Chapter 506

Olivia

My phone sat on the floor in front of me. The screen had long since gone to sleep, and only now reflected my crying face.

But in my mind, I could still see it: the images of Nathan, of my husband, my childhood friend and fated mate…

Getting into bed with another woman.

I could still see the smile on her face, the lustful look in her eyes. I could see the way his lips grazed her ear, the way his hands wandered her waist as he pressed her down on the bed. The pictures had been taken through a window and were a little blurry, but it was him.

There was no doubt about it.

Inside of me, my wolf was howling in pain. “What will we do?” she asked frantically. “Our mate is straying from us.”

A choked sob escaped my throat at the thought of what I had to do next. I couldn’t lower myself to staying with a cheater. No matter how much it hurt, I wouldn’t raise my children in a home in which their parents strayed from one another.

What hurt the most, though, was the timing. My belly was still slightly rounded from the pregnancy, our son’s grave hadn’t even grown over with grass, and yet…

And yet he had cheated on me before the tears on my cheeks had even dried.

…

“Liv? You here?”

Angela’s voice caught my attention coming from downstairs. I hauled another pile of things—clothes, knick-knacks, high school memorabilia—out of the closet and threw it to the floor with a resounding thud.

“I’m upstairs,” I called out, wiping the sweat from my brow.

As I dove back into the closet for more things, I heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching. They stopped in the bedroom doorway, and then a moment later, I heard a gasp.

“Liv! What the hell is going on here?!” Angela cried out.

Grunting, I pulled another armful of things out and tossed them onto the pile. I turned to face Angela, and a sea of Nathan’s things sat on the floor between us. “I’m taking out the trash,” I said matter-of-factly, placing my hands on my hips.

Angela blinked at me in confusion for a few long moments. The afternoon sun streamed through the bedroom windows, and small dust motes floated through the amber-colored beams. It could have been a beautiful scene, but instead, it was the perfect picture of anger and hatred.

“Olivia,” she finally said, slowly taking a step toward me, “did something happen between you and Nathan?”

“Oh, not at all,” I replied sarcastically. I gestured to the pile of his things before I returned to angrily purging our shared closet. “I’m just throwing all of his shit out for fun.”

Angela drew in a sharp breath. “Tell me what happened.”

I pulled out the last pile of stuff and threw it down on the floor. When I glanced up at Angela, it was obvious that she wasn’t going to rest until I showed her everything. And besides, I was going to show her anyway.

With a sigh, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, navigated to the string of texts from the stranger, and tossed it to her. She caught it and furrowed her brow as she read. Then, her eyes widened upon seeing the dreaded pictures.

“This can’t be real,” she said, shaking her head vehemently as she pinched to zoom in on the pictures. “Nathan wouldn’t cheat on you. Who even is this person?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “But those pictures are legit. Trust me, Angie; I spent all night staring at them.”

Angela looked down at the photos for several moments longer while I began gathering large trash bags to stuff Nathan’s things into. I fully intended for him to come home to all of his belongings waiting for him on the front porch. I didn’t even want to speak to him, I was so angry.

Finally, Angela looked back up. Her eyes widened as she saw me stuffing a fistful of Nathan’s clothes into a trash bag and she grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

“Liv, let’s think clearly about this,” she said gently. “Hey, you want some coffee or something? Tea?”

I sighed and glanced down at my friend’s hand wrapped around my wrist. As we stood there, it hit me; I was exhausted. I had barely slept again last night, and had popped up out of bed to begin the cleaning process as soon as the sun rose.

“Um… coffee would be good,” I whispered, my voice shaking somewhat now.

Angela nodded and gently prised the trash bag and Nathan’s clothes out of my hands. Together, we carefully stepped around the pile of his things and made our way downstairs to the kitchen, where she got to work brewing a fresh pot of coffee.

“So,” she said as she worked and I slid onto a stool. “Have you, uh… Have you talked to—”

“No,” I interrupted, maybe a bit more brusquely than I intended. “I haven’t talked to him. And I don’t intend on it.”

Angela knit her eyebrows together as she turned around. She placed a ceramic cup filled with coffee in front of me. I took a sip right away, burning my tongue—but I hardly felt it. I felt surprisingly numb today.

“I feel like you two should talk before you jump to any conclusions,” she said. “I mean, you don’t know who this stranger is, or if the pictures are even real.”

I fell silent, just staring down at the cup of coffee in front of me. My mind whirled with so many thoughts all at once that it felt like one big tornado, as if the death of my son, bearing the name of my childhood friend who was also dead before his time, wasn’t enough.

“The last I heard from him,” I said softly, my voice shaking slightly, “was the other night. He sent me a drunk selfie in a bar.”

Angela furrowed her brow. “He was out drinking? I thought he was on a business trip.”

“Yeah, so did I,” I said. “I mean, I still don’t doubt it, but… Dan always likes to go out after their meetings. And I’ve already told you about that man’s penchant for prostitutes.”

Angela cringed at my words. “You think she was a prostitute?”

I shrugged. “Possibly. What does it matter, anyway? We’ve been so distant lately, like we’re not even married, and he’s been staying late at the office, and…”

As I spoke, a sob caused my chest to clench and cut off my words. I made a choking sound and quickly turned away, trying to quell the tears that threatened to spill. Not that I had any left, anyway; I had spent all night crying. I felt all dried up and tired now, like the sand when the tide ebbs away.

Without a word, Angela came around the counter and gathered me into her arms. She held me like that for a while, just gently rocking me back and forth and rubbing my back in large circles until my dry sobs finally stopped.

Rubbing my burning eyes, I pulled away and sniffled.

“So soon after our son died,” I whispered. “I just don’t understand why he would need to do something like that now.”

Angela let out a long sigh. “Neither do I. But you should talk to him.”

“And if he just confirms it?” I asked, chuckling wryly. “What then?”

“Then you move on.” She took my hands and held them together. “You move on, Liv. And life gets easier.”

At my friend’s words, I felt another sob bubble up. But this time, it didn’t come; because maybe she was right.

Maybe life would get easier, even if it just felt like it was all burning into ashes now.