Chapter 162

Olivia

Nathan’s face fell when I accused him, and his eyes widened as if he was genuinely shocked by my words.

We were sitting on a bench outside of the yoga studio. The early afternoon sun warmed us, filtered by a tree that towered over our heads. Across the street, kids played happily in the park, squealing and laughing excitedly as they pelted each other with water balloons.

Everything felt so peaceful and calm. My father’s innocence was revealed. Colin and Jenifer’s treachery had been stopped in its tracks, and Nathan was the perfect image of an Alpha, working hard to remedy the damage his father had done over the years.

But on the inside, I still felt turmoil. With Nathan’s sudden return after hardly speaking to me for two months, I didn’t know what to think.

“Olivia, I didn’t mean it like that,” he stammered, his hands clasping and unclasping nervously in his lap. “I didn’t only come back because I was jealous.

“Oh?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “Why did you come back, then, Nathan? It was so sudden. You hardly spoke to me for two months and now all of a sudden we’re back to normal, drinking smoothies and spending time together. It’s… confusing, to say the least.”

“Confusing?” Nathan shook his head and let out a slight scoff. “I was confused when you hooked up with me all those months ago and then pushed me away. And then, to make matters worse, you kept acting like you wanted me again. That was confusing.”

At Nathan’s words, I felt my own face turn red. “Nathan, I…”

But before I could finish, Nathan shook his head again. “I thought about you the whole time I was gone these past two months,” he admitted, his voice low and thoughtful.

“Really?” I murmured.

Nathan nodded. “Really, Olivia. I thought about you every minute of every day. Every time I saw you in public, I hated myself for being so distant. But I thought I was doing the right thing, by putting some space between us. I thought I was… protecting both of us. I was afraid that my presence was hurting you.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Hurting me?” I asked incredulously. “You were the one acting hurt, not me. I begged you to stay.”

Nathan looked at me with eyes filled with confusion and pain. “I know that,” he said, “But after we hooked up, I just didn’t know what to do. It seemed as though being around you was just making matters worse. I was… scared.”

“You were scared?” I shot back, tears stinging my eyes. “So was I, Nathan. And all I wanted all this time was you. My friend. I’ve felt so alone these past couple of months.”

His eyes searched mine, and he reached out tentatively to take my hand.

“Is that true?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course!” I exclaimed, my voice cracking with emotion. “How could you even ask that?”

“I just…” he trailed off, looking down, his shoulders slumped. “Living with you maybe wasn’t a good idea. My feelings were all confused. I couldn’t decide between being friends or more. And then you pushed me away, but you kept acting like you liked me, too. It hurt, Olivia.”

I felt a pang of guilt and reached out to touch his shoulder, urging him to turn and look at me. When he did, his blue-green eyes were filled with a pain that only made my chest ache even more.

“Nathan, I never meant to hurt you,” I murmured. “I was confused, too.”

He looked into my eyes, his own filled with a mix of hope and fear. “So what do we do now?” he asked.

I sighed, leaning back against the bench, feeling the rough wood against my back. “I don’t know. But we don’t need to live together. I just want you in my life. I miss you. Things can be simple again, but… I think we need each other. We’re all we have left.”

He nodded, his eyes filled with determination. “You’re right,” he murmured softly, his hand finding mine. “I promise I’ll try to be there for you and the baby. I’ll try harder.”

I smiled, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. “Thank you, Nathan.”

We sat in silence for a moment, the sounds of the park slowly filtering back into our awareness. The laughter of the children across the street, the rustling of leaves, the distant hum of traffic. Life was moving on, and so were we.

“Olivia?” Nathan’s voice broke the silence, his tone serious. “I want you to know that I really am committed to being here for you. No more running away. No more confusion. Just us, figuring things out together.”

I reached out and squeezed his hand, my heart swelling with love and gratitude.

“Together,” I agreed.

The path ahead of us was still uncertain, filled with potential pitfalls and challenges. But in that moment, sitting on that bench with my childhood best friend beside me, I knew that we could face them together.

We had found our way back to each other for the second time in our lives, and now we had the chance to build something beautiful and strong.

All we had to do was take that opportunity.

After a little while, Nathan stood and held his hand out for me, a gentle smile on his face. “You feeling better?” he asked.

I nodded, blushing as I took his hand and stood. My other hand instinctively rested on my belly, helping to support the weight that was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the day.

“I am,” I said, offering a slight smile. “Thank you for the smoothie. It was exactly what I needed.”

Nathan smiled, putting his arm gently around my shoulders. We began to walk back in the direction of the villa, although neither of us seemed to be in a rush.

The walk back to the villa was quiet and comfortable. I didn’t know what was going to happen to the both of us, or where our friendship would go from here, but I knew one thing: that Nathan wasn’t going to leave me again. And I wouldn’t leave him, either.

When the villa eventually came into view, we stopped at the end of the driveway. Nathan extricated himself from around my shoulders and smiled down at me, the warm summer breeze ruffling his tawny blond hair.

“Thanks for inviting me to yoga with you,” he said warmly. “I’d like to come from now on, if you’d be okay with that.”

My eyes widened slightly at his proposition. “From now on?” I asked quietly.

Nathan nodded. “You deserve to have someone by your side,” he said. “And… I’m glad that person was Levi, to an extent. I’ll have to thank him personally for helping you out when I failed to do so. But for the foreseeable future, I’d like to take on that role.”

Nathan’s words sent a pang of affection through my chest, and I felt my cheeks turn red as I nodded vigorously. “Yes,” I murmured, blinking back tears. “Yes, Nathan. I’d like that, too.”