7.

Charlotte crossed the courtyard connecting the North Wing to the main house, her handbag resting against her hip. The morning air was cool, but the noise from the wedding preparations was enough to ruin any chance of enjoying it.

Two workers hurried past her carrying a large vase filled with white roses. Another stood near the entrance, arguing with a woman who appeared to be one of the wedding planners.

"No, no, no! Mrs. Sinclair specifically requested the arrangements near the fountain. Why are you bringing them here?"

Charlotte stopped.

Mrs. Sinclair.

For a moment, she wondered which one they meant. Then she remembered that, in two weeks, Olivia would officially become Sean's wife.

Again, Charlotte found herself wondering how she had ended up living in a house where everyone seemed determined to erase her while she was still standing right in front of them.

She continued inside.

The main house looked even worse than the gardens. Flower arrangements covered nearly every available surface, and several staff members were busy moving furniture out of the drawing room. A pair of decorators stood on a ladder, discussing where to hang a chandelier that Charlotte was fairly certain had never belonged there.

She glanced around, already regretting her decision to come.

"Charlotte!"

Her mother appeared at the top of the staircase, dressed in a cream blouse and matching trousers. Margaret looked as though she had been awake for hours, and the tight expression on her face suggested that Charlotte was already responsible for something going wrong.

"Finally," Margaret said. "I've been waiting for you."

"You called me five minutes ago."

Margaret descended the stairs, her heels clicking smartly against the marble. "Well, five minutes is five minutes when there is so much to organize. Olivia is already in the sunroom, and we don't have all morning."

"I don't have all morning either, Mom," Charlotte replied, adjusting the strap of her handbag. "I have a meeting at HQ."

Margaret dismissed the mention of the company with a small, flicking gesture of her hand, which was a gesture that made Charlotte's jaw tighten. For years, her mother had viewed Charlotte's interest in her father's business as a strange hobby, something she would eventually drop to focus on running a home.

"The company can wait an extra twenty minutes, Charlotte. This is your sister's wedding," Margaret said, her tone laced with that practiced, weary scolding she reserved almost exclusively for Charlotte. "Come into the sunroom."

Charlotte followed her mother through the archway, her face an unreadable mask.

The sunroom was one of Margaret's favourite places in the house. It overlooked the rose garden and had large glass windows that allowed sunlight to spill across the cream sofas and polished wooden tables. Charlotte had spent countless afternoons there as a child, usually with Olivia beside her and their father pretending to read while the two of them argued over something ridiculous.

This morning, however, the room was occupied by wedding plans.

Several folders lay open on the coffee table, surrounded by fabric samples, invitation cards, and photographs of floral arrangements. Olivia sat on the largest sofa, dressed in a white blouse and a pale pink skirt, while Sean stood behind her with one hand resting on the back of the sofa.

A wedding planner sat opposite them, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

The planner glanced up as Charlotte entered, her eyes briefly moving over Charlotte's burgundy blouse and black trousers before returning to the papers in front of her.

"Good morning, Charlotte," Olivia said, leaning back against Sean's hand with a smile that was almost too sweet to be genuine. "I'm glad Mama managed to catch you before you left. We really need your input on a few things."

Charlotte stopped beside the coffee table. "What things?"

Margaret settled onto the sofa beside Olivia and picked up one of the folders.

"It's about the seating arrangements for the reception and the family photographs," she explained. "Olivia wants everything to go smoothly, and we thought it would be better to discuss it now rather than leave things until the last minute."

Charlotte looked from her mother to her sister, pointedly ignoring Sean. "All right. What about them?"

Olivia picked up an invitation card and ran her fingers over the gold lettering.

"We want you at the head table, Char. Right beside Mama and Sean's family."

Charlotte stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"There's no need to look so surprised." Olivia gave a small laugh. "You're my sister. Of course, you'll be sitting with the family."

"Your sister," Charlotte repeated. "The sister whose husband you slept with while we were still married?"

The wedding planner suddenly became very interested in the papers on her lap.

Olivia's smile faltered, but she recovered quickly.

"Charlotte, please. I know things haven't been easy between us, but we can't keep bringing up the past forever."

"Interesting. I didn't realise five months was forever."

"That's not what I meant." Olivia lowered her eyes, looking every bit as hurt as she wanted to appear. "I just want us to move forward. The press will be there, and people are already talking. If you refuse to sit with us or join the family photographs, they'll say we're still fighting. They'll think we've forced you out of the family."

Charlotte almost laughed.

So that was it.

They didn't want her there because Olivia had suddenly remembered how much she loved her twin sister. They wanted her sitting beside them, smiling for the cameras, so everyone could see that Charlotte had accepted their relationship and moved on.

They wanted her to make their wedding look better.

"And what if they think we're still fighting?"

Charlotte asked.

Olivia blinked. "What?"

"What if people think we're still fighting? What exactly is going to happen?"

"Charlotte, don't be difficult," Margaret said. "This is a simple request. Sitting at the family table will show that you've accepted the situation and that we're all ready to move forward."

"Accepted what situation, Mom? That my husband cheated on me with my twin sister? Or that the two of them are getting married while I'm still living in the same house as them?"

"Nobody is asking you to pretend nothing happened."

"Then why do you need me sitting beside them in front of the press?"

Margaret's expression tightened. "Because you're still family, and people will naturally have questions. We don't want another scandal."

There it was.

Charlotte looked at her mother for a moment, taking in the worried expression on her face. Margaret wasn't concerned about how Charlotte would feel sitting beside Sean and Olivia while they celebrated their marriage. She was concerned about what people would say if Charlotte refused.

As usual, appearances mattered more than her daughter's feelings.

Olivia reached across the table and touched Charlotte's hand.

"Please, Char. I know I've hurt you, and I know I can't undo what happened. But I really want us to have a relationship again. I don't want to get married knowing my own sister hates me."

Charlotte slowly pulled her hand away. "Then you should have thought about that before you started sleeping with her husband."

Olivia's eyes filled with tears.

Sean straightened behind her. "That's enough, Charlotte."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, and finally turned to him. "I'm sorry. Did you have something to add?"

"Olivia is trying to make peace with you, and you're determined to throw it back in her face."

"Make peace?" Charlotte repeated. "By asking me to sit beside the two people who betrayed me so you can convince everyone that we're one big, happy family?"

"Nobody is asking you to do anything you don't want to do," Olivia said quickly, wiping her eyes. "I just thought it would mean something if you were there with us."

"Then let me make this easy for you. I won't be sitting at your head table, I won't be posing for family photographs, and I won't be pretending to be happy about your marriage."

Margaret stared at her in disbelief. "Charlotte!"

"What? You wanted my answer."

"Must you be so cruel to your own sister?"

Charlotte let out a short breath. "Do you know what I find funny? Everyone keeps talking about how cruel I am, but nobody seems to remember what Olivia and Sean did to me. Apparently, I'm supposed to forget everything because they want a beautiful wedding."

"Nobody expects you to forget," Margaret insisted. "But you cannot keep holding this over their heads."

"I'm not holding anything over anyone. I'm simply refusing to help them pretend it never happened."

Olivia shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I knew you wouldn't forgive me. I just hoped that, after everything, you might at least try."

For a second, the room fell into an uncomfortable stillness.

Sean adjusted his cuffs, his scowl deepening as he looked at Charlotte, while Margaret let out another heavy, theatrical sigh of disappointment. The wedding planner stayed frozen in her chair, practically holding her breath.

Charlotte stared at Olivia's trembling shoulders and tear-streaked face.

She felt the familiar, heavy weight of their expectations pressing against her chest. If she walked out now, Margaret would spend the next two weeks cornering her in the hallway, accusing her of ruining the family name and acting like a bitter spinster.

She glanced at the invitation card on the table. The gold lettering looked expensive, the kind of invitation that would be photographed and shared across social media. She could already imagine the headlines if she refused to attend.

Charlotte Sinclair Snubs Twin Sister's Wedding.

Bitter Ex-Wife Refuses to Accept Sean and Olivia's Marriage.

They would make her the villain again, and Olivia would spend the next several weeks looking sad in public while everyone praised her patience.

Charlotte was tired of giving them easy opportunities to tell their version of the story.

"Fine," she said.

Three faces turned toward her.

Olivia blinked. "Fine?"

"I'll attend the wedding."

Her mother's expression immediately brightened. "Now, was that so difficult?"

Charlotte ignored her.

"But I have one condition."

Sean folded his arms. "Of course you do."

Charlotte looked directly at him. "A seat must be reserved for my date."