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And Victoria sat in the middle of it all, basking.

Charlotte took the seat across from her, grateful her parents already went up to their room. Victoria’s green eyes swept over her, cataloging. They had played this game before, only Charlotte had no intention of even trying to temper her fury. There was a flicker of apprehension before her lips curved and she lifted her glass of Chardonnay.

“You look tense,” she drawled.

“We need to talk,” Charlotte stated, contained rage vibrating around each word. “In private.”

Imani paused mid-banter beside Lizzie, her attention sliding toward them.

Victoria heard it too. “It’ll have to wait.”

“It will not wait.”

“I’m not in the mood for one of your temper tantrums.”

“Tough,” Charlotte bit out, fists curling into tight balls in her lap as Lizzie and Sasha tuned into the conversation. She waited half a beat for Victoria to realize she wasn’t messing around and get up. But when she didn’t— “I guess you’re fine with everyone hearing how you’ve been grooming my little sister for years.”

Silence wrapped around the table as all eyes shifted to them.

Victoria scoffed, rolling her eyes. “That girl is even more dramatic than you. She’s completely misrepresenting the situation.”

In all their years together, Charlotte couldn’t remember a single time Victoria owned up to her mistakes and just apologized. The blame always lay at someone else’s feet.

“You would know all about twisting things to suit your needs.”

Victoria set her wine down, sitting a little straighter. “It’s so like you to pin this on me.”

“And who would you suggest I hold responsible for pressuring my baby sister into a secret relationship?”

Imani cursed under her breath, her hand darting beneath the table to grip Charlotte’s wrist. A warning or an anchor. But there was no stopping what was about to be said and done.

Victoria folded her arms across her chest, nose in the air. “She flirted with me.”

“And I suppose she convinced you to leave her unconscious on a beach all night.”

Murmurs rippled around them. Charlotte heard none of it. Her focus zeroing in on the woman who hurt Lilah… Charlotte wished she never met her. Never fell for her pretense or let herself be manipulated. She wished she’d been a better sister. She should have seen it. How had she missed it?

“It’s hardly my fault she drank enough to take down an elephant.”

Charlotte’s fist struck the table, hard enough to vibrate through her bones and have glasses and cutlery rattling, drawing the attention of the rest of the bar.

“But it was your decision to leave her out there alone where anything could have happened to her!” she roared, surging to her feet so fast her chair skidded back and toppled over. Imani grabbed her, but Charlotte wrenched free.

“If you hadn’t left me, none of this would’ve happened,” Victoria said coolly, crossing her arms. “You’re blowing this out of proportion. Baby girl, I did this for us.”

Something in Charlotte snapped.

She lunged forward, snatched Victoria’s wine glass and upended it over her head. Chardonnay splashed down, soaking her hair and shirt, flooding the air with a sticky scent.

“I am not your baby,” Charlotte snarled, grabbing a fistful of Victoria’s shirt and dragging her in close until they were nearly nose to nose. “And I am not your girl!”

Victoria clawed at her wrist, nails scraping. Charlotte barely felt it.

“When are you going to get it through your fucking head that I don’t want you?” Charlotte hissed, teeth bared. “You’re manipulative. You think you’re entitled to everything you might possibly want. You never take responsibility for your own shit. I don’t care about the hell you put me through and how you still won’t stop trying to manipulate me.” Her voice cracked. “What I care about is when I stopped playing your little games, you went after my little sister.”

Victoria’s lips pulled back into a sneer. “Just admit you’re jealous so we can move on.”

“I wouldn’t let you touch me if we were the last two people left on this planet,” Charlotte spat, her voice filled with menace. “You’re emotionally stunted, and I would get a better orgasm grinding on a goddamn cactus than you are capable of dishing out.”