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One thing was certain: I had to be there for my son, even if it meant working things out with Jessica and giving up on the love I had for Olivia. The latter hurt more than the former.Olivia was everything Jessica wasn’t, and she was the woman I had envisioned a future with. But sometimes in life, sacrifices needed to be made.
If sacrificing my feelings for Olivia was what it took to be there for my child, then so be it. I couldn’t let my emotions take over; I needed to think logically. So for now, I would push aside my thoughts of Olivia and her angry departure and focus on finding a way to make things work with Jessica.
Although it seemed like an arduous task at the moment, I was hopeful it would become easier with time. After a few moments of contemplation, I left the hotel and drove away.
However, the universe had other plans. While driving back home, I caught a glimpse of jet-black hair in my peripheral vision. I turned sharply to confirm what I had seen: Olivia sitting in the passenger side of a car parked along the side of the road. Her blue eyes stared into space as tears rolled down her cheek.
A sharp pang of pain pierced my heart at the sight. I couldn’t bear to see her so hurt, especially knowing I was the cause. I slowed down, fighting the urge to park the car and go to her. But when I saw her friend Naomi enter the car with a container of ice cream and hand it to her, a slight sense of relief washed over me. At least she wasn’t alone.
I drove on as I watched her accept the ice cream, and instead of heading home, I drove toward Beckett Technologies. Sometimes during moments like this, throwing myself into work was the only solution. I needed to immerse myself in something productive.
17
Olivia
I sat up abruptly at the sound of my ringing phone, fishing it out of my bag, only to be met with disappointment once again when reading the name of the caller. It wasn’t Ethan calling as I had hoped, but rather a call from James. It had only been a day since I walked out of Ethan’s place, and all I had done since was wallow in self-pity and heartbreak while struggling to focus on work, desperately anticipating a miraculous call from the man I had foolishly fallen in love with.
Naomi had made it her life’s mission to consistently check on me, and I could already guess that she must have informed James about my situation because I highly doubted Ethan would do so. At this point, things were becoming incredibly frustrating, and I knew it was time to stop expecting a miracle and regain the resilient Olivia McKenna I used to be. I needed to focus on the work lying on my desk. But how could I possibly do that when a man named Ethan Beckett had completely shaken up my world?
“Olivia,” James called out as soon as I answered the phone.
“Hello, James,” I greeted him in a clear and composed voice, hiding any trace of the pain and anger I felt.
“I heard from Naomi,” he blurted out immediately, his voice tinged with anger. “I can’t believe this is happening. I’m so sorry you have to go through this.” He let out a frustrated curse, and I could almost picture him rubbing his face harshly. “I will be back in New York in three days. Give me until then to talk to Ethan.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” I blurted out, scoffing. “His mind is pretty much made up. He’s going back to her.”
“No, he can’t go back to Jessica!” James practically yelled, his anger palpable. “I swear, if I get my hands on that guy, he’s?—”
“It’s not entirely his fault either,” I hastened to say, surprising myself with my defense of Ethan. “He can’t just abandon his child.”
“And what’s wrong with co-parenting?” James echoed the question that had been lingering in my mind. Why couldn’t Ethan be in his son’s life and still be with me? Did I have to be pushed aside? “Olivia, don’t tell me you . . .” James trailed off, sounding strange.
“What?” I asked, wishing I could see his face and understand his emotions.
James let out a heavy sigh. “You love him, don’t you?”
Tears burned my eyes, and I fought to hold them back as his words hit me. My heart ached, and I placed a hand over my chest, trying to steady myself. I swallowed hard. “Yes, James, I do love him.”
“The fucker!” James cursed, the sound of his fist hitting something followed his words. He was angry, perhaps even more than I was. He sighed heavily once again before saying, “Olivia, promise me you’ll be okay until I get back.”
I nodded my head even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes, I will.” I wasn’t entirely sure if I would truly be okay, but seeinghow concerned James was, I wanted to reassure him that I would be fine.
“Alright. Take care of yourself and I’ll see you soon,” James said and hung up.
As I dropped the phone, anger coursed through me once again. I had been completely wrong about Ethan. Every moment we shared together had been a lie. This was the only explanation for his unreasonable actions. He had always been the heartless person he pretended not to be. I had known it ever since that day he spoke those cruel words to me when I was seventeen. I seemed to have forgotten the past, the moment my feelings started clouding my brain.
And now, witnessing this side of him again, only confirmed what I had already known. How could he so easily discard me for his cheating ex-fiancée? All for his son! I didn’t want him to abandon his child, but why couldn’t he be a father to Parker and still be with me? Did he have to accept Jessica too?
Ultimately, this all boils down to Ethan’s underlying mean streak. At this point, the pain I had once felt had transformed into anger. He hadn’t even bothered to call me since our heated argument yesterday. Yes, I may have overreacted and assumed we broke up, but in reality, we hadn’t. Shouldn’t he care about how I was doing when all I’ve been was nothing but concerned for him?
Despite my efforts to ignore it, I could feel Ethan slipping away from my grasp. Perhaps I’d already lost him. Overwhelmed by these emotions, I rested my head on my office desk, sobbing into my palms, breaking my promise not to cry again.
“Oh, Olivia,” Naomi’s voice broke the silence as she hurriedly entered my cubicle. I slowly raised my head, wiping the fallen tears. “You said you’d be fine. I feel terrible for leaving you alone.”
I sniffled, trying to force out a smile. “I’m really fine, Naomi. Something got into my eyes.”
Naomi squinted at me. “Of course it did.” She moved closer to me and started gently wiping away the remaining tears. “Mr. Thompson wants to see you in his office.”
