Engaged to My Sister. Obsessed With Me.

Chapter 17- RHEA'S POV

I survived a week at Blackridge.

Barely.

I didn’t have to see him every day, his schedule was packed, meetings stacked on meetings, and for that, I thanked God.

Or whatever was left of my sanity.

We only crossed paths once.

Just once.

He didn’t say a word.

He didn’t need to.

My skin burned under his gaze, my heartbeat loud enough I was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

And then,

he left.

I told myself it was a good thing.

That distance was exactly what I needed.

That maybe, just maybe, if this kept up, I could get through this internship without completely losing my mind.

But even as I thought it…

I knew it wasn’t that simple.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” I asked Lana, folding my clothes into my travel bag.

“No.”

I paused, glancing at her. “Lana, come on. We always spend summer at the beach house together.”

She spun lazily in the chair, not even looking at me. “I don’t feel like tagging along this year.”

“Are you still mad at me?”

She kept spinning. “Very much.”

I let out a loud sigh. “It’s been two weeks.”

“Really?” she said flatly. “I wasn’t counting.”

I rolled my eyes.

Every summer had always been the same—sun, sand, the ocean, and my family at The Bennett Island. It was one of the few traditions we actually stuck to.

Lana started coming with me after we became best friends, and for the past ten years, she’d never missed it.

Not once.

And now she was refusing to come because of one stupid fight.

“What do I say when they ask why you didn’t show up?” I asked, tucking the new bikini I bought into my bag.

“Trust me, they won’t,” she said, finally slowing her spin. “Your mom might… but definitely not your dad.”

I didn’t argue with that.

My dad forgot Lana’s name every single year and called her “Lara.” At some point, she stopped correcting him, so for the duration of the trip, she just accepted her temporary identity.

“It’s going to be so boring without you,” I muttered, hoping—just a little—that she’d change her mind.

“You’ll be fine,” she shrugged. “That sexy gardener might still be there. He’ll keep you company.”

Trying was basically useless.

When Lana made up her mind, that was it. No convincing, no negotiating.

And right now…

She had clearly decided I was going alone.

“I’m practically begging you.”

“You’re going to miss your flight if you keep talking.”

We were taking one of the family jets. She knew that.

I zipped my bag shut harder than necessary. “Fine. I don’t care if you come or not.”

Lana finally stopped spinning and looked at me. “You do care. That’s why you’ve asked me six times in ten minutes.”

“I’ve asked twice.”

“Six,” she said, holding up three fingers on each hand for emphasis. “I counted that.”

I grabbed my bag off the bed. “You have the apartment to yourself now.”

“Finally,” she said with a satisfied sigh, stretching like she’d just been set free. “I’m going to invite Mike over… and we'll have s*x on your bed.”

I shot her a look. “Don’t you f*****g dare.”

A wide grin stretched across her face. “You’ll be gone for almost a week… that’s enough time to do whatever I want.”

“Lana, I’ll f*****g kill you.”

She stood up, flipped the picture frame of both of us facedown on the table, and walked out.