Chapter 33
DERRICK
ANew Year is upon us, and unlike midnight last year, when Chance surprised me in the darkness with a kiss, I’m all alone this year. And you know what, I think I am okay with that. New Year, new me. I feel it this year, everything in my professional life is going well, and I’m happy with that.
“Happy New Year, Axel,” I scream, seeing Axel beside me alone, strange. Where is Olivia?
“Happy New Year,” he mumbles.
Wait. Hang on a minute, I know the man is moody, but this isn’t him. “What’s the matter, and where’s the sexy princess? Shouldn’t she be trying to make your sad face happy again? If you know what I mean.” I wiggle my eyebrows, trying to make him laugh.
“I don’t fucking care where she is as long as it’s far, far away from me,” he says angrily, those whiskey-colored eyes flaring with what appears to be hurt.
I stop dancing to the music and stare at him. I’ve never heard him be vicious like that before. “Excuse me, what the hell did you say?”
“She’s a fucking liar, D. She played me and played me good.”
Axel is hurt. What did Olivia do? She hasn’t said anything to me. “What the fuck is going on?” His voice is tense.
“She has a fucking fiancé, D. A fiancé,” he yells, making the people around us stare. I grab his arm and haul him off the dance floor to somewhere private where we can talk. I assumed he knew, but he needs to know her engagement isn’t as black and white as he believes.
“No shit! The dude is a douchebag. He’s spent all holiday screwing his way around London. He’s been on holiday with her sister, her fucking sister, and we all know what probably happened there, don’t we?”
“You knew?” he asks, looking more hurt than before.
“Yes, we all did.”
“How long?” he asks through gritted teeth.
“Since Monaco.”
“That’s been over a month,” he yells at me.
Shit. I didn’t think he would care so much unless … “You weren’t supposed to fall for her.”
“Yeah, no fucking shit, D.” He growls, storming off from me.
“Ax,” I call after him, which he promptly ignores. He is truly pissed. Now I feel bad. Axel doesn’t let his guard down often, and it looks like he did with her. I grab his arm again and he almost takes a swing at me.
“You wanna have a fucking go, mate.”
Axel looks distraught. “No, I want you to leave me the fuck alone,” he yells, pushing me in the chest and making me stumble back. “I can’t believe you fucking lied to me, D. You lied to me.” Hearing the pain in his voice breaks me.
“I’m sorry, Ax. I am so sorry,” I tell him. It wasn’t like we were hiding that she was engaged, we just didn’t acknowledge it because we hoped that she might change her mind, but I had no idea things between the two of them would end up with Axel looking this hurt. I thought it was just sex.
“I have never in my life felt so betrayed.”
I feel like the biggest asshole in the world. Fuck. This wasn’t how I wanted to start the New Year, as a bad friend.
“I made him promise to keep my secret,” Olivia’s voice cuts in.
Axel glares at her as hurt flashes across his whiskey-colored eyes. “Don’t you have some fiancé to go and keep happy?” he snaps at her.
I’ve never seen Axel talk like that to a woman before, he is always a gentleman. Olivia looks as devastated as he does. Shit. I’ve really messed things up by pushing these two together. I thought it would be some sexy fun, but it seems real feelings are involved. I must fix this.
“I’m so sorry, Axel. I never meant to hurt you, that’s why I gave you a fake number so nothing could happen,” Olivia says softly.
But nothing she says seems to be able to calm Axel down. “Ah, so it’s my fault. My fault that I got sucked into your ... what did your fiancé call it? Oh, that’s right, your magic pussy.”
SLAP.
Olivia slaps him. Holy shit!
“Fuck you,” Axel screams at her once the shock has worn off.
I get between the two of them. “Hey. Calm the fuck down. She had her reasons to keep that from you.” Axel has never been this upset before about anything.
“Oh, she had her reasons,” he repeats, the disdain dripping off his words as he looks ready to fight me.
“Fuck you, Ax. You’re being a dick,” I say, pushing him as a warning that he is letting his anger take over and cloud him.
I get it. She hurt you. We all did, but you don’t get to talk to her like that.
Axel pushes me back, and I stumble a couple of steps.
What the hell? Then I get in his face and push him again, just because I fly the rainbow flag doesn’t mean I can’t kick your musical ass.
But Axel is blinded by rage, and things go south quickly, and we end up in a scuffle.
I can hear Olivia screaming for the two of us to break it up, but we ignore her as we continue to scuffle until the silly woman gets between us, and Axel elbows her in the nose, making her scream.
This stops us instantly, and we turn and see the blood gushing from her face.
Shit.
“Fuck, Liv, are you okay?”
She looks a little disoriented as she shakes her head. “Um … yeah, I’ll be okay.” She grabs a tissue from her bra and pushes it against her nose to stop the flow.
I twirl around and get up into Axel’s face. How could he do this to her? “Don’t you ever fucking touch her again, you hear me?”
Axel looks as white as a ghost as he glances between me and Olivia.
“It was a fucking accident, D.” Then he turns to where Olivia is standing, blotting her nose.
“I’m sorry, Liv …” he starts to apologize, and I think he’s got a handle on himself, but the idiot can’t control his stupid mouth, “… but you shouldn’t put yourself into the middle of a scuffle. ” He steps toward her.
Olivia looks at him in surprise as fresh tears fall down her cheeks. The audacity of this man to blame her for his elbow.
“Get the fuck away from us,” I yell.
Axel genuinely seems surprised by my aggression. He takes one long look at Olivia, flips me off, and storms away.
“Let’s get you inside.” I turn and wrap my arms around her shoulders, as she shivers in the snowy weather.
Olivia doesn’t say a word, just burrows herself into my side as I walk her inside.
I take her up to my room where no one can see her, and help clean her up, we are both silent for a long time.
Thankfully, she had a tampon in her purse and was able to shove that up there, while I helped fix up her makeup, so it didn’t look like she’s having a shit New Year’s.
“He hates me,” she says quietly.
“It’s not hate, it’s hurt,” I reassure her.
“I should have told him about my engagement when we first met.”
“You’re not to blame, none of us told him, either.” I feel sick about it. I thought it would be harmless fun, how wrong was I?
Olivia shakes her head. “I tried to stay away from him, D, I tried …” she confesses, hiccupping, “… he’s very persuasive.”
This has me smiling. “Girl, who could say no to Axel Taylor?” A small smile falls across her lips. “Seems like something has developed between the two of you since arriving.”
“My mind blanked when I saw him arrive. I forgot he was Christian’s twin. I thought he was going to stay a nice memory in Monaco.”
“Axel has never been bothered over women before. The man is a rock star, he has women falling at his feet. He never chases. He never dates. He is all about having fun and freedom until you.”
“I’m no one special, D,” Olivia argues.
My brows pull together. “You are someone special, Liv. You are a beautiful woman. I hate that you can’t see your worth. Your fiancé is a dick. You deserve so much more than him and whatever the hell he’s been doing in London.”
“Derrick, don’t …” she cries, standing up and walking away from me.
“No. I won’t apologize for saying what everyone is thinking. Don’t marry that man, Livvy. He will make your life a living hell. I understand your loyalty to your family, I get it, but what about what you want?”
“And you think Axel Taylor is better suited to me than a Marquis?” She scoffs.
“If he fucking loves you right, then yes, I do. Axel would never humiliate you like Edmund has. He’s been partying with your sister. Your sister!” I implore her to hear me.
“I appreciate your concern and thank you for sticking up for me tonight, but I think this conversation is over,” she states tightly.
“Livvy, please.”
She shakes her head. “Axel and I aren’t some opposites attract romance. We were never meant to be more.”
“You think you were just a bit of fun for him? Look at how hurt he was.”
Tears well in Olivia’s eyes. “It doesn’t matter, D. It’s all it can be.” She sucks in a deep breath. “Thanks for everything tonight. I’m going back to my cottage. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year, princess.” I watch her walk out of my room with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
I lay back in my bed. This wasn’t the fresh new start to the year I thought I would be having.
Maybe your New Year’s resolution should be not interfering in your friends’ business anymore.
Like I’m going to be able to keep that resolution.
But I do feel bad about this situation. Nothing you can do about it tonight, try again in the morning, maybe everyone will have calmed down by then.