Chapter 518

Olivia

I stepped into the attorney’s office, my hands still shaking from the tumultuous morning. At that moment, I couldn’t decide which was worse: the fact that I had almost been eaten by a feral wolf that morning, or the fact that my husband—now soon-to-be ex-husband—had been caught cheating.

Again.

The secretary, a young man wearing a sweater vest and a tie, looked up from behind the front desk as I entered.

“Hello,” he said, flashing me a polite smile. “May I help you?”

“I’m Olivia Ford,” I said. “I don’t have an appointment, but I was hoping to see my attorney.”

“Just one moment.” The secretary dialed a number on his phone, muttered a short exchange of words, and then hung up and nodded at me. “You can go on in. Mr. Forrest is waiting for you.”

Pulling my shoulders back in a half-hearted attempt to steel myself, I walked into my attorney’s office to see him sitting behind his computer, typing on the keyboard. When I entered, he looked up and shot me a warm smile.

“Ah, Olivia,” he said. “Did you need something?”

“Yes, actually.” I stopped in front of his desk, feeling my heart pound. We had met once already about beginning the divorce process, but it had been slow because of my own hesitation. “I was hoping to get those papers today.”

The attorney raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a surprised look. “Today?” he asked. “Last we talked, you said you wanted to wait.”

I swallowed. “There have been some… developments,” I said slowly. “I decided I’d like to go through with the divorce after all.”

Mr. Forrest, my older, portly attorney with a balding hairline and a birthmark on his cheek, looked at me for a few moments before he spoke.

“I hope you’re aware that this is only the beginning of a rather long and arduous process. If you’re not ready, I could instead direct you to a couple’s counselor—”

“No.” My voice came out firmer than I really felt, but I was glad for it. “I want to start it now. I know it’s what I want.”

Mr. Forrest nodded. “Alright. I’ve got the papers right here. I just need you to sign, and we can arrange for a court officer to serve them to Mr. Ford.”

I shook my head. “I’d like to deliver them myself.”

The aging attorney gave me another surprised look. “You’re sure?” he asked. “If it’s too contentious, you know you don’t need to do it yourself.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said, swallowing hard once more. “I’d rather do it myself.”

“Alright, then.” Mr. Forrest pulled the papers out of his desk and I watched for a few minutes as he filled some things out. Finally, when he was finished, he slid the papers and the pen across the desk toward me.

“You just need to sign there,” he said. “When you deliver them to Mr. Ford, he will be required to sign as well.”

I nodded. My hand shook slightly as I took the pen, and for a moment, I hesitated. Two dotted lines; that was all it would take to see all of this in motion. Two dotted lines, and two signatures. And then, months down the road once this was all over, we would no longer be married.

During those moments that I hesitated, I saw it all again.

The childhood laughter, the heart-wrenching moment that I was carried away by my father, the ten years apart, the reunion, the pregnancies, the fake relationship, the snowy wedding…

All of it.

And with tears in my eyes, I signed on the dotted line.

…

It was almost sunset when I finally walked into the Council building. Truthfully, I wasn’t even sure whether Nathan was here or not; for all I knew, he was with his new girlfriend, the prostitute who he had been apparently seeing on a regular basis by now.

With the folder containing our divorce papers tucked under my arm, I walked up to the front desk.

“Hello,” I said. “Is Nathan here?”

The secretary looked up and smiled at me, oblivious to what was really going on behind closed doors. I hoped to keep it that way, too.

After all, I didn’t need the entire town running around and gossiping about my husband cheating on me, especially not when they were only just starting to get over gossiping about my stillborn son.

“Alpha Nathan is in his office,” the secretary said. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you, Luna.”

I forced a stiff smile that didn’t even come close to reaching my eyes. “I’m sure he will be.” With that, I turned on my heel and began making my way toward Nathan’s office. The divorce papers felt heavy tucked under my arm, but I managed to maintain my composure nonetheless.

It was almost over. I was even beginning to wonder if I should sell the villa and get out of here, out of this town filled with bad memories.

But that was a question to ask myself another day. For now, I just needed to serve Nathan these papers. It would be difficult to see him, but it would be a quick process. I imagined that he would probably sign them quickly, as he likely had another date to go on once he clocked out for the day.

When I made it to Nathan’s office, I stopped outside for a moment and tried to steady myself.

Realizing now that I likely looked haggard as ever after my run through the woods to get away from the bloodthirsty Freya, I quickly smoothed down my shirt and pulled my hair out of its sloppy ponytail, running my fingers through the snarls to give myself some semblance of normalcy.

I felt a twig slip out of my hair and drop to the floor as I did so, causing me to cringe. And then, for a moment, I almost turned back. I couldn’t serve him divorce papers today, not when I looked like this. But…

No. It had to be done, appearances be damned. The quicker I did it, the sooner it would be over.

With a deep breath, I finally reached out and opened the door. What I was met with, however, made my blood run cold.

“Olivia.”

Dan and Nathan both stood behind the desk, clearly in the middle of a conversation. They both looked up in unison when I entered, but Dan was the first to utter my name. Nathan just stood there, his eyes wide.

“Dan,” I said, forcing a tone of politeness into my voice despite actually wanting to chew him out. “I need to speak with Nathan.”

“Very well.” Without another word, Dan smoothed down his jacket and brushed past me, his shoulder bumping me lightly as he passed. I didn’t turn to look at him as he left, didn’t even react to his presence.

It was only when the door finally clicked shut behind me that Nathan finally spoke.

“Olivia,” he breathed. “What are you… What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to give you this.” I stormed up to his desk and tossed the folder containing our divorce papers down onto the wood.

He looked down at it, blinking with confusion. “What is it?” he asked.

“You know what it is.” I folded my arms across my chest, gritting my teeth against the urge to sob openly. “All you have to do is sign those papers, and then you can run off with your new girlfriend.”