Olivia, Striking Back - Danielle Norman Page 0,20

lacked humility, it was Drake himself.

“Oh, I see,” Olivia replied.

“Unlike you,” he said quietly. “You are humble, just like a woman should be.”

Olivia tasted bile, but choked it down. She could picture Adeline listening in on the conversation, probably cursing out Drake.

Instead, she took a deep breath and downed the rest of her champagne. “Drake, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Olivia. I hope you know that you can consider me a friend, not just your psychiatrist,” he purred. “Especially now that you’ve been to my home.”

Olivia nodded. “Well…it’s just…do you like me?”

Drake chuckled. “Of course, I like you. I am fond of all my clients.”

“Do your other clients—have they also come to parties like this?”

“Well, no, darling. I can’t say any of my other clients have dated my brother. It’s not something I would advise.”

“So, you wouldn’t advise it of me either? Do you think I should break up with—“

“Hey, there you are,” crooned Rhys, sliding up next to Olivia and placing a hand on the small of her back. She jumped at the unexpected touch, but then she relaxed into it. She felt comforted by his presence. “Drake, you’re monopolizing my girl.”

Drake looked like he wanted to reply with something rude, but he held his tongue. “My apologies. I was just giving her some friendly advice.”

“Oh?” Rhys asked, faking a look of innocent confusion as he glanced at Olivia.

“Yes, but I suppose she understood my message despite your interruption.” Drake sighed. “I should continue my rounds. I’m being a bad host. It was lovely getting to chat with you, Olivia.”

“Yes, you, too,” Olivia said, forcing herself to give him a longing look as he walked away. He glanced over his shoulder at her, grinning with satisfaction at her expression.

After he disappeared into the crowd, Olivia let out a loud sigh.

“He’s such an ass,” she muttered.

Rhys snorted. He didn’t remove his hand from her back. “Tell me about it.”

Rhys

By the time the clock hit ten in the evening, most of the guests had cleared out. It wasn’t the kind of party that Rhys frequented, where the socializing continued on until the small hours of the morning. Rather, his twin brother was far too invested in his image of sophistication and poise to host a party that went too late.

Olivia said her goodbyes a half hour ago, taking his wires with her. Much to his disappointment, he took them off by himself in the guest bathroom. He wished that she had been the one to remove them because he liked the way she blushed when she saw him shirtless. He also liked the way that she became affected with snarkiness to cover the fact that she was clearly into him.

Rhys didn’t tell Olivia, but he had a plan of his own. In fact, it was a plan that he should’ve embarked on years ago. He should’ve been keeping track of every moment when he suspected that Drake was treating Lila poorly. If he’d been smart enough to do something like that, his sister-in-law would have a log of situations to refer to as evidence of mistreatment when they finally got in touch with the attorney.

It was overstepping, of course. He knew that. It was just that he felt so guilty about not intervening before Lila signed the prenuptial agreement and married him in the first place. Obviously, they weren’t as close back then. He didn’t think of her as his true sister, but rather as a sweet girl who was joining their family as the unlucky partner of his cruel brother.

Regardless of all of that, with the party guests gone, Rhys had a chance to capture what Drake was like when he didn’t have to put on a smile and perform as a loving husband for dozens of guests.

Rhys had lingered around the corner in the hallway that led to the kitchen, out of the way of the catering staff and cleaners who were tidying up after the party. After the last guest left through the front door, Rhys watched the warm smile melt off his brother’s face as he turned and immediately barreled up the stairs after Lila.

Rhys followed hurriedly, creeping along the edge of the wall down the second floor hallway and toward the sound of Drake and Lila’s voices in the library.

He unlocked his phone and opened a voice recording app. Pressing record, Rhys pressed his lips together and got as close to the ajar doorway of the library as he dared, hoping that none of the