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

Oliver had always been fond of Samantha. They had been engaged for six months, and their families had already arranged the wedding. Although everything was going fine, Oliver was a bit apprehensive about some of Samantha's qualities. It wasn't something he could easily explain, but he always felt a little uncomfortable when Samantha was around.Oliver's family had planned a family vacation out of town, and they were all excited about it. However, Samantha had insisted on joining them on this trip. Oliver wasn't expecting her to come along, and he had mixed feelings about it. He loved spending time with Samantha, but he also wanted to have some time alone with his family.Samantha had been invited by Carter, Oliver's elder brother. Carter had explained to Oliver that Samantha would be joining them so that he wouldn't feel left out on the trip, as everyone else had partners. Oliver was grateful to Carter for this gesture, but he was still unsure about how to behave with Samantha during

Oliver was thrilled when his stepbrother Carter invited him to join him on their weekly swimming trip. Oliver didn't have a lot of experience swimming, but he loved being in the water, and he was excited to share this activity with his family. He planned to bring Samantha, his fiance, along for the ride as well.When they arrived at the local pool, Carter was already there with his wife Merideth. Oliver and Samantha greeted them warmly and settled in for a fun day of swimming.As they waded into the pool, Oliver looked around at the other family members who had joined them. There were aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents all gathered around the edge of the pool, watching the swimmers with great interest.Carter and Merideth were naturally the strongest swimmers, and they wasted no time showing off their skills. Oliver and Samantha watched in awe as they glided effortlessly through the water, diving and doing flips with ease.As they swam, the group chatted and laughed, sharing sto

Oliver walked into the computer technology company feeling a strange mix of excitement and apprehension. After all, he had been away for a couple of months on summer vacation, and he was worried that he might have missed out on some critical developments. However, he was also eager to get back to work and tackle any new challenges that awaited him.As he walked through the corridor, he couldn't help but notice that things looked different. There were some new employees who seemed to be busy working on some project, and there was a palpable sense of anticipation in the air. He made his way to his office, where he was greeted by his colleague, Karen."Hey, Oliver, welcome back!" she said, giving him a warm smile. "How was your vacation?""It was great, thanks," he replied, feeling a little awkward. "But I'm glad to be back here.""Good to hear that," Karen said. "There's a lot of stuff that we need to catch up on, so let's get to work."As they settled down in their chairs, Oliver felt