Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
I didn’t think he could. Blood gushed from his upper lip.
“Seb, Seb, Seb.” I flattened my palms over his chest, trying not to cry at his labored breathing. “I’m so sorry I pushed you. I’m getting this fixed right now. Hang on.”
I needed to get back to shore as soon as possible. I ran to the wheel and restarted the engine, rushing to the dock. As I did, I grabbed my phone and called an ambulance, followed by my parents, begging them to wait for me on the dock.
The entire time, my head was a jumbled mess.
I did this.
I pushed Sebastian into the water over something so stupid, so mundane. Over a goddamn Instagram misunderstanding.
He didn’t make a sound.
I had to glance at him every other second while navigating my way to shore. He was still lying there, panting. It occurred to me that he just lost the one thing he was known for – his looks – and that he would never get it back.
He was never going to forgive me.
What started as a sibling rivalry officially graduated into pure, unadulterated hatred.
I ruined my baby brother’s life.
And there was nothing I could do to change it.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Briar
I woke up ready for battle.
Armed with my memories – all my memories – I knew I couldn’t stay in this gilded cage for long. Not because Oliver would kick me out. That asswipe still thought I knew nothing. Nor because I needed to work, since my next project wouldn’t come until mid-July.
But rather, if I didn’t get out of here, I might kill my fiancé with my bare hands. No finesse. No sophisticated revenge. None of the torture I’d envisioned yesterday before the shower yoga incident.
I couldn’t wait to throw the truth in Oliver’s face and watch him squirm. It would have to wait until after the fancy dinner with his friends tonight.
Dallas. Farrow. Hettie.
All of them betrayed me. Lied in my face and pretended to be close with me.
Did they pity me? Thought it was hilarious that I lived with the man who once broke my heart and deserted me? No. I shut the thought down fast. If the girls agreed with Oliver’s actions, they wouldn’t have taken me to Baylor to jog my memory.
I’d spare them from my revenge.
I did, however, intend to see just how far they would take lying to me. At dinner tonight. Where I planned on forcing everyone on this forsaken street to fess up to their crimes.
Anticipation sizzled beneath my skin.
I rolled onto my hip, noting Oliver’s empty side of the bed and his phone still charging on the nightstand. Mine buzzed on the pillow beside me.
Seb vB: Next time you snoop through my rowing gear, return it how you found it.
Seb. The damn grump. He must’ve known, too. I couldn’t hold it against him, though. He had no intention of interacting with me. I’d barged into his domain. Not the other way around.
I typed out a text and hesitated, pressing send anyway. I trusted Seb to keep our conversations to himself, especially since he didn’t want Oliver to find out I knew about his condition.
Briar Auer: I know the truth.
Seb vB: What are you gonna do?
No apology. No acknowledgement of his role in the lie. Nothing. It was so very Seb – the old Seb – that I almost smiled.
Briar Auer: I’m going to torch this place down.
Seb vB: With me in it, please.
I frowned, ninety-nine percent sure he meant it literally.
After my nasty break up with Oliver, it killed me that Ollie had gotten Seb in the divorce. I’d always considered him my baby brother. My cruel, foul-mouthed baby brother, but a brother, nonetheless.
All my texts to Seb had gone unsent. He’d blocked me. At the time, I assumed it was out of loyalty to his brother, but now I knew he’d simply shut the entire world out.
Which reminded me.
Revenge.
I sauntered into my walk-in wardrobe – the one thing other than Geezer and Trio that I would miss from this house – and chose the skimpiest bikini I owned. If Ollie thought he had blue balls yesterday, he had another thing coming for him.
It took all of twenty minutes to locate Oliver sipping coffee amidst the garden. He’d found a peaceful spot with a view of both the lake and the blue roses.
I settled in front of the open window before him, deciding to do my morning yoga in his direct line of sight. He glanced up from his laptop, doing a doubletake when he caught my outfit. I sank into downward dog, expecting to give him a hard-on that would hopefully result in necrosis.
After my morning workout, I strolled into the kitchen in a pair of Daisy Dukes and my bright red bikini top. Goosebumps scattered across my arms, but torturing Oliver took unprecedented priority. The latter desperately tried to concentrate on the spreadsheet before him.