Page 92 of The Billionaire Mismatch

And as much as I think I might throw up in my miso soup, I know I need to coax the conversation in the inevitable direction.

“I thought you were done with the apps,” I say. “After the whole Luca fiasco.”

“No, I’m just done with Luca,” she states, popping a piece of sushi in her mouth. “I didn’t meet him on the app.”

“Right,” I nod with a forced smile. And of course she sees right through it. Sadie studies me for a moment before clicking her tongue and going back to the sushi board.

“So…have you seen him recently?” She asks, and I’m a little surprised it took her this long to bring it up. Usually, she’s grilling me before we even open the menus.

“Some,” I say, and immediately I hate the word because it only solidifies the fact that I am sick of lying. “Listen, Sadie,”

“He’s leading you on, isn’t he?” she asks. “He’s seriously disgusting.”

“Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” I say.

“Okay,” she says as she sips her sake.

I set my chopsticks down. I’ve been fighting with them since we got our food, anyway. I just need to focus.

“I don’t think Luca is using me,” I tell her. But Sadie just snorts.

“What are you talking about? Of course he is.”

I bite my lip. I guess I need a different angle. A more aggressive one.

“Listen, I know what he did to you was hurtful, Sadie,” I say.

“Hurtful? It was horrible,” she cut in. “Olivia. I gave that man everything. My time, my efforts, my energy, my affection, and he threw me out with the trash. And my guess is that he is going to do the same thing to you. He’s just playing the game differently because he knows that you're my friend. If I had to guess, he is leading you on so he can hurt you in an attempt to hurt me. You know,” she says, grabbing another piece of sushi and popping it in her mouth. “I think he’s, like, obsessed with me or something.”

And something in that last sentence hits a nerve. Because while I feel bad for everything that’s going on, I also can’t understand how Sadie isn’t hearing me. Or hearing herself, for that matter.

“Sadie, I don’t think Luca is using me to hurt me or you or anyone else,” I say.

“Of course he is,” she argues.

“No. I really don’t think so,” I argue back. Sadie’s green eyes flash up to mine, but I keep going. “I think maybe in the beginning he had a different motive. But don’t we all? I mean, my intentions were bad, you know that. But the more dates we went on, the more I’ve been around him, the more I’ve realized that this isn’t a game. It’s not about revenge or catfish or anything else.”

“So what is it about?” she asks sharply. “Your feelings for him?”

I bite my lip as an answer, and she nods.

“I see,” she says.

“Sadie, I never meant–”

“You promised. You promised me, Livv. And I trusted you,” she says.

“I know, but–”

“You’re supposed to be my best friend, Olivia. And this was your idea. Going out with him, getting revenge, it was your idea,” she says.

Actually, only the revenge part was my idea. Me being the one to do it was her suggestion. But it doesn’t seem like the time to try to turn the tables. Besides, I’m too busy trying not to cry at a fancy sushi restaurant.

“I just…I can’t believe it,” she shakes her head.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her, knowing that it probably doesn’t matter. “I promise I never meant for this to happen. I never dreamed it would happen.”

“You promised,” she says the word, and it feels like a knife twist. “You’ve been promising a lot of things, Olivia. So much so that the word doesn’t really hold any merit anymore.”