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Well, crap on a cracker, I prefer when he calls me Princess.
“Things changed after you left, Tav. Remira changed. She was never much of a mother, but she became something else after—after everything.”
“After Ophelia fucked a man Remira’s age? A man Remira considered a friend?”
“Yes.” I hate talking about her with him. “After Ophelia shamed our family, she left. She made a big mess with big consequences, and then she got to escape. She moved in with your father, but I was left there with Remira, and her anger. I was left to pay for all the mistakes everyone else made.”
His jaw hardens. “Remira was never home, Olympia. Are you telling me she suddenly got a taste for being a good, present mother, and decided to raise her daughter rather than letting her run wild?”
I swallow hard, frustration burning in my throat. “I’m not talking about this with you, Tav.”
I stand and begin to roll my mat when he sets his coffee on the table with a loud clink. Then he’s crowding me, both hands gripping my upper arms.
When I refuse to give him my eyes, he grips my chin between thumb and forefinger. “Look at me.”
I do, but I say nothing. I hate how beautiful he is. How I could look at him forever and never, never be bored.
“Tell me the truth.”
I sniff. “I already have. So many times.”
“Again.”
“Remira was controlling. She didn’t allow boyfriends, or even friends. That’s why Charlie never came over and I never went to her house. I’ve been kissed once, by one boy. He stole that kiss on a dare after school one day. My driver saw and told Remira. I was punished. It never happened again—a kiss, I mean—until you.”
His eyes narrow. “You’re almost twenty years old.”
“Until a week ago, I lived under her roof.”
“And you were engaged to my fucking brother,” he spits. “You’re telling me you never kissed him?”
“He wanted to save that for—” I cut off and say instead, “I refused to be alone with him. He scared me enough when we were in public. The things he’d tell me he was going to do to me when I was his—” I stop talking, sealing my lips and shaking my chin free from his hold. Mat in hand, I move to the door and step inside, leaving him there.
I’m halfway across the living room when he commands behind me, “Stop.” I don’t know why, but I obey. “I want to believe you, Olympia.”
I turn to look at him, feeling hope that is crushed quick. “But you don’t, do you?”
Slowly, he shakes his head. “But I’ll promise I’ll forgive you when you want to admit your lie.”
I feel like I’m going to cry, so I turn away from him again. “I need a nap. What time do I need to be ready for this thing with your friends?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I do turn to face him now. “I’m not losing this deal, Tav. If you don’t want me to go, fine. That’s your forfeit. But I’ll be fine to come, and I’ll put on the best damn show of your life.”
His jaw pulses. “We’ll leave at eight.”
thirteen
Olympia
Charlie:
You go, girl. And you show that asshole what his crappy attitude has him missing out on.
I love you, have I told you that lately?
As a matter of fact, no. You haven’t.
