cheating douchebag! I didn’t tell you because I thought it was a one-time thing and, since nothing happened, I didn’t want to hurt you. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because ofyouand how much you love him.”
And because I was too chickenshit to bring it up with you.The guilt clamped around her neck like a noose and drained some indignance out of her reply.
“That’s a load of crock,” Alina said. “Admit it. You want me to call off the wedding so I’ll be single and lonely like you. You’ve always resented me, Olivia. You’ve always wanted what I have—my grades, my clothes, my relationship with Mom. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. In fact, how do I knowyou’renot the one who propositionedhim?You’re almost thirty and you’re nowhere near married. You know what they say—misery loves company.”
The words slammed into Olivia with the force of a two-ton truck. Hurt washed over, sucking the oxygen out of her lungs and causing her vision to blur. “Are you kidding me?” she said shakily. “You’rethe one who calledme.I tried to protect you and make you feel better, and you throw it in my face. I admit I copied you when I was younger—because I looked up to you. You were my older sister. Iworshipedyou, but at some point, you decided this was a competition. Not me, Linny.Youwere the one who stopped cheering me on first, who tried to one-up me at every turn. And you know what? After he propositioned me, Richard didn’t look concerned that I would tell you, because heknewyou’d take his side. Even your douchebag fiancé knew you wouldn’t believe your own sister. That’s why I didn’t tell you what he did earlier—because deep down, I knew it, too. Perhaps I should’ve told you sooner anyway, but if this is how you reactafteryou already found out he’s cheating on you, I don’t want to know what you would’ve said then. Soscrewyou, and screw Mom.” The burning behind her eyes intensified. “Go ahead with your wedding, but I’ll no longer be there. Consider this my official resignation as your bridesmaid. Face it—you never wanted me to be one, anyway.”
Olivia hung up before Alina could respond. She wasn’t interested in anything her sister had to say anymore.
Then she walked to her bed, buried her face in her pillow, and screamed her heart out.
* * *
Olivia didn’t heara peep from Alina for days after The Phone Call. She threw herself into school and preparing for Kris’s wedding. She both dreaded and longed to see Sammy again; they’d booked tickets for the same flights to and from Italy, and the thought of spending hours sitting next to him in a cramped, airborne vessel made her anxiety skyrocket.
She’d been a coward, packing and sneaking out of his house in the middle of the night, but she couldn’t bear the thought of saying goodbye. Instead, she’d booked a hotel for her last night in San Francisco before taking the Caltrain to Palo Alto.
She hadn’t talked to Sammy since.
Olivia stared at her applied behavioral economics notes. She’d been working nonstop this week to finish all her schoolwork before she left for Italy so she could enjoy the weekend, and her body was punishing her for it. Her vision blurred, her head ached, and she couldn’t stop jittering from all the espresso she’d consumed in the past seventy-two hours.
She’d just dragged herself back into the world of habit loops and dual-system theory when someone knocked on the door—once, twice. Short, impatient knocks, like they were annoyed they had to announce their presence.
A frown creased Olivia’s brow. She wasn’t expecting anyone.
Warily, she got up and peeked through the peephole.
Shock zipped through her, rendering her speechless.
Her mother stared back at her, cold and elegant as always in a green brocade jacket and St. John knit.
“Olivia, open the door. I know you’re there. I heard your footsteps,” Eleanor said coolly.
Dammit.
Olivia swung the door open, trying to steady her breathing. “Mother, this is a surprise.”
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Eleanor raked her eyes over Olivia’s Phi Beta Kappa T-shirt and plaid PJ pants with displeasure. “I see it’s laundry day.”
“It’s not laundry day. I’m wearing these clothes because they’re comfortable.” Eleanor had been here for ten seconds, and Olivia already wanted to tear her hair out.
She stepped aside, allowing her mother to enter and take in her off-campus apartment with the same expression she’d use if she found dog poop on the bottom of her shoe. The place was small but neat and decorated in shades of soothing lavender, gray, and white. The wooden dining table doubled as Olivia’s study nook, and it groaned beneath the weight of her laptop, coffee, textbooks, and thick business case studies. Small succulents lined the window ledge, and a giant poster of Audrey Hepburn fromBreakfast at Tiffany’shung on the wall.
“Comfort is overrated.” Eleanor shifted her eyes away from the stuffed panda that Olivia bought in a Shanghai market during study abroad. It sat on top of a bookshelf, slightly worn after eight years but still cute as hell. “You should hire a decorator. Your apartment decor could use some polishing.”
“No.” Olivia shut the door behind her. “I don’t have the money for that, and I don’t own this place. I’m moving out next spring. What are you doing here, Mother?”
“Straight to the point without even an offer of tea. I thought I raised you to have better manners.” Eleanor smoothed a hand over her hair, which was still shiny and black thanks to regular visits to her colorist. “Fine. I’m here because I want you to tell your sister you lied.”
“Excuse me?”
“Alina broke up with Richard three days ago becauseyoutold her he hit on you. You didn’t know?” Eleanor’s smile lacked humor at the shock scrawled across Olivia’s face. “The wedding is off. Hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain. All of Chicago society gossiping behind our backs. Your sister is a wreck. I want you to fix it. Immediately.”
Alina broke up with Richard? When? The last time Olivia spoke to her, Alina had seemed intent on staying with the bastard. What had changed?
“I can’t fix it. What’s done is done, and Richarddidhit on me.” Olivia crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to waver beneath her mother’s withering stare.
