Page 84 of An Inevitable Marriage

I hated it, but I also understood where it came from.

“It’s this thing with Dad,” I told my sister. “With him sick, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. And we’re the perfect target for her overstimulated brain right now.”

My sister leaned closer to the camera. “How do you do that?”

“What?” I shrugged.

“Find the good in every shitty situation.”

My gaze locked on my empty doorway. It was late, and Liam wasn’t home yet. This was nothing new, considering I heard him come home at around nine almost every night. Tonight, though, it bothered me.

More than it should, but I couldn’t help it.

Ever since I’d left his office, seconds after he had, I couldn’t stop thinking about the ordeal with his grandfather.

The way they’d spoken to each other.

The not-so-subtle remark about my looks, or rather, my weight.

And there was Liam. The moment he’d seen his grandfather, he’d completely shut down.

It made my head hurt. My heart, too.

From what little Rafe had told me, I knew neither of Liam’s parents were alive, and he’d spent most of his childhood with his grandfather.

The mere thought of him living under the same roof as that man sent a violent shudder through my body. How deep did the emotional damage Mr. Maxwell Sr. had inflicted on his young, impressionable grandson run?

Because people like him, people who believed themselves to be above others, didn’t give two shits about hurting the ones entrusted to them to get ahead in whatever game they were playing.

I’d seen it with my own eyes. Natalie’s father had done it to her for as long as I could remember. I didn’t even want to think where she’d be if Zach hadn’t come into her life when he had.

Who was there for Liam?

“Helloooooo, earth to Evie.” My sister’s voice filtered through my scattered thoughts. I blinked a few times and my attention was back on Cece. Or rather the deep frown wrinkling her brow.

“What?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’d ask what has you so distracted, but I think I already know.”

I swallowed hard. “You do?”

“Oh yeah.” She grinned like an idiot and waggled her brows. “Could it be a tall, not-so-dark, but oh-so-handsome CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company you want to marry…for money?”

I just stared at my sister. How the heck did she know about Liam?

My confusion must’ve been written all over my face. Leaning even closer to the tiny camera, she fiddled with something then smiled like she’d won the lottery.

“There.” Her smile widened even more. “Now I’ll be able to see that face forever.”

“You’re a horrible sister,” I said matter-of-factly, then asked the one question I desperately needed an answer to: “How did you know?”

Her brow arched. I could practically hear the “seriously” roll off her tongue before she made a single sound.

“Mom told you.”

“Of course she did. Now, tell me what to wear.” Cece set the phone on her dresser and stepped back to peel off her T-shirt and tights. In nothing but her underwear, she grabbed two dresses from her bed and held them toward the phone.

I should have been studying the garments, giving my input on which one I thought she’d look the prettiest in. But all I saw was a gorgeous body I didn’t have. A sharp pain shot through my chest, stealing the oxygen from my lungs.