Olivia paces the perimeter, touching the walls like she might find a hidden exit. Her hands shake violently. “This is because of Hunter, isn’t it? Because of what you told me?”
I swallow hard. “I think it’s something bigger than that. Something to do with Jax King.”
“Who?” Her voice rises an octave. “Aurora, what have you gotten us into?”
“I don’t know exactly,” I admit. “Hunter tried to warn me, but I didn’t understand.”
Olivia slides down the wall, her legs giving out. She hugs her knees to her chest, rocking slightly. “I can’t be here. I can’t do this.” Her breathing verges on hyperventilation. “I can’t breathe. I can’t?—”
I move to Olivia’s side and place my hands on her shoulders. “Liv, look at me. Focus on my breathing.” I exaggerate my breaths, slow and deep. “In... out... in... out. That’s it.”
Gradually, her breathing steadies as she mirrors mine. The wild panic in her eyes subsides to something more controlled.
“We’re going to get through this,” I say, not knowing if it’s true but needing to believe it. “Hunter will find us.”
His name snaps something in her. Olivia’s gaze hardens. “Hunter.” She pulls away from my touch. “Right. Your Hunter.”
“Liv—”
“You love him.” It’s not a question. She remembers our conversation from the masquerade now, the one interrupted by our abduction.
I nod, not trusting my voice.
Once her breathing normalizes completely, Olivia moves to the opposite cot, putting distance between us. “I want you to stay away from me.”
“We’re locked in a cell together,” I point out.
“Then stay on your side.” Her voice is flat, empty of the hysteria from moments ago. “I don’t care about Hunter, you know. I never did.”
“I know.”
Olivia stares at the wall. “But that’s not the point. You went behind my back, Aurora. My sister.”
“I tried to tell you?—”
“After sneaking around!” Her hands clench into fists against her gown. “Did Ari know?”
I look up. “Ari?”
A bitter smile touches her lips. “Ironic. I’ve been seeing Ari. Not that you’d notice with your head so far up Hunter’s ass.”
The revelation stuns me. “You and Ari?”
“Yes. I liked him before Dad forced this engagement on me.”
“Wait, so let me get this straight,” I say, pushing myself off the cold floor. “You like Ari. You’re seeing Ari.”
Olivia doesn’t look at me; her gaze is fixed on some invisible point on the wall.
I throw my hands up. “Then you should be happy! If you like Ari, you’re free to be with him now. And I’m in love with Hunter, so what the hell is the problem?”
“The problem?” Olivia finally turns to me, her eyes flashing. “The problem isn’t who ends up with who, Aurora. It’s that my own sister went behind my back. It’s that you lied to my face about it. It’s that you couldn’t even give me the basic respect of telling me the truth.”
“I tried to tell you?—”
“Too little, too late.” She cuts me off with a sharp gesture. “And doing it at the masquerade? Really? In public? That was your brilliant plan?”
I sink onto my cot. “I didn’t know how else to do it.”
