CHAPTER 17—Jake

The water running in the kitchen reminds me that I’m not alone in my worries. Kyle is here and he would know what to do.

I look out to the drive way but it’s still empty. Why were they taking so long.

Sharlene said it was a friendly date to get to know Olivia better, but I knew it was far from the truth.

It didn’t also help that she looked at Olivia like she was a toy that she needed to have.

It wasn’t hard to tell Sharlene was interested in her to some level, but Olivia was mine alone to have and I was going to keep it that way.

“Do you think she said something to Olivia, and she decided to run away?” I ask Kyle as I walk into the kitchen. My face a mirror of the desperation I felt.

“Relax man, she’s not going to just run off into the sunset because of something Sharlene said to her, at least not without confronting you first” Kyle says.

He’s not as worried as I am because he has nothing to lose.

“If she tells her our entire plan then I’m totally screwed” I run my palm over face.

“For all Sharlene knows you just want the company” he makes himself coffee before grabbing a slice of cake from the fridge.

“The entire plan is known just by us, even if she did she has no proof. You’re worrying so much it’s becoming annoying” he adds when he’s comfortably seated at the kitchen counter.

I sit beside him and watch as he eats because my brain can’t calm down enough to do anything else.

“If you weren’t so interested in getting in her pants this wouldn’t bother you much” Kyle says, and I have the urge to smash his face into the cake in front of him.

“First all I’m not trying to get in her pants…” I start to clarify but he cuts me off.

“Then what would you call what happened when we visited the club? Sure felt like you wanted her”

I panic. Kyle can definitely not know what extent my body craves for her.

“It was just a spur of the moment, nothing serious,” he doesn’t seem to believe me, so I say the next thing that pops into my head.

“You know how I love my women and she’s certainly not it.”

That’s a lie. Yes, Olivia wasn’t like the typical girls I picked up, but she was everything my body needed but to admit it would be to ruin my plan with Kyle.

Kyle only spares me a brief glance “I’m not sure you know what your type is anymore. Why does it even matter to you that Olivia will find out what you’re up to?”

It’s a question I’m not prepared to answer.

“She’s bound by contract to marry you no matter what, so it doesn’t make sense to me that you’re worried she’ll find out you’re using her” he finishes, leaving me to defend myself.

“I just don’t want her to think I lied to her in the beginning” I stutter.

“Technically you didn’t lie to her, you just told her all she needed to know. Her job is just to marry you then divorce you three months later and go her way while you finish what you started.”

For the first time I wished Kyle would just cease to speak, these are not the words I want to hear.

I didn’t even want to think about what would happen when my three months with Olivia would end and she would have to leave. The thought alone was unbearable.

A knock on the door has me jumping up from my seat. Olivia is standing there; it should give me a sense of relief, but it makes me feel even worse.

Her face is blank, and I can’t tell what she’s thinking.

I pull her into a hug anyway because I needed the reassurance that she was still with me. I only take a step back to claim her lips but they’re unresponsive like the used to be.

Sharlene’s smirk finds me as I ask Olivia how the date went.

“Alright.”

That’s all she answers. She doesn’t even meet my eyes.

The anger I feel is directed at my devil of a half-sister. Why was it now she chose to interfere with my life.

Why didn’t she just continue to live quietly in my shadow as before. I’ll have to find out what she told Olivia to make her behave this way.

Olivia turns swiftly away from me and manages a stiff wave at Sharlene before walking inside the apartment.

She doesn’t even acknowledge Kyle with a scowl like she always did. A loud bang lets me know that she went into her room.

“What did you tell her?” I ask Sharlene who has no plans of getting through the door.

“Nothing that you need to worry about” She answers, “Keep a close eye on her though, women tend to have cold feet when it’s time for them to get married.”

There’s something she’s not saying.

“You tried to convince her to cancel the wedding didn’t you?” I ask.

“Why would I do such a thing? If anything I can’t wait for her to become a part of the family” she answers with an obvious fake excitement ringing in her voice.

I had to keep the both of them away from each other. Her smile grows in my silence so I do the only thing I can.

I shut the door in her face.

I hear Kyle snicker as I walk to the window to watch Sharlene leave. Almost like she can feel my gaze on her, she turns and our eyes lock.

Her lips stretch at the sides as she flips me the middle finger and drives off.

“You both hold the world best siblings award” Kyle as he watches her car drive into the distance with me.

“We are not family” I remind Kyle, “I only have to keep this up for a while.”

“You can just let her go you know” he says. The expression on my face must not be good because he sees the need to elaborate.

“This whole thing with Sharlene can ruin everything for you. She has a particular interest in Olivia which for the life of me I can’t understand what you both see in her. Just let Olivia go, we’ll find some other way to take your father down.”

My head whips instantly to him, “This is our only safe option, we’re sticking to it.”

He shakes his head “Incorrect. This is merely the only option that appeals to you.”

“You don’t get it Kyle,” that’s the only argument I have.

In my defense he really doesn’t. Kyle wasn’t the type to get attracted to someone he just met; women barely even caught his attention.

When we were teenagers I swore he was gay, but it turns out he just didn’t have any emotional connection even with himself.

It was just how Kyle was. It would be impossible to make him understand the thing going on between Olivia and me..

“I’m out of here” Kyle announces, “Take care of your shit.”

He is right. I have to fix whatever is wrong with Olivia even though it’s obvious that it’s not what he’s asking me to do.

“Everything will be sorted” I say to him with a smile.

He nods once at me before leaving.

I don’t realize how much empty this apartment is until I’m standing in the middle of it alone. It’s like someone has sucked the life out of it.

With a deep breath I make my way to Olivia’s room and knock lightly.

My knuckles are about to knock for the tenth time when it dawns on me that she has no intention of letting me in.

It was hard to believe just hours ago we’d been about to devour each other’s body and now we were barely speaking.

I just have to find the problem then I’ll fix it, like Kyle always asks me to.

My phone rings from my bed and I pick it up, it’s mother.

“Hi mum” I say and fall with a thud on the bed.

“How’s Olivia doing? I haven’t seen her since the engagement” she asks, and I’m surprised she even wants to see Olivia.

“She’s doing great, trying to adjust to the impromptu announcement and all” I answer.

“I hope it’s not much pressure on her?”

It’s hard to see my mother care for someone that wasn’t herself or father.

“She’ll be fine” I say.

“Perfect because I have a hall booked on Sunday for your wedding” She says like we’re just discussing the weather and not me getting married in three days.

“What do you mean booked for Sunday, you didn’t even ask me if that was alright for two us. We’re the ones getting married remember?” It’s hard to conceal the anger from my voice but my mother is becoming a bit too much.

“It was your father honey, he made the arrangements” she says, her voice dismissive. “Best to tell Olivia now so you can go shopping and all.”

I should be happy that the wedding will be happening soon but I’m not. Only because my father is being the controlling person that he is.

I should be able to pick and fix a date for my own wedding. This is exactly why I have to take over the company, so I can have an authority of my own.

I’m thinking so much at the same time that I don’t realize my mother already hung up.

Olivia won’t be happy with the news either. I pushed the engagement on her without letting her prepare. Now I’m making her get wedded in just three days.

Her door is still locked so I settle for watching a movie. I am hopeful she would come around and more hopeful that the news I had for her wouldn’t have her running into the sunset.