I nod, not trusting my voice. Sweet isn’t the word I’d use. Strategic. My fingers curl into fists as I realize he’s deliberately getting her out of the way.
“When do you leave?” I manage to ask.
“Tomorrow morning! I know it’s last-minute, but apparently someone dropped out, and they offered me their spot.” She holds up two pairs of shoes. “Which ones?”
“The strappy ones,” I say, pointing to the silver heels. “They go with everything.”
Olivia beams, tossing them into her suitcase. “You’re right. Perfect for the afterparties.”
I perch on the edge of her bed, picking at a loose thread on her comforter. “So... you and Hunter. This trip doesn’t bother him at all?”
She shrugs, folding a silk blouse. “Honestly, we barely know each other. It’s not like we’re some love match.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, though I already know the answer. I need to hear her say it.
“Come on.” Olivia rolls her eyes. “Dad arranged this whole thing. Hunter needed stability for his company, and Dad wanted connections to Hunter’s tech empire. It’s a business arrangement wrapped in a white dress.” She pauses, frowning. “We’ve never even been on a proper date. Just business dinners with Dad present.”
My stomach twists. “You’re marrying someone you’ve never even kissed?”
“Welcome to high society,” she says with a theatrical sigh. “Dad says we’ll develop feelings later. Hunter’s attractive enough, and we’re compatible on paper. The rest will follow.”
I watch her pack so casually, talking about marrying a man she doesn’t know—a man who spent last night doing unimaginable things to her sister.
“Doesn’t that bother you?” I ask, my voice smaller than I intended.
Olivia stops folding, considering the question. “Sometimes. But I grew up knowing this was likely. Dad always said marriage at our level is about strategic partnerships first.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “At least Hunter is gorgeous and not some sixty-year-old oil baron.”
“But don’t you want love?” The question burns in my throat.
“Maybe we’ll fall in love eventually.” She zips a cosmetics bag. “Or maybe we’ll have a cordial partnership and separate lives. Either way, the Harrison-Reed merger happens.”
Merger. That’s all it is to her. All it is to our father. A business transaction.
But to Hunter... to me... It’s something else entirely.
I swallow hard, fidgeting with the comforter. “What if... what if the wedding didn’t happen for some reason? Would you be upset?”
Olivia pauses, a designer dress hanging from her fingertips, and shrugs. “Honestly? Not really. Hunter’s a catch, but so are dozens of others in our circle. I’d find someone else.” She tosses the dress into her suitcase. “As long as he’s rich and Dad approves, I don’t particularly care who I marry.”
Her words hit me like a slap. I’ve always known Olivia lives in a different world than I do. One of social media followers and surface-level connections, but hearing her reduce marriage to a financial transaction makes my chest ache.
“That’s... practical,” I manage.
“That’s life.” She flashes a bright smile, utterly unbothered. “We can’t all be romantics like you, waiting for some grand love story.”
I look away, remembering how Mom used to look at Dad before everything fell apart. Their eyes would speak volumes across dinner tables. The way they danced in the kitchen when they thought no one was watching. The little notes he’d leave in her purse.
“I saw what my mom and dad had,” I say quietly. “Before... everything. They were so in love.”
Olivia rolls her eyes. “And look how that turned out.”
The words sting because they echo my deepest fears. I remember finding Mom crying in the bathroom after Dad died. Her hollow eyes staring at old photographs. The way grief consumed her so completely that even cancer couldn’t compete with it.
“That’s the problem with love,” I say. “When it’s real, losing it destroys you.”
“Exactly why I’m not interested,” Olivia says, piling jewelry into a travel case. “No one can break your heart if you don’t give it away in the first place.”
I nod, but something in me rebels against her cynicism. Despite everything I’ve seen, despite the fear that’s kept me from serious relationships, I’ve never been able to make myself that detached.
