“Daph—” she starts, then shakes her head.
“What?”
“I don’t—I need you to know—I never loved Oliver.”
I gasp again. “How could you not love him?”
“It wasn’t his fault. It was all mine. You were right. He was safe. We were boring together. We rarely fought. We agreed about everything, had the same goals, wanted the same kind of life, and heiskind, which made it easy to like him. Our relationship was comfortable and compatible, but it wasn’t—Daphne, it couldn’t have been love, because I don’t knowhowto love someone.”
Is she serious?
She can’t be serious. “Margot.”
“You know how to love. You know how to put your whole heart into things in a way that I—that I’m not built for. So you and Oliver? Being this happy together?”
I arch a brow as I blow my nose again, tears drying on my cheeks.
She cracks a half-smile. “If you’re this miserable without him, I can only imagine how happy you are with him.”
“So happy,” I whisper. “But you—you do too know how to love. You love me. You show me all the time.”
“Loving you is cheating. It’s too easy.”
“You flew across the country to bail me out of jail.”
“I got an excuse to see you sooner than I would’ve otherwise. This was entirely selfish.”
I scowl at her.
“You being disinherited changed me too,” she says softly. “And whatever labels you want to put on it, I never had what you have. How you live your life. The way you feel about Oliver. I thought I loved him at the time, but the kind of love I can give someone—it’s not enough. He deserves more. Especially now, after all that he’s been through. And you keep saying I should have big, messy, exciting, life-altering love. Daph, you’ve found it and you’ll thrive in it. I never will. And I’m okay with that. My life is good. Amazing, even. Just as it is. Especially with you in it.”
“But—”
“What would you tell me if our roles were reversed?”
If Margot had found someone who made her world that much brighter and more perfect, if she found someone who finally made the puzzle pieces of her life make sense, if she found someone she loved so desperately that leaving him behind made her feel like her heart would never work right again?
Even if I’d been with him before?
I’d tell her everything she’s telling me.
Because I’d want her to be happy.
That’s what you want for the people you love.
My eyes overflow again. “Thank you,” I whisper. “I love you so much.”
She rubs my knee. “You really are my favorite person on the planet, Daphne. Always.”
I need a few minutes before I can talk normally again. “He says he’s coming to find me at home in a week.”
“If that’s what he says, then that’s what he’ll do.”
“What if—what if he doesn’t? What if this entire road trip was some big dream? What if he realizes I’m a pain in the ass and he doesn’t want me anymore once the road magic wears off?”
She squeezes my hand. “Then you keep the good memories and let me handle the rest. I might be able to appreciate him if he makes you happy, but if he hurts you, well, I hear Bea has a brother with all the resources necessary to hide a body.”
I laugh until I’m crying again.
