olivier--fontaineâ:
Olivier nodded a few times and hummed thoughtfully, his eyebrows scrunched up as if he was pondering something. It felt like there was a snake writhing itâs way up through his throat. He knew what he was going to say to her that night, but since the incident with Yvonne, something had been nagging at him. It started as an afterthought, then a full thought, and settled into his system just waiting to be expelled. He managed to keep it capped for just a few more steps before suddenly breaking away from Delphine. âWould she?â he asked, the words coming out in a single exhale. âOr would she be ashamed you were so childish and so easily threatened? Throwing drinks? Is this daycare? Iâm not a fucking babysitter.â
His voice rose with each question, and despite how heated he felt, he was also relieved. It all came out so easily, so honestly, he didnât know why he fretted about it at all. His face was getting flushed, but he wasnât done yet. If anyone tried to interrupt, or intercede, he didnât care. He just talked over them.
âWhen I was a teenager doing nothing more than running errands for people like Avraham, do you know what I was told? Keep your cool, keep up some dignity and decorum, even with your enemies. I have lived by that rule for twenty years and have never caused more trouble for your family, Iâve only helped stop trouble and keep them safe. And what is my thanks? A petulant fucking brat who wouldnât know decorum if it punched her in the face.â He shouldâve stopped. He couldâve stopped. Heâd planned on stopping, but there was still that feeling in his throat, that nagging sense in his mind, that he had more to say. âIt doesnât matter how many ballet classes youâve taken or dinner parties youâve been to or gowns youâve worn. You have no class and no dignity and no real dedication to the people who are fooled into thinking you do. And you really have the gall to say your aunt would be proud?â
He definitely had to stop.
But wait, no. Because it wasnât just her. And now he wasnât just addressing Delphine, but any commandant in sight. He was starting to sound a little hoarse from the constant high volume, but that didnât keep him from getting out his last barrage.
âYouâre all fucking hypocrites. None of you adhere to the rules you set for all the people you walk all over. And then play nice when AurĂŠlie is around. Itâs. Bullshit.â
For the first time since he began, he took a deep breath and regained enough focus to actually pay attention to the faces around him. Fuck.
Delphine didnât see that coming. When Olivier kept talking, Delphineâs head turned so violently to glare at him. âOr would she be ashamed you were so childish and so easily threatened? Throwing drinks? Is this daycare? Iâm not a fucking babysitter,â he said. This man had some nerve bringing out her dead aunt. Delphine took one step closer to Oliver, raised her hand and slapped him across the face. The man deserved more than that but she was not up for murdering someone when so many were watching them. âShut your fucking mouth,â she hissed out in French. What the fuck was wrong with Olivier? If heâd been a machine, she wouldâve checked its battery to make sure it was alright. âYou donât mention her name and say it like you knew her best. You didnât. Fuck off.â
âAnd you?â she asked calmly. âYouâre calling us hypocrites but the biggest hypocrite here is you. You made a grand speech but you forgot to look at yourself in the mirror. Such a shame,â Delphine said before she took a step back and left Olivier behind before he or anyone could notice that her heart, something she didnât know she had, had sunk.
















