Chapter 498

Olivia

The room seemed to swirl around me as I stood there, a drink glass firmly clutched in my iron grip. I had my other hand resting over my belly; it was so easy to forget that I was no longer pregnant with my belly still slightly swollen.

And maybe, if I just closed my eyes for a moment, I could still feel the heartbeat within…

“Liv?”

A soft voice caught my attention, and my eyes snapped open to see that Angela was standing in front of me now. Her eyes, still puffy and red-rimmed, were filled with sorrow and sympathy. Seeing her was a relief, although I hated seeing my friends cry.

“Hey,” was all I could manage.

Angela then nodded her head toward my glass. “Need a refill?”

I followed her gaze down to my glass, which was, in fact, empty. I hadn’t realized it, but I had somehow managed to finish off the cold ginger ale at some point. The desire for food still eluded me, but I supposed that drinking something was better than nothing.

“Oh, um…”

Before I could finish, Angela gently took my hand and led me past the other black-clad funeral guests and into the kitchen, where it was a bit more quiet. She had to practically pry the glass out of my hand before setting it down on the counter.

And then she pulled me in for a hug.

“I just can’t believe it, Angie,” I whispered into my friend’s shoulder as a silent, tearless sob quaked my body. “My little boy…”

“I know. I know.” Angela rubbed my back in large, comforting circles and held me while I dry-sobbed. No more tears would come; I had already expended almost all of them that day at the hospital, and I had expended what few were left when I watched my son’s tiny casket being lowered into the grave.

When I was finally able to speak again, I pulled back a bit and rubbed my stinging eyes with my knuckles.

“I’m worried about Nathan, you know,” I said softly. I nodded my head over toward my husband, who was staring out the back window at the oceanscape. “It feels like we’re two ships passing in the night.”

As I spoke, I thought back on the last bleary few days; we had gone through the motions, but nothing more.

The twins were unaware of the sudden loss, at least to my knowledge, but were certainly aware of their parents being distant from one another. Nathan had slept on the couch the last few nights, and I had hardly slept at all.

We didn’t eat, didn’t talk, didn’t even seem to notice each other as we passed in the hallway.

“It’ll pass,” Angela said gently. “It’s normal to feel this way.”

I swallowed, my gaze still fixed on the back of my husband’s head. “Can I say something crazy?” I whispered.

“Of course.”

“It felt like something… snapped that day at the hospital,” I said. “Like… Like the invisible strings connection Nathan and I were severed. Is that normal, too?”

Angela paused for a few moments, blinking at me, before she shrugged. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.”

I opened my mouth to say more, but before I could, a sudden presence in the house filled my senses; raw and primal and so, so angry. I felt my muscles coil, my body stiffen as if a predator had just entered my line of sight.

Dan.

“What is he doing here?” I hissed as I saw his black-clad form stride in through our front door.

Angela followed my gaze and blanched at the sight of him. She turned back toward me and gave me a squeeze. “I’ll handle this,” she said softly. And before I could stop her, she whisked away and disappeared into the crowd.

I wasn’t alone for long, though, when I felt another tap on my shoulder. I turned, and this time, I was met with a kind face, a gray streak amongst a head of golden hair, and a striking pair of hazel eyes.

“Clarissa,” I breathed.

“Olivia.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the two of us suddenly lurched forward into each other’s arms. This time, the tears managed to flow as I sank into her embrace. I felt her warm arms envelop me, so comforting and so, so familiar.

“My boy,” I sobbed into her shoulder. “My baby. Why did he have to die?”

Clarissa didn’t answer; she merely held me tighter, so tight that I was certain we wouldn’t be moved even if a sudden tornado ripped the house from its foundation.

When we finally pulled away, I met her gaze and felt my heart lurch. There it was again; that feeling of familiarity. My wolf felt it, too.

But it was gone just as quickly as it came, because another presence filled the space before either of us could even speak.

“Come, Clarissa. You’ve paid your respects; it’s time to leave.”

I turned to see Dan standing in the doorway, and his hulking form filled me with fury once more. I grit my teeth and curled my hands up into fists, and he just stood there, his gaze cold and unfeeling as ever despite the fact that my unborn son had just died.

Because… because of him. If he hadn’t come to the house that day, if he hadn’t raised his voice at my husband, then maybe… maybe…

“I said, come, Clarissa.”

“I’m coming, darling.”

Clarissa suddenly whisked past me, giving my hand the gentlest squeeze in passing. I watched, frozen in anger, as Dan ushered her out of the room toward the front door. With a final parting look of self-satisfaction, Dan exited the doorway; and behind him stood Angela and Nathan.

For a moment, as the sound of the front door opening and closing once again filled the space, we just stared at her.

But I knew what I needed to do. What I needed to say.

“Olivia—” Nathan began, noticing my anger. He reached forward, but it was too late; I was already turning on my heel and following Dan and Clarissa out the front door.

They were getting back into their car as I approached. Clarissa was the first to look up, her hazel eyes widening slightly. That was when I saw it—Dan’s iron grip around her wrist and the look of pain in her gaze.

He was hurting her.

“Ah. Olivia,” he said, releasing her wrist immediately when he saw me approaching. “Did you need something?”

I stopped in the middle of the driveway, grinding my teeth as I glared at Dan. In that moment, it was as if nothing else existed; it was just me and Dan, staring each other down like two wolves baring their teeth.

I could sense the malice and mocking look in his gaze, too, which only made me all the more angry.

“Olivia, if you don’t need anything, then perhaps you should go back inside,” Dan said with a smirk. “Otherwise you’ll catch cold.”

“Why did you have to come that day?” I blurted out.

Dan narrowed his eyes. “Pardon?”

“You came, knowing what Nathan and I were going through. You walked into our home, raised your voice at my husband.”

As I spoke, my hands curled tighter and tighter until my knuckles were white. I felt my wolf surge a feeling of pure hatred and anger. God, how I wanted to rip into his flesh.

“You didn’t need to come,” I growled, taking a step closer. “But you did anyway. You did, and you knew what you were doing; causing a disruption, just like you always do. What do you even gain from it, hm? What do you gain from others’ misery?”

“Don’t be hysterical, now.”

I froze in my tracks. That was all he said. Don’t be hysterical. And then, in a whoosh of black coats and car engines, he and Clarissa were gone.

And my questions were left unanswered.

I didn’t hear my husband and my friends approaching. I didn’t feel the cold bite of the March air on my skin, nor did I feel the hands on my arms, guiding me back inside. I didn’t hear the voices asking me what I was doing out here, the words of reassurance.

All I saw was the look of those familiar hazel eyes staring at me, filled with fear, out of the passenger side window.

“Mom…”