Chapter 28 #2
“Mad that you quit—no. I’ve thought your bosses were assholes since that night in Vegas.” He steps closer, but I cross my arms over my chest protectively. If I could scream don’t even think about touching me right now, I would.
Pretty sure my stance is saying it for me though.
“Anyone who doesn’t see your worth doesn’t deserve you, Olivia. And from everything you’ve told me, they don’t see it. But I’m fucking mad as hell that you’re standing here telling me you discussed it with your mom and Serena but didn’t think to mention it to me.”
“Can you really not see I did this for us?”
“Us? Olivia, I’ve included you in every aspect of my life, and you’ve been planning to quit your job—the entire reason you married me in the first place—and didn’t think to even tell me. How the fuck is that supposed to make me feel?” His tone is scary calm and eerily quiet.
I’d almost rather he was yelling.
At least then, I could yell back.
“It should make you feel like I made a decision about my career that would ultimately benefit me and by extension, you,” I snap back.
“By extension . . .” Logan mirrors my stance, his jaw locked and muscles tight.
And I can’t believe how angry he seems. “I’m not an obligation, Liv.
I’m not your client. I’m your fucking husband.
But I guess that was only until custody was settled and you made partner.
Well custody is settled, and you no longer work for the firm. So I guess we served our purpose.”
“Served our purpose . . .” I sigh, so utterly confused where this is all coming from. “Are you kidding me? You can’t mean that. How do you not see this was me choosing us? Not throwing us away.”
“No, Liv. This was you finally choosing you. Which is a good thing. You put your career and your clients in front of everyone and everything else in your life. You manage it and them all like you are the master puppeteer pulling the strings. And you love it. You live for it. You thrive in the chaos of it all. But you do it to your own detriment. Have you even gone to the doctor’s appointment you’ve rescheduled—what, three times now?
” He shakes his head and groans. “Forget I asked. I know the answer. You haven’t.
You refuse to put yourself first. Everyone else—no problem though. ”
“Logan.” I reach for him but drop my hands. “Why is being good at my job a bad thing?”
“Because you’re hurting yourself while you’re fixing everything for everyone else,” he growls. “Because I fucking love you, and I’m tired of watching you do this. Watching you feel like you have to carry all the weight alone.”
“You love me?” I whisper, and the hurt that flashes in Logan’s eyes absolutely guts me.
“I’ve shared everything with you, Olivia. Everything. And you didn’t even think to tell me you were quitting your job. The one thing you love above everything else.”
“But that’s not true . . .” I murmur. “I . . . I want to love my life. That’s why I quit.”
I’m not sure what’s happening, but we’re arguing in so many circles, I’m getting dizzy.
“I want to put you first. I want to put Maggie first,” I argue. “Quitting was just the first step, not the last. You’ve got it wrong, Logan. We didn’t serve our purpose. Our purpose served us. Our purpose brought you both into my life. This is just the next step.”
“Christ, Liv. A step you didn’t even include me in.
I’ve opened my life—hell, my heart and my world to you.
But you can’t do that, can you? I’ve let you all the way in, in a way I’ve never let anyone in.
And you just can’t do it, can you? Control is so fucking important to you that you just can’t let me in. ”
I watch, speechless, as this man shuts down without any idea what I did wrong or how to fix it. “Logan . . .”
My phone vibrates on the table, and I reach for it.
“Don’t, Liv. Don’t answer that.”
Serena’s name flashes in my notifications.
“I have to.”
“You. Don’t,” he growls as I grab my phone.
Serena
My fucking car blew a tire on the other side of the bridge.
I called roadside assistance. They’ll be here in an hour.
Fuck.
I pocket my phone and look up at my husband, so utterly confused why we’re even fighting. “I have to go get Serena. Her car broke down.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Olivia.” I watch as the first droplets of rain fall against the patio.
With my MacBook tucked under my arm, I look up at Logan.
“I’m not even sure what the hell we’re fighting about.
But I need you to hear me when I say me quitting my job was me choosing us.
We haven’t run our course, Logan. We’re only at the starting gates, and the race is long.
Me quitting is going to open it all up for me.
For us. But I’m going to need you to trust me. ”
And maybe it’s my inner Scorpio that has me walking away instead of waiting for an answer. Or maybe it’s fear that I won’t like the answer I get. Fuck. I drop my laptop on the counter and look at Jasper, who’s washing his hands in the kitchen. “Can I have the keys to your truck?”
“No,” he laughs. “Why would I give you my truck?”
“Serena blew a tire on the other side of the bridge, and my car is still in the shop, which you know since you drove me home when I dropped it off.” I hold my hand out, my patience wearing thin.
“Come on, Jasper. It’s been a shit afternoon, it just started raining, and I don’t want her getting in some tow-truck with a fucking stranger. ”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a demanding little pain in the ass?” He pulls his keys from his pocket and smirks as I reach for them and the fucker holds them out of my reach.
“Pretty sure your brother just did.” I reach again, and he laughs. Hard.
“Come on, Adler. I’ll drive you.”
I look through the window at the man who owns my heart . . . the one staring right at me.
“Fine. Let’s go.”