“What?” Logan looks at me like he must have heard me wrong.
I rise from the table and turn to face him, suddenly nervous again. Only this time, I’m not even sure why. “I quit.” The words are weak as they fall from my lips, and fear fights with relief as they both build in my chest. “Holy shit. I quit my job.”
“Jesus, Liv. What the hell happened?” He cups my face in his hands, searching my eyes. Concern shining back. “I thought you were close to being made partner.”
“I’m not sure they were ever going to make me partner. I feel like that was the leash they used to control me. But the joke was on them. I can’t be controlled. Not anymore.” My lips tremble as I breathe through the fear. “I’m so tired of chasing the carrot. Tired of representing people I detest. I want to work for myself. My terms. My clients. My own firm.”
“Did they do something to set you off?” Worry furrows his brow. “Do I have to kick someone’s ass?”
“No...” My shoulders relax, and I blow out a long, slow breath. “I’ve known this was coming for a while. I have a few ideas about my next moves. I spoke to my mom earlier in the week, and Serena?—”
He drops my face and steps back.
“Logan . . .”
Any joking is gone when he looks at me this time. It’s been replaced by anger. “You knew you were doing this and didn’t think to mention it to me? What the hell, Liv? You talked to your mom and Serena but not me? Glad to know where I fall in rank.”
“What the hell?” I take a step back, as if physically slapped by those words. “I don’t understand. Are you mad?”
“Mad that you quit—no. I’ve thought your bosses were assholes since that night in Vegas.” He steps closer, but I cross my arms over my chest protectively. If I could screamdon’t even think about touching me right now, I would.
Pretty sure my stance is saying it for me though.
“Anyone who doesn’t see your worth doesn’t deserve you, Olivia. And from everything you’ve told me, they don’t see it. But I’m fucking mad as hell that you’re standing here telling me you discussed it with your mom and Serena but didn’t think to mention it to me.”
“Can you really not see I did this for us?”
“Us? Olivia, I’ve included you in every aspect of my life, and you’ve been planning to quit your job—the entire reason you married me in the first place—and didn’t think to even tell me. How the fuck is that supposed to make me feel?” His tone is scary calm and eerily quiet.
I’d almost rather he was yelling.
At least then, I could yell back.
“It should make you feel like I made a decision about my career that would ultimately benefit me and by extension, you,” I snap back.
“By extension...” Logan mirrors my stance, his jaw locked and muscles tight. And I can’t believe how angry he seems. “I’m not an obligation, Liv. I’m not your client. I’m your fucking husband. But I guess that was only until custody was settled and you made partner. Well custody is settled, and you no longer work for the firm. So I guess we served our purpose.”
“Served our purpose...” I sigh, so utterly confused where this is all coming from. “Are you kidding me? You can’t mean that. How do you not see this was me choosing us? Not throwing us away.”
“No, Liv. This was you finally choosing you. Which is a good thing. You put your career and your clients in front of everyoneand everything else in your life. You manage it and them all like you are the master puppeteer pulling the strings. And you love it. You live for it. You thrive in the chaos of it all. But you do it to your own detriment. Have you even gone to the doctor’s appointment you’ve rescheduled—what, three times now?” He shakes his head and groans. “Forget I asked. I know the answer. You haven’t. You refuse to put yourself first. Everyone else—no problem though.”
“Logan.” I reach for him but drop my hands. “Why is being good at my job a bad thing?”
“Because you’re hurting yourself while you’re fixing everything for everyone else,” he growls. “Because I fucking love you, and I’m tired of watching you do this. Watching you feel like you have to carry all the weight alone.”
“You love me?” I whisper, and the hurt that flashes in Logan’s eyes absolutely guts me.
“I’ve shared everything with you, Olivia. Everything. And you didn’t even think to tell me you were quitting your job. The one thing you love above everything else.”
“But that’s not true...” I murmur. “I... I want to love my life. That’s why I quit.”
I’m not sure what’s happening, but we’re arguing in so many circles, I’m getting dizzy.
“I want to put you first. I want to put Maggie first,” I argue. “Quitting was just the first step, not the last. You’ve got it wrong, Logan. We didn’t serve our purpose. Our purpose served us. Our purpose brought you both into my life. This is just the next step.”
“Christ, Liv. A step you didn’t even include me in. I’ve opened my life—hell, my heart and my world to you. But you can’t do that, can you? I’ve let you all the way in, in a way I’ve never let anyone in. And you just can’t do it, can you? Control is so fucking important to you that you just can’t let me in.”
I watch, speechless, as this man shuts down without any idea what I did wrong or how to fix it. “Logan...”
