CHAPTER 171

Oliver sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at his phone. The message from his step-brother, Carter, still flickered on the screen.

"Hey, man. We're planning a family vacation and we want you to come with us. Think about it, okay?"

It had been three days since the message arrived, but Oliver couldn't make up his mind. He felt both honored and hesitant at the same time.

Oliver was a bastard. His mother had an affair with a married man and Oliver was born out of wedlock. His father left them shortly after he was born and his mother struggled to make ends meet on her own. When Oliver was ten years old, his mother met and fell in love with a man named Richard. Richard had a son already, Carter, who was six years older than Oliver.

At first, Carter and Oliver got along really well. Carter was the older brother Oliver had always wanted, and Richard was the father figure he had always needed. But as they got older, Carter became distant. He went to college and started a career, while