Page 70 of Rivals Next Door

“I’m no fucking hero,” I spat. I was weak to her, that’s what I was, and I was irritated by the fact.

“Well, thanks anyway.” She glowered but then her expression crumbled.

To my shock, her eyes became misty. I never thought she’d allow herself to crack in front of me. Before I could say another word, she wheeled around and rushed out.

“Olivia, wait?—”

The door slammed shut, echoing in the silence that enveloped me. I stood there in a whirlpool of emotions. Undeniable concern for her was one of them. Olivia was tough. She always had been, but seeing that vulnerability, even for a fleeting moment, shook me and heightened my guilt.

A part of me wanted to go after her, but the part that was reluctant to get too close to her again told me to stay put. She probably didn’t want to see me anyway. Letting out a puff of air, I slammed my laptop shut as if the device was the one that caused all this mess.

26

OLIVIA

The car hummed quietly as it sped along the lonely stretch of road leading away from Summit Correctional Facility. Of course, I went to see one of the men on Alex’s list of Don Weaver’s former associates.

At the moment, however, I couldn’t focus on the things that Raymond Walters had confirmed about Don Weaver. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions all centered around Alex. I was so out of it that I’d asked Elena to drive us back to Manhattan. I saw Elena glance at me from my periphery.

“Livy, you’re too quiet. Are you okay?”

There was no point in lying. I lied every day to the world, pretending to be the strong leader of the Brentwood clan, my father’s perfect successor, when in fact I was terrified and wanted to give up.

“No,” I whispered.

My friend’s sigh floated around the car’s interior. “Of course, you’re not. That man confirmed that what Alex said about Weaver was true. Look, I know you’re miserable about it right now, but?—”

“I’m not miserable about Weaver,” I interrupted.

Elena went quiet, her eyes on the road. However, I knew she was dying to ask me what was going through my mind, but she was afraid of upsetting me more. Smiling slightly at her consideration, I confessed, “It’s Alex.”

“What, are you afraid he’s going to win the battle you two have going?”

“A part of me is, but it’s not that. I’m heartbroken because he hates me.”

“There’s no way he hates you, Livy. If he did, he wouldn’t have helped you.”

My deep sigh fluttered the tendrils of my hair. “Maybe… I don’t know. I’m still in love with him.” I glanced at Elena to see her reaction. She gave me a raised eyebrow look before returning her attention to the road. “And like a fool, I slept with him.”

The car came to a screeching halt, and we both lurched forward and slammed back against our seats.

“Elena, what the hell…?”

“You slept with Alex? When? And why am I just hearing about this?”

I looked around. “You can’t stop in the middle of the road, you mad woman.”

With a huff, she pulled onto the shoulder of the road and shut the car off. “Okay, what exactly is going on between you and your ex?”

I took a deep breath to organize my thoughts and get a grip on my emotions. I had to tell her everything, and let it all out before it came to a boil inside me and I exploded. “We first slept together?—”

Her dramatic gasp made me stop to look at her. “You mean it happened more than once?”

My face heated up. “Uh-huh. It first happened weeks ago. It was after he helped me with that shady guy who was looking for my brother. It just happened and then we ended up… copulating multiple times that night.”

Elena’s eyes danced with amusement. “You did not just use the word copulating.”

“Fine, we fucked like our lives depended on it. Happy?”

---