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“That’s the dumbest fucking question you’ve ever asked me.”
He holds his hands up. “First of all, you and I both know I’ve asked far dumber. Second, it’s a serious question. You’ve… well, you know. You’ve made some choices in the last few years; we’ll put it that way. What if it was a bender thing and you just didn’t remember?”
I scoff, looking away into the overgrown darkness in the distance. “You sound like Olivia. Like I’m just some scum that lied to hide a whole-ass wife from her.”
“Bro, that’s not at all what he’s saying,” Dante interjects. “It’s just… I mean, how do you even fake marriage stuff like that?”
“Fuck if I know. And fuck if I care. This bullshit is just that: bullshit. It’s gonna be over soon.”
An awkward silence follows. I can hear their gears turning, Marcus’s especially. Then he opens his mouth and, before the words even come out, I know what he’s gonna say. Sure enough, I’m right on the money. “So… how are you and Olivia holding up?’
I grit my teeth, then I sigh and slump forward. “She wants to break up.”
“She wants to or she did?”
“She said that she’s done and that she’s gonna move out and live with her mom or Quinn. Bags are packed already. I keep telling her that we’re not done having the conversation and we’re still together.”
Marcus’s brow goes up. “I don’t think that’s how that works, man.”
“Well, the fuck am I supposed to do? Just let her go over a lie? I’m not married! I mean, how am I supposed to be held responsible for something that I don’t even remember?”
Marcus puts his hand on my shoulder. “Look, dude: even if that’s the case, this is something that Olivia now has to deal with, too. A wife, the mother of Violet, another woman… You’re expecting her to just go along with all this just because you know your own truth. But you’re not considering the fact that she has to grapple with one of two things: either you lied to her or you didn’t lie to her, but no matter which it is, now, there’s a dynamic shift she didn’t agree to that’s come crashing in through the roof. You gotta give her time, man. Even if it fuckin’ sucks. Especially if it fuckin’ sucks.”
He’s right, goddammit, but I’m loath to admit it. I don’t want to have Olivia slip through my fingers over this ridiculousness. That’s what’ll happen if I just let this emotional spiral of hers run its course.
But do I really have any other choice? Like she said, she isn’t a prisoner.
I shove Marcus’s hand off of me, but there’s no real malice in the way that I do it. “I’ll think about it. When did you even get so damn wise?”
Marcus grins. “Clarissa and I broke up, so I’m back in the dating pool, my man. I’m lookin’ for an actual relationship this time, too. Kinda tired of just screwing around. I guess I saw how happy you and Olivia were and I really just want a slice of that for myself, you know?”
His words hit harder than he probably meant them to. “Well,” I sigh, “here’s to hoping that our slice of life is allowed to flourish. I’d hate to give a bad blueprint for you to follow.”
5
OLIVIA
“I just don’t see why I can’t key his car.”
“I’m trying not to get sent to jail, Quinn.”
“A li’l stint in the joint never hurt anyone!”
“According to who?” I yelp.
Quinn peers at me over the top of a very alcoholic, very neon drink. It’s been exactly a week since Holly came sauntering into Reese’s life. I’ve been avoiding him ever since.
He’s absolutely certain that he isn’t married to that she-devil, that he can’t remember her—but what are the odds that’s true? Who gets married and conceives a whole freaking child, but can’t even recall the day it happened?
Although, honestly, it wouldn’t be that far off from Reese’s M.O. After all, he hid the existence of Violet from the world. The only reason anyone knows about her now is because he was outed by Paula.
It’s a shit track record.
“You got that look on your face again,” Quinn observes with a groan.
“What look?”
“The look where you’re thinking about that gremlin of a man!” She slams her hand on the top of the bar to break my trance. “You’re all indignant-looking most of the time, but then you’ll get this guilty little pout on your face and I’ll have to tell you once again that you’re totally justified in dumping his sorry ass.”
