Page 41 of When Hearts Unravel (The Orchid #6)

After eating our pasta creations for dinner, during which Olivia polished everything on her plate, including the sauce, Lana dragged me to her stateroom as the dessert wine was brought out.

She suspiciously disappeared in a huff half an hour into class, only to resurface, her face grim, five minutes ago.

She told the group we had a conference call.

“What’s so urgent?” I mutter, sprawling onto the ivory sofa.

Then alarm sweeps through me.

Is it Greg Masters? I didn’t see him after he snapped the photo of Olivia and me. But it’s only been hours, and it wasn’t like we were doing anything inappropriate.

Lana fiddles with a remote. “You’ll see.”

A screen on the wall flickers on and I groan.

Because Maxwell is on camera and is clearly displeased.

“Shit.” I sit up, watching my older brother, dressed in a three-piece suit, his hair perfectly coiffed, glare at me.

I glance at the time on the screen and do some mental calculations. “Seriously, it’s four in the morning for you. Why are you already up and dressed for work?”

“You tell me,” he says cryptically.

“Stop with this cloak and dagger shit. Clearly, I screwed up and am about to get it. Go on. Tell me what I did.”

“I’ve got some photos for you to look at. They came through during class,” Lana says, drawing my attention back to her. She sits down next to me and gives me a sympathetic smile. “And Greg Masters reached out to me.”

Shit. The damn bastard.

“Look, whatever he’s insinuating, it’s bullshit—”

She shakes her head and presses another button. Black-and-white photos pop up on the screen.

My argument stalls in my throat.

They’re pictures of me and Olivia. Me kissing her in the small courtyard during Las Fallas. A grainy one of us entering the motel together. Boarding the cruise early morning after our night together.

Fuck. We—no—I wasn’t careful enough.

Cold sweat gathers on my forehead, and nausea makes an appearance. This was what Olivia was worried about. How many times had she tried to push me away because we were breaking the rules? And who took these photos? Greg Masters? I didn’t even see him tailing me. How could I have missed him?

“I’m going to fire her and have her escorted off the cruise.” Maxwell’s words are soft, but I hear the strain in his voice—his anger.

My eyes snap back up to him and I see a telltale tic in his jaw.

He’s pissed. Betrayed. Furious.

No. Panic rears its ugly head inside me.

He can’t take my Olive from me. I want the rest of this trip with her.

“You got it all wrong,” I begin. “It’s not what you think—”

“You think I’m stupid? You guys were kissing. Going to a motel and spending the night. She’s your doctor! I trusted her to treat you. What would you do if Lana were sick? If she went to a doctor and he took advantage of her?”

Maxwell’s words echo in the room, and I bury my face in my hands. It looks bad. If it were Lana, I’d strangle the doctor myself for preying on my sister.

“You’re mentally unwell. That’s why we got you help. But I’ve obviously misplaced my trust in her. In you. This behavior is unacceptable. She was supposed to help you, not sleep with you. She was supposed to—”

“She did!” My voice comes out sharp and desperate.

I stand up and stride to the hidden camera, needing to get in his face somehow. Fury surges up my spine. They can’t twist this into something dark and sordid. It’s anything but that. I need them to understand.

“She’s the only one who’s been able to help me! The only one who saw me. I-I could breathe around her. I felt hope for the first time in a fucking long time. She…She’s everything.”

Silence falls in the room. Maxwell looks shocked, his mouth dropping open. I glance at Lana, finding her forehead pinched, a wet sheen misting her eyes.

“Rex,” she whispers. “I had no idea you felt this way.”

I shake my head. “No. It’s not your fault. You guys are right. I-I’ve been struggling. Splitting at the seams. But don’t blame Olivia for this…for us. She saw past my masks. My defenses.”

A labored exhale escapes my lips. “She made me feel things I never thought I could feel. Like life is worth living. I pursued her.” I glance at my siblings.

“She tried to draw the line. To be professional. To keep her distance. But I’m a relentless bastard.

It’s me. If you need to punish someone, punish me.

It’s not her fault. It’s all on me. Please. Don’t fire her.”

Suddenly exhausted, I walk back to the sofa and sit down. The seconds tick by, the silence heavy in the room.

“But she should’ve known better. She’s the professional,” Maxwell murmurs, but the anger isn’t in his voice anymore. “I like her. She’s good at what she does, but this isn’t right.”

“You’re her patient too. You’ve known her for years. Does she strike you as a person who’d jump into inappropriate relationships? She helped you, Taylor, Ethan. Trust me, she fought it for as long as she could.”

Maxwell rubs the scruff on his face, resignation clear in his eyes. “If I didn’t see the photos, I wouldn’t have believed it. Olivia’s damn excellent at her job.”

“She is. You see? It’s all me. Please don’t fire her. Don’t make this a thing. She’s a good doctor.” I glance at Maxwell, then Lana, knowing they can turn the life of the woman who’s given me a taste of forever into a living hell.

I need to protect her. They have to understand this isn’t some fling.

Is it though, Rex? You’re only spending the rest of this trip with her.

For now. Until I fix myself. If I can fix myself.

“She’s a good person. One of my best friends,” Lana murmurs, her lips tilting into a sad smile. “On paper, a doctor-patient relationship looks bad, but…but I can understand. I just wish you guys told us.”

“So, are you two in a relationship now? Or is this one of your flings?” Maxwell asks.

I grit my teeth, unable to answer him. I want to be in a place where I can be in a relationship with her.

“Fuck. Figure it out before you take her down with you. I need some time to process this.” He sighs and rubs his temple.

“That’s fair.” More than fair. He’s being logical. Too bad the heart isn’t rational.

I stare at the photos on the screen. “Did these come from Greg Masters?”

“No. I had an inkling about you guys for a while and asked security to pull footage using facial recognition,” Lana says as she squeezes my shoulder.

A relieved sigh escapes me. Thank God it’s not from the paps.

“The Las Fallas ones came from ATM and storefront cameras. I only pulled them after a passenger showed me pictures from the festival. In one of them, there were two people in the background. Grainy pic, but they looked like you two. So I dug deeper. The footage came in during class. Let’s just say I did a full dirty delete.

Took a lot of money and a few threats. Buying out debts, applying pressure.

I’m not proud of it, but I can’t let that footage stay on record. ”

“You what?” My sister is good at her job, but this is the first time I’ve seen her use coercion to get rid of evidence.

She shrugs. “Gotta protect my family. Lucky for us, the passenger took a bajillion pics and didn’t notice one missing.

And those stores were more than happy to delete after I wired over ‘donations.’ But all this meant I had to pull Maxwell in to move the cash.

And we needed to get the truth from you. ”

Guilt settles inside me and I look at them, finding their gazes concerned.

I’m so damn lucky to have my family on my side.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I remember something she said earlier. “But why did Greg Masters contact you?”

She snorts. “He has a photo of you guys standing too close together making pasta. I have him handled. Don’t worry.”

Then her voice turns solemn. “Maxwell and I will process this new…development and monitor if anything was leaked to the press. But Rex, figure out what you’re doing with Olivia. We don’t want to see you guys get hurt.”

I close my eyes, a heaviness sitting atop my chest.

The last thing I want to do is hurt Olivia.

But I don’t…I can’t stay away.