The stream of hysterical gibberish stunned her into silence. Alina wasneverhysterical, and the last time she’d uttered gibberish had been when they were in diapers.
Something was seriously wrong.
Adrenaline flooded Olivia’s system, and she clutched her phone tighter. “Slow down,” she commanded, injecting as much calm into her tone as possible. If she freaked out, Alina would freak out more, and the world did not need two Tang women freaking out at the same time. “Breathe. Enunciate. What’s wrong?”
“Kayla,” Alina choked out. “He’s cheating on me withKayla!”
Shit.Fuck me sideways with a spoon.
Olivia gulped, her pulse drumming with shock and guilt. Shestillhadn’t told her sister about Richard’s sleazy proposition during brunch. She’d meant to; Sammy had convinced her when she’d talked about it with him. But life got crazy, and the more time passed, the more she’d leaned towardnottelling Alina. It wasn’t like she would’ve taken him up on it, and she’d assumed his indiscretion had been a one-time thing. In hindsight, that’d been foolish thinking.Of courseRichard was a horndog that fucked anything that moved—including his fiancée’s maid of honor.
“I was cleaning the apartment and found a burner phone that he’s been using to communicate with her. Unlocked—I guess he thought I’d never find it. I thought it was a work phone or something, but then I saw their messages—” Alina’s voice broke into a sob. “You know what he said when I confronted him about it? He said I was overreacting. That it meant nothing and that I needed to chill before I stressed myself out more.”
A rush of anger surged through Olivia. “Fuck him. He’s a lying, cheating asshole, and you’re better off without him.”
Silence.
Olivia gripped her phone tighter. “Linny.” She used the nickname she hadn’t used since they were children. “Tell me you left him.”
More silence.
“Alina.”
“You don’t understand.” A defensive note crept into Alina’s voice. “Richard and I have been together foryears.I can’t throw away a years-long relationship on a whim.”
“It’s not on a whim. Hecheatedon you with your cousin and maid of honor, for God’s sake!” Olivia paced her apartment. Sure, Richard was rich and good-looking in a generic douche kind of way, but she’d never understood how he’d persuaded her smart, beautiful, successful sister to fall in love with him. She and Alina may not be close, but she’d be the first to admit that Alina was way out of his league. “Does Mom know?”
“Yes.” Alina sniffled. “She told me to turn the other cheek. She said I would be a fool to throw away my engagement over one mistake.”
“Of course she did.” Eleanor probably freaked out more over potentially losing a status symbol son-in-law than she did over the fact that her daughter got cheated on by her fiancé.
“She’s right.” Alina released a long, slow breath, and Olivia could practically see her wiping away her tears and straightening her shoulders. “Richard has been so great to me before this...incident, and he’ll be the perfect husband. He’s handsome, successful, and sophisticated. Do you know how hard it is to find men that possess all those qualities, are over the age of thirty,andwho are ready to settle down in Chicago? Plus, the invites for the wedding went out already. We’ve booked the venue, the band...we spent a fortune on the flowers. It would be so embarrassing to have to cancel.”
Olivia couldn’t believe it. “You’re staying with him becauseyou spent a lot of money on flowers?” A few months ago, she might’ve been more sympathetic to Alina’s point of view. She had zero tolerance for cheaters, but from a purely cost-benefit analysis, going through with the wedding rather than calling it off over “one mistake” (if it really wasonemistake) made sense.
Now, she couldn’t help but realize how, well, shallow it all sounded. Even when she’d described why Richard would be the “perfect” husband—gag—Alina hadn’t mentioned his personality. She hadn’t said he was funny or loving or had a great sense of humor. She focused on surface-level things that madeherlook good by association—his looks and his money.
“Don’t be so judgmental,” Alina snapped, sounding more like her old self. “You don’t get it. You’re not even dating anyone. You don’t understand the pressure I’m under—”
“I don’t have to be dating someone to know cheating is unacceptable—”
“This is mylifeandreputation,Olivia. I can’t throw it all away because of one indiscretion—”
“It’s not just one indiscretion!” Olivia shouted.
There was a long, loaded pause. “What are you talking about?” A tint of fear stained Alina’s words.
There was no going back now.
Olivia swallowed hard. “Remember when we went to brunch? We got in an argument over your new bachelorette date, and I went to the restroom to cool off. Richard followed me and propositioned me.”
No response.
“He asked me to come to your hotel room while you and Mom were at a wine tasting. Me. Yoursister.While you were sitting just outside. Of course I said no, but if he was brazen enough to do that, he’s definitely brazen enough to try it with other women. Kayla is the one you know about, but who knows how many—”
“You’re lying,” Alina said flatly.
It took Olivia a few seconds to process the words. When she did, she held her phone away from her ear, slack-jawed. “What?Why would I lie about that?”