Page 125 of It Starts With A No

“Just blame it on me.”

“It is your fault. If you hadn’t let Clary go, we wouldn’t be doing this.”

“I let her choose.”

“No, you made her feel as if she was no longer important because you already got what you needed from her—whatever that was.”

Seth’s brows drew together. “She said that? When? I thought you didn’t see her after she left?”

“We were talking in the kitchen.” Oliver shook his head. “That’s why she hates being associated with the Eolenfelds. People only get close to her because they want to make use of her connections, like her ex-boyfriend did.”

“How long were you two talking?” Seth put his phone back in his pocket. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“I tried, but you just wanted me out of the office. None of you ever listen to me.”

“That’s not true.”

Oliver leveled a bored glare at him and strode out of the elevator as the door opened. “Sure.”

“You’ve always been quiet.”

He opened the car door. “Because no one listens when I say anything.”

“I listened,” Seth said when he got into the car. “Whatever you wanted done at the office, I let you do it.”

“Because you couldn’t care less about that.” Oliver waved it off. “Forget it. Let’s just focus on making sure Clary’s safe.”

Seth’s brows drew together, but he turned and started the car. “Why do you care?” he asked after a moment.

Oliver frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“She’s linked to the Eolenfelds.” Seth pulled away from the parking lot. “You saw how much Elton is against her.”

“How long has it been since we’ve been out from under Holly Eolenfeld’s roof?”

His brother tipped his head back. “A long time.”

Oliver dropped his gaze to his white sneakers. “Yet we’re still so messed up.”

“We’re fine.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “You’re thirty-three. Zane’s thirty-six. Neither of you has ever had a girlfriend.”

“Have you?”

“No.” Oliver threw his hands in the air. “We’ve all been working. You have more than enough money. You’ve given all of us more than enough money to retire and do whatever we want, but we’re all still in survival mode.”

“No, we’re not.”

Oliver laughed. “Do you seriously not see that, or are you delusional?”

Seth’s brows twitched.

“I don’t know.” Oliver sighed. “I feel like we’re all stuck and just pretending to be fine. I just …”

“Just what?”

“I just want to feel normal.” He looked over at Seth. “And when I see you with Clary, I see that. You’re just a guy, crazy about the woman you’re with. You! You can’t even stand to shake hands with people, but you were holding her hand and putting your hand on her back as if you couldn’t stand not to be touching her.”

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