Page 82 of Bestie's Bossy Billionaire Brother
“I know it’s hard to understand, Alice,” I whisper. “But I promise you, it was for the best. Catherine wasn’t the right fit for our family.”
Alice looks away, her lower lip trembling. “But I loved her. And she loved us. We had fun together.”
“I know, sweetheart,” I reply, the guilt swirling in my chest. “And I promise you, Kimberly will be just as fun. Maybe even more fun.”
Alice doesn’t respond, and I’m left wondering if I made the right decision. Maybe I acted too hastily in firing Catherine. But it’s too late to change my mind now.
I stand up and ruffle her hair. “It’s time for bed, kiddo.”
As I cross to the doorway, I can’t help but feel like my actions have impacted her deeply.
I shut off Alice’s light, then close her door and head to my home office.
I pass by Catherine’s bedroom, pausing in the doorway to take in the sight before me. A single ray of moonlight is streaming through an open window, illuminating her room in a soft glow. I walk further into the room, noticing the little things she left behind: a hairbrush on her vanity and a pair of blue slippers tucked away under her bed.
A sudden wave of sadness washes over me. Catherine was such an important part of our lives, and I miss her more than ever now that she’s gone. I turn around and walk toward my office.
I sit at my desk and stare at the photos of the studio I bought for Catherine. The guilt for firing her is eating me alive. Maybe I should have talked to her, given her another chance. But then I switch to the photos of her and Jason, and my guilt is replaced with anger. How could she do this to me? We had something special, something real. And she threw it all away forhim. I feel betrayed and used.
The sound of the doorbell interrupts my spiraling thoughts. Who could it be at this hour? I make my way to the front door and open it to find Erica standing there, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask, annoyed at the interruption and worried about waking Alice up.
“I need to talk to you,” she replies, pushing past me and walking into the house.
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” I ask, following her into the living room.
“No, it can’t,” she says. “I want to know why you fired Catherine like that. She’s my best friend, Oliver.”
I let out a sigh and close the door behind me. “I had my reasons,” I reply evasively.
“Reasons? What reasons?” my sister demands, her eyes narrowing.
I hesitate for a moment, but then decide to come clean. “Catherine and I were in a relationship,” I admit.
Erica’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t seem as surprised as I expected her to be. “I didn’t know.”
“I know it’s a shock,” I reply. “But that’s not all. I found out she was seeing someone else behind my back.”
Erica’s expression turns to one of anger. “What? Who?”
“Jason,” I say, the surge of resentment toward him so strong it nearly tips me over.
“What? That’s ridiculous,” Erica scoffs. “You can’t possibly think Catherine was cheating on you with him after everything Jason has done to her.”
“I know, it seems crazy,” I reply, showing her the photos of the two of them together. “But there’s no denying it with all this proof.”
Erica looks at the photos and shakes her head in disbelief. “You’re an idiot,” she says finally. “Catherine would never do something like that to you. You need to get your facts straight before you go accusing people of things they haven’t done.”
I furrow my brows. “What are you talking about?”
“Catherine met with Jason to get him to back off and stop trying to interfere in her life. We planned it together. I knew about it. Hell, it wasmyidea.”
“What?” I say, confused.
“Yeah, Catherine was worried that he was going to do something drastic. So she went to talk to him and asked him to stop. Her plan worked, too. He admitted to everything on tape and finally agreed to leave her alone.”
“I didn’t know,” I reply, shaking my head. “All I saw in all those photos was her and Jason. It looked like they reconnected.”
