AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I savor the silence of the crowd for a moment, knowing they’re just as stunned as me. Then I bolt to the back staircase as soon as applause and rings of congratulations break out, not caring who sees me running.
Whoopsie
I open the balcony door, pushing aside the chair to grip the railing and gulp in the crisp night air.
Pregnant.
She’s pregnant.
I don’t know why it hurts, I already knew they were fucking. But the thought of her pregnant with his child makes my chest ache, not that I want his children anymore. Perhaps it is the thought that it was supposed to be me, and I was so easily and so abruptly replaced.
The door clicks and closes quietly behind me and the brush of someone settling next to me irritates me. I want to process this alone.
“Hey, you okay?” The soft voice of Jared’s younger brother Oliver makes me scowl.
He’s a couple years younger than us and married his high school sweetheart as well. Oliver is the epitome of a nice guy, always smiling, always joking, and would probably change your flat tire in a rainstorm. He’s a big ball of light when I want to wallow in my darkness. His presence is aggravating me.
I turn around to face him, crossing my arms. “In what world could I possibly be okay?”
He grimaces, running a hand through his dark hair, messing up its usual state of perfection. I always wondered where Oliver got his looks from. The rest of his family is blonde with brown eyes, but he has blue eyes and is the tallest out of them all. From playing multiple sports since he was a kid, his muscular frame is one that belonged on one of those firefighter calendars. Not that I ever noticed, of course.
“Believe it or not, I know how you feel.” He looks down at me with sad eyes.“Brittany cheated on me last year.”
I frown. “And you’re still with her?”
Brittany is downstairs at the Christmas party with the rest of our families. They had looked to be in the same perfect relationship as always.
He nods. “It took a lot of therapy, but I forgave her and we moved past it.”
The ice around my heart thickens as I narrow my eyes at him. “I will never forgive either of them.”
Oliver steps closer, his palms up in a surrendering gesture. “I know I’m trying—“
“And I think you’re pathetic,” I interrupt him.
His face and hands fall. “What?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Do I need to elaborate? My pleasure. You’re pathetic. Forgiving Brittany is pathetic because any sane person would never forgive the person they supposedly love for being with someone else.”
His mouth opens slightly and I can see his chest starting to rise and fall faster, so I smirk and continue because….how does that saying go? Misery loves company?
“Want to know what else? I don’t think you truly forgave her. I think you’re just afraid. You would rather settle with what you know than try something new and move on.”
I unfold my arms and step closer to him. “Because that’s who you are. The second child, the forgotten brother, plain and ordinary—“
Oliver’s hand shoots up and wraps around my throat, squeezing as his eyes flash with rage. I gasp in shock and grip his wrist, looking up at him. I never expected a reaction like this out of him, my heart beats frantically as I look at my almost brother-in-law in a new light.
I lick my lips, and his eyes follow the movement.
The adrenaline pumping through my veins turns me on. “Perhaps not forgotten but unseen,” I get out. His hand loosens but doesn’t let go.
“Is that it, Oliver? No one understands you? Or you don’t understand yourself?”
His brow furrows and I arch my hips to brush against his. A very evident bulge between his legs. “Have you ever fucked your wife while squeezing her throat?”
Oliver swallows but says nothing so I smile. “No, no you haven’t, but you want to. I would let you... you could do anything you wanted to me.” Something is exciting about this side of him I desperately want to explore it. My hurt from the revelation downstairs and the need to do something out of control has me pushing words out before I can even think.
His mouth opens slightly as his gaze drops down my body. “I— I’m…“ he stutters, and I grab the waistline of his pants.
