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He takes me by my arms again, searching my eyes. “Shouldn’t that tell you something? Listen to what your body is telling you, Olivia. Don’t fight this.”
“I have to go deal with this, Ethan.”
“I agree, deal with it. End it with that motherfucker, but I’m coming with you.”
“I said no!” I turn to Chloe. “Will you come with me, please?” I ask through tears.
She nods with a sad smile. “Of course.”
Chloe and I start toward the door and I turn one last time. “I mean it, Ethan. Stay away. I don’t want your interference. Let’s go, Chloe.”
Eight
Olivia
“Ican’t believe him,” I say as Chloe drives us back toward Boulder. “He should have told me what he knew when he saw me last night.”
“Sweetie, I know you’re hurting right now, and I agree he should have told you what he knew right away, but he’s not wrong. You deserve to know what Colin is doing when you’re not around. I agree. I think Ethan did you a favor.”
“If he was doing me a favor, he would have told me as soon as he found out.”
“Listen, I get what Ethan is saying about not wanting to tell you if you had decided to end it with Colin on your own. He didn’t want you to have to feel this pain if it wasn’t necessary.”
I sigh. “Maybe, but it seemed like he expected me to run into his arms and say I’d be with him forever as soon as I found out.”
“Honestly, I’m sure a part of him was hoping that would happen. So, what now?”
“I’m done with Colin. Beyond that, I don’t know.”
“Olivia, I know you. It’s obvious you have feelings for Ethan.”
I let my chest relax with a long sigh. “So much so that it scares me.”
“Why does it scare you?”
“Because I can feel myself craving him,” I say as tears resurface. “You know how it’s been for me since I lost my parents. Things with Ethan are so intense. And, what if I do this, and then I lose him? If I give in to these feelings, I don’t know if I can handle it if something bad happens. I hate to say it, but I never really worried about that with Colin. It’s not like I didn’t have love for Colin, but I guess he felt like the safe choice. And, I get it. That makes me sound like a huge bitch.”
“First of all, I would never think that of you. I know how hard it’s been for you, but you can’t live your life avoiding your feelings. You may have thought Colin was your safe choice, but he obviously wasn’t the happy choice. You deserve happiness.”
“Ethan manipulated the situation, Chloe.”
“I know it sounds like I’m making up excuses for him, but you have to remember that Ethan is used to being in charge and getting results. Things are done…differently…in our society. And, Ethan didn’t force Colin to do what he did.”
We sit in silence for a minute, and I twist my engagement ring around on my finger. “You really think I should give Ethan a chance, don’t you?”
“I have to be honest. The two of you have become close enough now; I don’t think you have a choice. You don’t understand how the mate bond works, Liv. The longer you take to accept what fate has already decided, the harder it will be on both of you if you pull away. While you may not feel it now, you will. It will be emotional, physical, and painful. At least consider spending more time together. The more you’re together, the stronger your bond will be. The decision will become obvious.”
Ethan
“Did I fuck this up, Nick?” I run my hands through my hair, pacing back and forth across the room. “It was going fucking great until I showed her the evidence of Colin cheating on her.”
“I mean, you had to know she was going to be pissed off and hurt once she saw what Colin has been doing, not to mention, you knew last night and didn’t say anything.”
“I’m not using the situation to manipulate her.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I didn’t make him cheat on her. I just showed her what kind of man he is.”
