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“I’m not,” Violet said. “Trust me, Minerva, my sense of self is pretty well developed. But you’re clearly lacking in perspective.”
“I just...” Min fell onto her back and gazed up at the ceiling. Even from this perspective the light seemed gray. “He doesn’t love me. He never even slept with me. I mean...before all this started.”
“You have now.” It was more of a confirmation request than a question.
“Yes,” Minerva admitted. “I did have feelings for him. I mean, like a crush. You remember what he did for me at Dad’s party.”
“Yes. When that snot-nosed Bradley called you an ugly duckling on the dance floor?”
“Yes. I... He rescued me. And I think in my head it became something. I hid it, deep down, but not far enough and when I needed help he was the one I thought of. I know that moment didn’t make him...want me. But since then... We’ve been married, you know? I thought maybe he had some kind of attachment to me but I don’t know if he has an attachment to anyone or anything.”
“What about you?” Violet asked.
“What about me?”
“Do you feel something for him? I mean, more than your crush.”
“Well... Who wouldn’t?”
“A lot of people. He’s quite difficult. That’s why even though I also had a crush on him at one point I let it go a long time ago. I prefer men who are a little bit less...hard.”
“He is hard. But I think he’s good. He had a hard life, but he wants to do the right thing, in spite of the fact that I don’t think anyone has ever shown him what the right thing is. Well, anyone except Dad. But he’s convinced that he’s not... Really a part of our family.”
“Well, he is now. By marriage at the very least.”
“That might be the only thing he really likes about me.”
“I don’t think so.”
Unspoken between them was the truth that if he really wanted that, he would have married Violet. Not just because she was more beautiful, but she was older. It made more sense. In just about every way.
“Well. It’s an asset. He really only agreed to the marriage because he wanted to help me. And now... We’re married. So he’s making the most of it. At least from a business standpoint.”
“And you love him?” Violet pressed.
“No,” she said, the denial kicking hard against her chest. “I’m not that silly. I’m not. I know that he’s not ever going to feel that way about me. I think we can have a partnership, but I just have to figure it out...”
“You’re not cut out for halfway, Minerva. That’s your problem. You keep hiding yourself because you’re afraid that you can’t measure up to Maximus and me, but nobody ever asked you to. I’m not like Maximus. It would be easy for me to say that what I do is superficial. He bails people out of pretty terrible situations. And I’m sure that he would tell you sometimes he feels guilty about the people that he rehabilitates images for, since they oftentimes don’t deserve it. But we do what we do, and we are who we are. Whoever you’re destined to be... That’s you. And you were never meant to live in shadows or to be quiet. And that’s why you just... Shrink in on yourself altogether. Because if you speak out, you know it’s going to be loud. And if you love, you know it’s going to be big. That’s good. It’s not a bad thing.”
Sure, it was easy for Violet to say. Minerva would be the one left with a fatally broken heart.
“You should wear the red dress,” Violet said.
“Red?” Minerva questioned. “But I’ll be so... Conspicuous.”
“Be conspicuous, Min. You’ve been hiding in books, in the garden, behind that horrible mean-kid stuff that happened to you in high school. They don’t get to decide who you are, you do. Isn’t it time that you took center stage?”
“I have done that multiple times over the last few weeks,” Minerva pointed out. “First of all at your product launch. Second of all at the engagement party, then at the wedding...”
“And you did it for Isabella. Do something for yourself. Is that so wrong?”
“Yes,” Minerva said. “Because I’m not... I’m just me.”
“Yes, you’re just you. And you is pretty amazing. Be kinder to her.”
“I am being kind to her. I’m hiding away from the potential broken heart.”
“No. You’re hiding away from life. You let all that stuff get in your head. You let yourself think that you were less than we are.”
