Chapter 508

Olivia

As the days leading up to Nathan’s return from the summit passed, my anger only grew. Maybe the anger was just a coping mechanism and it would eventually dissolve into pure, unadulterated heartbreak and sorrow, but I didn’t care.

My husband had cheated on me, and I had proof.

Not an hour went by that I didn’t look at those pictures. I zoomed into every detail, scrutinized every pixel of the images, and couldn’t find any flaws.

They were real. Without a doubt, they were real. And considering the fact that I hadn’t heard a word from Nathan all week, it only solidified my suspicions. With each day that passed, I imagined that he was with her, whoever she was, spilling his secrets and finding comfort in her.

Comfort that I couldn’t give him, of course, because I was mourning our son. I guess the mourning process had been a lot shorter for him.

Finally, Saturday—the day that Nathan was supposed to return from the summit—arrived, and my anger had turned into fury. I felt my wolf roiling inside of me all morning, just waiting for the right reason to shift.

Something wild and primal had awakened inside of me. Something born of that fury that had settled in my heart.

As the minutes ticked closer to his arrival, I had my plan set in place. I had his bags packed already, and the pictures ready to show him. But I had no interest in ‘talking it out’.

I wouldn’t listen to the lies of a cheater, especially not in the home where my children were born and where he had promised to stay loyal to me for the rest of our lives.

When I eventually saw his car pull into the driveway, I took in a shuddering breath to steel myself before I flung the door open and threw his bags out onto the porch.

Nathan’s eyes were wide as he climbed out of the car and saw what I was doing.

“Olivia,” he said, jogging up to the porch. “What are you—”

“I know what you did,” I said as I threw down another bag and pulled my phone out of my pocket. “Were you even at the summit, or was that just made up so you could get away with spending a week with your side piece?”

Nathan stood there for a moment, and for the first time ever, those blue-green eyes of his just made me even more furious. What was usually a source of calmness and stability for me just made the storm of emotions in my gut even more violent.

“Olivia,” Nathan said slowly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you don’t?” I opened my phone, navigated to the picture of him pressing the black-haired woman down onto the bed, and shoved it in his face. “What’s this, then?”

Nathan leaned forward, squinting at the picture. And then, slowly, realization dawned on his face and his eyes grew even wider.

“How did you get this picture?” he whispered.

I shrugged. “

“Okay, listen, I… I can explain,” he began, holding out his palms in a placating gesture. “It’s not what it looks like.”

I scoffed and shoved my phone back in my pocket. “That’s what they all say,” I replied haughtily as I folded my arms across my chest. “There’s no explanation for this, Nathan. Was she a prostitute?”

Nathan blinked at me. “What?”

Taking a deep breath to quell the tears that threatened to come, I repeated myself even more slowly this time. “Was. She. A. Prostitute?”

For a few moments, Nathan just stared at me silently. That was all the answer I needed.

“Get out,” I whispered, taking a step back.

“Olivia, wait—”

“I said, get out!” I nearly screamed. The tears flowed freely now, streaming down my cheeks as though someone had turned on the faucet. Nathan just stood there incredulously, still holding his hands out.

“Olivia—”

“It hasn’t even been a month, Nathan,” I growled, shaking my head as though that would somehow hide the quiver in my lip. “Our son’s grave is basically still warm.”

“Olivia,” Nathan pressed, taking a step toward me, “just listen to me—”

But I took another step back and widened the gap between us once more. “No, you listen to me!” I raised a shaking finger to point at him. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I didn’t fuck you for a few weeks after our fucking son died!”

Nathan froze then. His hands slowly fell back to his sides, his mouth opening and closing as though he wanted to speak but the words didn’t come. I didn’t care, though. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say. I didn’t even want to look at him.

So I didn’t.

Without another word, I turned on my heel and headed back for the door.

“Olivia!” Nathan called after me. “Olivia, we can just talk about this! I never slept with her, I swear!”

I let out an incredulous scoff as I flung the porch door open. “Oh, so you just kissed and cuddled in bed, as though that’s any better?” I said. “Fuck you, Nathan. I hope that prostitute gives you all of the attention I couldn’t while I was grieving over our stillborn child.”

Before Nathan could answer, I stepped into the house and slammed the door shut. For a moment, there was a tense silence as both of us processed what had just happened, and behind the closed door, a silent sob shook my body.

I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop it, maybe because I didn’t want to give Nathan the satisfaction or maybe because if I let the sob echo through the empty house, it would just make me realize that my anger really was just a facade after all.

The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity. I didn’t hear a word from Nathan for the longest time; in fact, I didn’t hear anything except for the shifting of bags on the doorstep, his retreating footsteps, and the slamming of a car door.

And then, after that, I heard his car engine start. That was finally when I turned and peered out the window to see him peeling out of the driveway.

And that was when I finally felt my knees give out. I slid down to the floor, my back pressed up against the wall, and buried my face in my hands to stop the sobs that threatened to come.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, stifling my tears. It couldn’t have been that long, though, because the tears that did wind up slipping down my cheeks were still wet when I suddenly heard it.

Ding.

I jerked my head up to see that my phone had slipped out of my pocket and was now sitting on the floor beside me. The notification light flashed, indicating a new text.

For a few moments, I just stared at it, wondering if it was Nathan trying to ‘explain’ himself again. I didn’t want to see or hear what he had to say, at least not now.

But finally, curiosity got the best of me and with a sniffle, I picked up the phone and unlocked it. I was met not with a text from Nathan, but from the stranger.

“You did well, Olivia.”