Page 105 of Queen of Nothing

There’s a generous wardrobe, a vanity, a desk, and a bed that’s larger than even my own at Elcott. Undeniably custom made.

Oliver keeps his hand on the doorknob, and he gestures to the folded silk pyjama set on the foot of the bed.

“They might too large for you, but it’s better to sleep in those than…” He looks down at my coarse jeans. He fixes a tight smile onto his face. “I wish we had a change of clothes for you.”

I scoff. “Me, too.”

The sweater is getting itchy. The jeans feel stiff, the sneakers tight and uneven.

One of the bathrooms will have a shower, but what’s the point when I will have to climb into dirty, stiff, cheap clothes right after?

“How long until we land?”

Oliver considers me for a beat, a soft gaze, then glances at his watch. “Another eight hours.”

I reach out for him, his wrist, the glistening face of the gold Jacob & Co timepiece—

Oliver stills.

My fingers graze over the glass, and beneath it, is a gold mechanical design that reminds me of the guts of a grandfather clock.

Oliver turns his wrist, his hand, and clasps his fingers around mine.

For a beat, he just holds my hand—then his grip firms, his thumb running over mine, and he lifts a pained look to me.

He asks, “How are you?”

A loaded question.

It pushes the breath right out of me.

“I… I’m tired.”

It’s an honest answer.

But it stretches over time—to more than this moment.

I mumble, “I’ve been tired for a while.”

“Do you need something to help you sleep?”

A little splash of kindness.

Something that warms me.

Something that almost makes me forget what a terrible brother he’s been to me all my life.

Oliver hasn’t changed.

He’s always had these moments, these cracks and fractures in time, where he’s kind to me.

But now, knowing what Serena told me about Oliver not supporting my engagement to Dray, and that Oliver did give me his watch and let me go, it changes things.

I don’t know how, but it does.

He holds my hand and offers me a kindness, and I think he might be my only ally in this world.

My throat bobs with a thick swallow.