Page 19 of If You Fight

I remained silent as Oliver continued to stand there just beyond my feet. His breathing seemed labored, like he had to work to control himself, and I fought the urge of every cell in my body to curl up into a ball to protect myself.

“There’s no proof of who attacked you, so whatever that little act in the hospital was, I’m not worried.”

The shakiness of his voice told a different story. Oliver knew it was only a matter of time before I’d figure out how to exact my revenge.

Flush with excitement about how cornered I actually had him, I pushed the covers down off my shoulders and sat up to face him. Instantly, I saw the fear in his eyes, but there was something else in them too I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Not anger. No, whatever he felt wasn’t anger. As I stared up at him standing there looking at me, I realized what I saw in his eyes beside the fear that someone would find out what he did.

He knew. I didn’t know how he’d found out, but he knew who I’d been with.

“The truth always comes out, Oliver. No matter how hard you try to hide it, the truth is always there waiting for someone to see it.”

Arching one eyebrow, he nodded as the corners of his mouth crept up into a smile that reminded me of my father’s. “Do you remember that night when your brother brought your shoes to you? I told you I didn’t want you to be around him anymore.”

“Then you should have made that clear to my father because I’ve never stopped seeing him in my father’s office, when he drives me to the soup kitchen, and even when I have dinner at the main house. He is my brother, after all.”

I didn’t know where Oliver was going with this. Whatever he planned, I didn’t want to be sitting down when it started, so I threw off the blankets and stood up, my legs shaking as fear wound through me.

“What do you think the world would think about Robert Erickson’s daughter fucking the boy he claims is his adopted son, Serena? Your father is an important man who rubs elbows with politicians and billionaires in his business dealings every day. Do you think he’d approve of you and Ryder?”

And there it was. The truth, finally. The reality of someone other than me and Ryder referring to us as anything romantic hit my ear oddly. The way Oliver said his name, practically hissing when it came out of his mouth, made what we were sound wrong.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Both he and I told you. He’s like my brother, and my father considers him his son. I even think he plans to leave his businesses to him. So I’d be very careful accusing Ryder of doing anything, Oliver. He’s the golden child even more than Janelle and I are.”

“I know what’s been going on. You two haven’t been as clever as you thought. I saw you coming from his apartment tonight, and when I tell your father what I know, Ryder won’t be the golden child or anything else anymore. I have too much information on Robert Erickson for him to make the same mistake he made with my brother. You see, I’m far smarter than you ever gave me credit for, dear Serena.”

There was no point in arguing with him about this. He’d called my bluff, and the one thing I hadn’t thought of had done in my plan for revenge. I’d never thought of the possibility that he’d be ballsy enough to go up against my father.

I knew how his attempt to blackmail my father would end. Anyone stupid enough to try that found themselves dead. The problem was before Oliver died, he’d ruin any chance for Ryder and me to have that life I dreamed of for us. Ryder may have been my father’s pet project, but I doubted he’d be okay with us together.

He’d caught us once before and I was sent away to another continent for two years. This time I feared Ryder would be the one sent away, never to come back. And then my father would simply find me another husband who suited his business interests.

If I thought I could kill Oliver myself, I would have right there in that bedroom. I knew better, though. I wasn’t strong enough to take care of him.

Gathering every bit of courage I possessed, I walked past him to grab my purse and hurried out of the apartment as he called out, “Go ahead, run to him. This will be your last night together because tomorrow he’ll be the latest name on your father’s hit list.”

My mind began to spin out of control. Could I head off Oliver’s attempt to speak to my father by getting to him first? Maybe. But what would I say? Would I finally admit it was my own husband who pushed me down the stairs?

No. Even if I reached my father first, when Oliver told him what he knew, Ryder and I would still suffer. It wouldn’t be enough to just preemptively cut him off at the pass.

Oliver had to be taken care of or everything Ryder and I dreamed of would be lost.

I ran into the main house and up to my old bedroom, locking the door behind me as I searched for the cell phone I used to contact Ryder. My hands trembling so much I could barely type out the words, I messaged him with a desperate plea.

Meet me in my old bedroom now! It’s an emergency!

Pacing back and forth across the carpet, I waited for what seemed like hours for him, but finally, I heard a quiet knock on the door. I opened it to see his eyes open wide in terror and pulled him in before quickly closing the door.

Ryder grabbed my arms and examined my wrists. “Are you okay? I thought you did something again.”

I shook my head and took a deep breath. “No, it’s nothing like that. He knows! Oliver knows! He just told me he plans to tell my father about us. He can’t do that, Ryder. If he does, my father will send you away. Or he’ll kill you. He won’t stand for lying to him. People who betray him suffer.”

He brought my hands to his lips and kissed them. “Slow down. Tell me what happened.”

Looking up into his green eyes, I tried to find some sense of calm in them, but it was no use. I knew Oliver planned to follow through on his threat as early as tomorrow. Whatever we did, we had to do it that night.

“He knows about you and me, Ryder. Oliver knows. He told me he’s going to tell my father. I thought maybe if I got to him first I could tell him what Oliver did to me, but that won’t work. As soon as Oliver tells him, everything we want and dream of will be taken away from us. He needs to be dealt with tonight.”

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