“Since it’s a short marriage, I don’t think she’ll get half, but you’ll probably have to pay her something.”
“You know I don’t care about money.”
“She doesn’t either. So don’t talk about her like she does.” Candi is looking fierce, and if we weren’t so close, I’d be scared. “I love you all, but I love her too. She’s like me in some ways, and I can tell you that if she gets divorce papers from Luke, she’s going to try to run and not take anyone’s help or money.”
“I didn’t mean to insinuate that she cared about money, Candi. I know she didn’t marry me for my money. She never asked for anything and insisted on paying for half our monthly bills once we moved in together.”
“You’re sure about the divorce, Luke? Because I already know she’s one hell of a girl, but you just keep making her sound better and better.”
“She’s the best, Owe, which is why it will kill me to keep coming second in her life. I need to protect myself, so if I can get divorce papers to her as soon as possible, that’d be great.”
No one says anything more to me, but I see them exchanging looks with one another. It’s my choice, though, and I know they’ll back me on it. I get up to head home, if that’s what I can even call it anymore. I want to pack up Olivia’s things and have them ready if she actually comes there.
Chapter 18
Olivia
I’m about to walk into my parents’ house, and for the first time in years, it doesn’t scare me. Walking out of the party without Luke was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I had to because I need to be alone with my parents when I finally stand up for myself. And my husband.
They try to start in on me as soon as I walk in the door. “You will divorce him, Olivia.”
“No, Mother. I won’t.”
“How dare you speak to your mother that way?”
“I should have spoken to you both this way months ago, when Luke and I started dating. I shouldn’t have let my fear of your disapproval cause me to hide my love for him.”
“You don’t love him. You can’t.”
“I do love him, Daddy.”
“I raised you better than this.”
“Actually, when I was a little girl and you still loved me, you raised me to find Luke.”
“Still loved you? We love you. And don’t be absurd. I never encouraged you to find someone like that classless male slut.”
I’m trying to stay calm and explain this to them, but I want to slap my father at the moment. “You used to read me all those stories about the princes who saved the girls. They loved and cherished them, even if the girls weren’t princesses. That’s Luke. He loves me and cherishes me more than I ever believed was possible. He may have been promiscuous in the past, but he’d never cheat on me. Ever. I’m sorry if you don’t approve of him, but he’s my husband, and if you make me choose, my choice will always be him.”
“Until you divorce him, you aren’t welcome here. All this talk of princes from fairytales is just that. Fairytales. It’s time you grew up.”
“I’m sorry that you’re so blind to Luke, Mother, but you should know I finally feel like a grown-up. I love you and I’ll miss you, but you won’t change my mind.”
“You should leave then. Call us when you come to your senses. Until then, no one in the family will speak to you.”
“I will,” Rose says.
“No. I forbid it.”
“I’m eighteen, and I can do what I want, Dad.”
“Not while you live here, you can’t.”
“Then I’ll leave.”
“Oh, really. Where will you go?”
“With me. Luke said she’s always welcome at our house.”
“Is Luke going to pay for her Harvard tuition, too?”
“Yes. He will.”
“He’ll have to buy her new clothes, then, as well. Nothing I bought is leaving this house. Both of you should leave now.”
We do exactly that, holding hands as we walk out the front door. I can’t wait to get home to Luke and tell him that I stood up to my parents. I know he’ll be relieved that I finally did it. I chose him. I always knew I would, but I’m not sure he did.
Rose and I talk all the way to my house. She tells me how glad she is to be away from them. She would’ve been for college in a few months, but she’s happy to be done with the drama even earlier. I tell her I’ll take her to the mall tomorrow. I haven’t touched our joint account for anything other than household expenses, but I know Luke won’t mind if I buy her some clothes.
We pull into the gates, and I park before jumping out of the car. I’m so excited to see Luke and tell him everything. He opens the door before I get there and doesn’t look happy. I get it. He didn’t like me leaving the party, but I know he’ll understand once I tell him what I did.
“I have your things ready for you, Olivia.”
“My things?”
“I can’t come second anymore. I packed your clothes and stuffed animals. I’ll carry them out to the car. We should have divorce papers on Monday. Ryan’s finding a lawyer. I’ll be fair to you in the settlement.”
It takes a strength I didn’t know I possessed for me to stay on my feet. He packed up my stuff and wants to divorce me? No. God, no. I have to tell him he’s first. He’ll always be first with me.
“You’re not second, Luke. My parents disowned me and I want to be your wife. Forever.”
“Because they disowned you, right? That’s convenient for you. I’ve been convenient. But I’m done.”
“No, please, listen to me.”
“I can’t. I just can’t. Open your trunk so I can put these boxes in, and then you need to leave.”
I’ve screwed things up so badly, but he promised me something once, and I’m going to hold him to it. “Can Rose stay here, at least?”
“Rose?”
“My parents kicked her out. You said once she could stay with us, and you’d pay her tuition.”
“She’s always welcome, and I’ll pay for her school. I’d do anything for her.”
“Oh, and um, she needs clothes. They wouldn’t let her take anything.”
“I’ll take care of whatever she needs.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not doing it for you. She’s always had my back.”
And I haven’t. That’s what he’s left unspoken, but we both know he wants to say it. I lead him to the car and open the trunk. Rose gets out and looks at the boxes in his arms.
“What are those?”
“My things.”
“What?”
“Luke wants a divorce. He’s agreed to let you stay here with him, though.”
“I’m not staying here. I’m going with you.”
I pull her aside, because I don’t want Luke to hear what I have to tell her. “Listen, Rose. My apartment lease is up in two weeks. I already gave notice that I’m moving out, so I can’t stay there past then. I-I don’t have much money, and I have no place to live. I need you to stay with Luke. He’ll take care of you.”
“How do you have no money? You told me last month that you had over ten thousand dollars in your savings account.”
“I did, but I wanted to do something special for Luke for graduation. I thought it would be okay to spend it because I had a house and food, plus a good job. That’s all gone now, and I’ll need to figure something out.”
“You have to tell him. He’s mad, but he wouldn’t want you out on the street. I don’t want you out on the street.”
“No. I don’t want his pity. I’ve already lost his love. Just please stay here and let him take care of you. And…take care of him, too, okay? I love him so much, Rose, and I know I’ve hurt him so badly.”
“I’ll do it for you, Liv. But when you find a place, I want to be with you. I’ll sleep on the floor. I don’t care.”
“I promise.”
We hug goodbye as we both cry. I walk back to my car and see that Luke has everything packed into it
. The backseat and the trunk are full. He’s standing with his arms crossed, glaring at me.
“Thanks for everything, Luke.”
“Be on the lookout for the divorce papers, Olivia. I want this over with as soon as possible.”
That’s not going to happen. I won’t sign divorce papers. I can’t. I do take my rings out of my purse and hold them out to him. He looks at me and then shakes his head before walking inside. I nod for Rose to follow him, and she does after giving me a sad smile. I get in the car and drive off, too heartbroken to even worry about how I’m going to survive, both physically and emotionally.
* * *
Luke
Whoever said living with a teenager was hard is definitely right. It’s only been one night, and I’m not sure I’ll survive it. I showed Rose the downstairs bedroom and bathroom after Olivia left, took her to Target to get some things to sleep in and wear tomorrow, and then made us dinner. She answered me in single words only and barely ate anything. I understand that she’s probably upset about me making her sister leave, but we were friends before, and I don’t want to lose that.
It’s the next morning and I knock on her door to see if she’s hungry, or wants to go shopping, or just, whatever. It takes her a couple minutes to open the door, and when she does, it’s obvious that she’s been crying. She must be homesick.
“What’s wrong, Rose? Do you miss you parents?”
“No. I mean, it’s weird not being with them, but I don’t want to have anything to do with them.”
“What is it then?”
“I can’t talk to you about it.”
“Oh. Is it a female thing? Do you want to talk to Alex or one of my sister-in-laws?”
“Well, I do need to talk to Candi. I guess she can maybe help me with this, too.”
“I’ll call her if you want to eat. There’s cereal, or I can make you something.”
“Cereal’s fine. Thanks, Luke.”
“You’re welcome.”
I grab my phone and call Candi, making sure she’s okay with us coming over. She says yes, which is what I expected. We talk for a few minutes, and then I join Rose in the kitchen.
“Candi said we can come over any time we want. I’ll take you to the mall after so you can get more stuff. Do you need school supplies?”
“Thanks, and yeah, I guess I need supplies. My books and stuff are at my parents’ house. I don’t know how I’ll study.”
“We’ll get whatever we can at the store and I’ll ask my mom to go see your parents to get your school things. She won’t take no for an answer, and not many people say no to her anyway.”
“That would be great. I have finals soon.”
“No problem. And, oh, I guess we should go over your Harvard stuff so I can pay.”
“I could just go to UNLV, Luke. I’d have free tuition.”
“Nope. You worked your ass off for Harvard, and I can easily pay your tuition.”
She shakes her head and looks like she wants to say something, but she stops herself and just thanks me again. She finishes her cereal while I call my mom, and then we head out. Rose is quiet again, and just looks out the window while I drive. When we get to the converted warehouse that Owen and Candi live in, she practically runs out of my car to get inside.
I follow her inside a minute later and only see Owen and Hope in their apartment. I smile and take my goddaughter out of Owen’s arms. “Where’d Rose go?”
“She said she needed to talk to Candi alone, so they went down to her studio.”
“I hope she’s okay. She was crying this morning. I asked her if she missed her parents, and she said no.”
“What’s the deal with her at your house, anyway? Are you and Liv back together?”
“Definitely not back together. She came by and said her parents disowned her, so she was ready to come back. I guess Rose left with her, too. I told her I packed her stuff and she needed to leave, but Rose could stay.”
“She specifically said that she came home because they disowned her?”
“Not specifically, but both things were in the same sentence.”
“So maybe she told them she was choosing you, and then they disowned her.”
“Do you think that’s what happened?”
“I don’t know, but maybe you should’ve asked before kicking her out. I know better than anyone how important it is to give the person you love a chance to explain.”
“Ryan’s guy said he’ll have the divorce papers ready tomorrow.”
“Is that really what you want? You said marrying her was like ‘coming home.’”
“Fuck, no. I don’t want to divorce her. Just being without her in bed with me last night was torture. I couldn’t sleep for shit.”
“Maybe give it a few weeks and then talk to her. You could do it at the other graduation party. Have Ryan’s guy back off and I’ll see what I can find out when she comes into work.”
“If you’re talking about Liv, she’s not coming back to work. She asked Rose to tell me she’s quitting.”
“Quitting? Why would she do that? She loves working for you. She even told me she was giving up her internship because she wanted to work for you instead.”
Candi walks over and takes Hope from me. I didn’t even notice her squirming, but I guess the tension coming off me is affecting her. “She doesn’t feel right working for me since you and I are so close. It’s bullshit, but I told all of you this would happen. She’s going to cut us all off and hide, in order to protect herself.”
“Don’t try to guilt me, Candi. I’m not the bad guy here.” Or at least I don’t think I am.
“My sister isn’t bad. She was trying to make everyone happy, and she’s paying for that now. I appreciate you letting me live with you and paying my tuition, but I won’t let you say things about her.”
“I’m sorry, Rose. You’re right. We just weren’t right for each other, but neither one of us meant for this to happen.”
“Not right for each other? You’re an idiot.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it, Candi.”
She hands the baby to Owen so she can be free to put her hands on her hips as she glares at me. “Listen to me, Luke. You are one of my best friends, and you know I love you. When I was being stupid and refusing to talk to your brother, you supported me. I’ll support you, too, but I wish you’d learn from what I did instead of repeating it. Talk to your wife.”
“I can’t. Not yet, at least. I’m scared of what she’ll tell me when I ask the questions I need to.”
“I think you’ll like her answers, Luke,” Rose tells me.
I take a deep breath and then say what I need to because I know they’re all right, and I need to talk to her. I owe us both that much, at least. “I’ll talk to her at your graduation party, okay? That will give me some time to think.”
“Thank you! You won’t be sorry. I promise.” Rose launches herself at me and I hug her tight.
“Alright. Now we should go to the mall and get you some clothes and stuff.”
“Thanks for that, too.”
“You’re family, Rose. I’m going to do anything I can for you. Always. You never have to worry about getting anything you need.”
I look behind her and Owen raises his eyebrows while waving his phone at me. I nod. “I have a quick call to make before we go. I’ll be right back.”
I go into one of the guest bedrooms and call Ryan. I tell him to ask his friend to get the divorce papers ready, but not to file them yet. He asks if I’m sure, and when I tell him yes, he says he’s relieved. I let him know I’m talking to Olivia at the party and hoping we can just get rid of the papers after that.
I love my wife and miss her so damn much. I want her to have chosen me. Owen thinks she might have, and with Rose saying I’ll be happy if I talk to her, I’m feeling really hopeful. If she tells me that she did, I’ll apologize for kicking her out and do everything I can to show her that I mean it. Although I believe in God, I’m not particularly religio
us. But I am praying that my wife will be back home in a couple weeks.
* * *
Olivia
I’m packing up my apartment today. I have one week left here, and I don’t know where I’ll put my things or even how I’ll get them there, but I have to pack and at least pretend that everything will be okay. I’ve just boxed up the clothes I won’t need for summer when there’s a knock at my door.
When I open it, I’m surprised to see Candi on the other side. It’s been a week since Rose told her I quit, and she didn’t reach out to me. I assumed she just didn’t care and was probably relieved to not have to fire me. Then I realize why she’s here. “Oh Candi, you want the SUV, don’t you? I-I’ll get you the keys.” I’d been hoping to keep it longer, but I should have known my luck wasn’t going to hold up.
“I’m not here for the car, Liv. It’s yours. Consider it a graduation gift if you want. Although there’s an actual gift from me and Owen with all your other presents at Gary and Maggie’s house.”
“Thank you.” I sigh in relief since I need that car.
“You’re welcome. Can I come in now?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”
I move to the side and let her in. Candi walks to my couch and sits down. She glances around at the flat and full boxes scattered around the room. “You’re moving.”
“My lease is up, and I’d already given notice.”
“Where’s your new place.”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“You don’t have a place?” I shake my head. “When do you have to move out?”
“In about a week. I figured I’d just move into a weekly hotel or something.”
“You can move in with Owe and me. We have extra room.”
“You also have a new baby. Plus, Owen’s brother is about to serve me with divorce papers any day now. So, thanks, but no.”
“I don’t want you in a weekly place.”
I smile at her. “You’ve given me so much and taught me so much. The most important thing you’ve taught me is how to be my own self and make my own choices. As much as I love you, this is my choice.”
“I love you, too, Liv. I want you to be safe. Being independent is great, but running and hiding from the people who care about you isn’t. Letting people help you doesn’t mean you’re weak. I was hoping that was the biggest lesson you’d learned from me.”
Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 4) Page 18