Page 65 of Little Liar
Flattening my lips, I look back to my screen. “How’s Molly? Did she do her math test on Tuesday?”
“Don’t change the subject. I’ll arrange a meeting with Xander and his parents as soon as they get back from their business trip. You will apologize for being immature about the situation, and no legal action will be taken. You will marry Xander by the end of this month. And then you’ll move to Canada with him like you’re supposed to!”
Sighing, I press my forefingers to my temples, rubbing them clockwise. “No.”
“No?”
“No. I’m not marrying Xander. And I’m not moving to Canada.”
Her hands rest on my desk as she leans down and sneers her next words. “You signed an agreement, Olivia. You agreed to marry him. You said yes and put your signature on the dotted line to become Olivia Reznikov by a set date. Don’t embarrass me a third time.”
My head tilts with confusion. “A third time?”
“The first was when Malachi announced to the world during his trial that you were sleeping together.” She looks disgusted. “The second was when you ran away from your own wedding in front of everyone! There won’t be a third. You will cut ties with Malachi, and you will fulfill your role in this family.”
“You literally nodded at me at the wedding to leave.”
Her teeth grit again, the line between her brows getting deeper. “I had a lapse of judgment and forgot the implications of you breaking the agreement.”
“No, you remembered for one little second that I’m supposed to be your daughter and you knew forcing me into that familywould be suicide. You were human, but then you fell right back into your controlling ways and reminded yourself that you adopted me for money.”
She has the audacity to look shocked. “Excuse me?”
“I won’t marry him. Have my dad terminate the agreement. Xander has no reason to pursue me. The man made it very clear he had no attraction to me when he told me to go on a diet and dye my hair.” I tug at my brown hair, at the flashes of blonde still showing through the box dye. “He can marry someone else who comes from money.”
“No.”
“He’s threatening me.” I grab my phone, open his message about ripping me apart, and shove it in her face, but she doesn’t look at the screen; instead, anger radiates from every inch of her.
“You’re acting like a child.”
“You’re trying to force me into an abusive marriage,” I say, dropping my phone onto my desk when she turns away from me. “I won’t do it.”
Shaking her head, Mom paces the office. “Why are you fighting me on this? I have trained you since you were young for this exact moment! After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? I gave you a life, Olivia!”
Shoving myself to my feet, I glare at her. “You took me from one abusive home and put me into another!”
Her eyes go wide, choking on her next word. “Abusive? The only abuse you went through was from your brother.”
“I was sixteen,” I say, trying to stay as calm as possible. My body is shaking. I don’t want to hurt her feelings. She’s done so much for me. Gave me a better life, but this I cannot do. “I was sixteen when you started forcing me to sleep with people who were older than me. You would do my hair and put makeup on me, tell me to shave. When I got my period, you were excited, notbecause I was becoming a woman, but because you saw dollar signs. You could finally marry me off.”
Her face falls, but she stays silent.
“When I was forced to sleep with Parker, I cried to you that I was sore and that I couldn’t do it again. You told me I’d get used to it. You forced me to watch videos of blowjobs so I’d know what to do because Parker demanded one. Do you remember telling me to eat less and exercise more to maintain my figure, so I’d stay appealing to men? Will I keep going? There are millions of moments you’ve destroyed for me. You ruined relationships for me, Mom. I didn’t even get to have a normal childhood. Why couldn’t you just let me be normal? Malachi was allowed to do whatever he wanted, but I was on a damn leash.”
“You know the tradition of being a Vize.”
My mouth falls open. She’s so damn cold and careless. Not a single tear falls from her eyes, but mine are soaked, and I can’t stop.
“It’s also tradition for me to be pure, but you cut corners by selling me to Parker because he pretended not to be interested in me, so he could be paid for an easy fuck to mark off his list and go blow it all on drugs. All you had to do was say no, that you had rules to follow.”
“Paying him was a mistake,” she replies. “My biggest mistake.”
“You made me sleep with Adam too.” I drop back into my chair and shake my head. “We both begged you not to make us. Was that a mistake too?”
“Stop being difficult about this,” she snaps. “It’s not like you can be with your brother. Do your duty to this family.”
“Why is it a tradition at all, Mom?”
