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He scoffed, feigning hurt. “Is that all I am to you, Miss Sanders? A distraction?”
I smiled as I smacked his forearm. “You know what I mean.”
He chuckled. “Well, you can help me with the onions. I’m pretty sure you’ve got no tears left.” He gave me a teasing look.
“I wonder how Sam was able to live with you for sixteen years.”
“I don’t understand what you’re insinuating. I’m a charmer.”
I scoffed. “That’s just what you think.”
We continued like that, sharing jokes and laughs and the occasional glances that held messages neither of us was willing to admit.
We were done just in time for Sam to join us. We ate and laughed, and soon, I forgot that I had been crying my eyes out over a complete douchebag. I felt safe, loved, and at peace.
And it was all thanks to my best friend and her brother, who I was slowly falling for.
He caught me staring at him again, and he gave me that warm smile. I felt goosebumps as I inhaled deeply. I was falling for him hard.
And I wasn’t one bit afraid.
Chapter fourteen
HAVOC ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Alexander Steele
Days passed, and the whole internet drama between Olivia and Greg did not die down. It couldn’t when Greg kept on feeding it with more posts of him and his new girlfriend.
Unbeknownst to him, he was digging his own grave.
It was cute at first, but people soon became sick of his undying pettiness. What made it worse was that with every caption, it became increasingly obvious that he was just using the poor girl to spite Olivia.
I was not surprised. That was the kind of man Greg was, and I honestly hoped he would continue being just that—the kind of man who saw women as mere tools. Soon, the media began to turn against him, albeit to a small extent. Still, I was sure it was enough to set him on a downward spiral.
And then, their attention shifted back to Olivia, but this time, it was not about blaming her for leaving Greg. They had begun to notice how silent she had been throughout the whole thing.
No matter how hard you try to direct people’s perceptions on social media by leveraging influencers and important people, there will always be loopholes, especially when dealing with someone as careless as Gregory Hathaway. So, Olivia chose not to react to his constant victim-playing; she remained quiet.
Well, not exactly quiet.
In fact, it was all part of a plan that I had laid out for her the day he released the first photo and announced his new love interest.
“So, I promised we were going to talk about moving forward,” I said, wiping my hands with a tablecloth. Samantha had left for work, and we had just finished with the dishes.
“Actually, I think I’ll just move on with time. There’s no reason to rush it,” Olivia said as we walked back into the living room.
“That’s a great idea, but I said moving forward, not moving on.”
Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying it’s time you showed him that you have a voice.”
She shook her head. “That’s just going to drag this drama for longer than it should.”
“Well, even if you don’t, he will.”
“And how do you know that?”