Olivia Despite what Silas made me promise, I let Liam have some of the jam. “I knew you
loved me,” he says over breakfast, slathering it on an English muffin Frederich baked. I
laugh. “Does Silas always do this?” “What, makes jam for birthdays? No. Sometimes the
rest of us talk about throwing rocks at his windows, just to annoy him, so he’ll make some
jam.” I shake my head. “He might just kick your asses instead.” “All of us?” He chews
thoughtfully. “That’d take a while. But when he’s upset, he makes jam.” I caught some
glances between Liam and his brothers during the brunch. Not sure exactly what they
meant, but it looks like I passed the first round. That’s enough for now. They’ve included me
and acted like I was a real part of the family, which made Liam happy. And that’s more than
I could ask for. I want Liam to be satisfied with our marriage while it lasts— A sudden pang
stops me. Our time is so limited, and he deserves a wonderful woman by his side to the end,
not someone as calculating and difficult as me. As I promised him last week, I text Simon to
quit picking me up and start driving myself to work. He waits for me in the hallway in front
of my office. “Good morning, Olivia.” “Good morning,” I say, opening the door before he can
get it for me. “That’s new.”
I look down. The pavé ring glitters under the fluorescent light. I smile. “Yeah. A birthday
gift from Liam.” Simon inhales sharply. “Looks very nice.” “Mm-hmm.” I frown. “What’s
wrong with your voice? Are you coming down with something?” “No. Just got something
stuck—” He clears his throat. I grin. “Good. No time to get sick! We’ve got proposals to
review.” The materials and the contract from the Portuguese facility look great. So it’s time
I decided on a diamond inlay supplier. The week flies by. Liam’s extremely busy, always
coming home after nine, closer to ten in some cases. Which is a change—he normally makes
an effort to be home before seven. The worst part is how much I miss him. Even though
Frederich makes sure the fridge is full of delicious food, I don’t have much appetite. On the
days he’s home late, I miss cuddling with him and chatting about whatever silly thing
happened during the day. I roll the Rubedo on my finger and sigh over how lonely I feel,
then stop. When did I become so needy? Being alone has been my default mode for close to
twenty years. I can’t afford to become so attached to Liam that leaving him hurts as much
as losing Mom and Pochi did. I don’t think I could survive. It won’t be that bad, I tell myself.
Mom and Pochi disappeared before I was ready. With Liam, I already knew our marriage
would end—and when. Besides, he’s a CEO. Of course he’s going to be busy. His company
probably has plenty of projects in addition to Luminary & Co.’s request for proposal. The
specs and quality guarantee from Kingswood Stones & Designs are superior to everyone
else’s. His company must know what it’s doing to be so confident in its deliverables. We
would never make a deal we can’t honor in good faith, Mike from KSD said in the email
during the back-and-forth to go over the deal’s details. “Have the final contract ready to
sign by next week,” I say to Simon. Here’s to a beautiful partnership. “So you’re choosing
your husband’s company after all.” I tilt my head at the “your husband.” Not that there’s
any obvious displeasure, but something that’s half accusation and half disappointment
crackles underneath. “What’s wrong with Kingswood Stones & Designs?” I emphasize the
company name, rather than calling it Liam’s company, hoping Simon gets the hint. My
relationship with Liam has nothing to do with the business decision I just made. His
company genuinely had the best proposal. Simon bites his lip. “It just feels too much like
ke eping business within the family.” “I wouldn’t have chosen them if the company wasn’t
the best. And if you didn’t think it measured up, you would’ve said so. You might be worried
about the appearance of impropriety. But Liam doesn’t know I own Luminary, so he couldn’t
have given us a n epo deal. Everything’s perfectly aboveboard.” “Sorry. I didn’t mean to
sound accusatory,” Simon says. “It’s fine. I know your heart is in the right place.” He nods
and leaves. I pick up my phone. It’s Friday, so maybe Liam will be home early? I start
typing, then hesitate. I don’t want to sound too eager, but I really miss him. After thinking
for a moment, I finally send my text. –Me: Hey, are you working late again? –Liam:
Hopefully not. I’ll do my best to come home so we can have dinner together. Sorry about
this week. I tap the edge of the phone. –Me: No need to be sorry. Your work is important.
–Liam: Not as important as you. I smile. I can just picture his unhappy face. The clock on my
desk says 11:30. If I leave now, I can reach his office for lunch. Even if all we can do is
gobble something from a food truck for ten minutes, I’d like to spend some time with him. I
head to Kingswood Stones & Designs. The traffic isn’t too bad, and I make it by noon. As I
park and walk toward his office, a flower stand catches my eye. Profusions of vivid red,
yellow and orange brighten the otherwise mostly gray street. I stop to look at the tulips,
roses and sunflowers. “Yo, how you doing? Aren’t these flowers great? Very fresh,” the
young woman at the stand says. She has a beautiful seahorse tat that covers the
entire outside of one thigh. I start to say no. But the pavé ring glints in the sun, and I
hesitate. Liam has given me so much—his honesty, the beautiful birthday celebration and
pulling me into his family. But I haven’t been equally generous with him. Roses seem
ridiculously sentimental, and tulips are a bit too much. Sunflowers are the safest: friendly
without any hint of expectation. “One sunflower. No, wait.” I shake my head. Way too
anemic. “Actually... give me all the sunflowers.” Her eyes widen even as she nods
judiciously. “Bold move, sis. But hey, who am I to stand in the way of true sunflower love?
Thanks!” I pay for the bouquet, then st ep inside Kingswood Stones & Designs. I head to the
showroom floor’s side elevator, which leads to the corporate offices on the upper floors.
Inside the car with an armful of sunflowers in front of me, I stare up at the changing
number on the panel. What am I doing? This isn’t like me at all. What is like you? A voice
that sounds like Liam whispers in my heart. I don’t know, but nothing sweet or nice. I can
only look at my goals, my needs. Until I can make Hugh, Deena and Brielle pay, I can’t truly
relax. The trauma of seeing my mother die in front of me will never fade. The grief of losing
the loving dog Mom and I rescued together will never disappear. Your mom would want you
to have a life dedicated to something other than revenge. Like love. Happiness. Liam seems
like a perfect partner— Of course she would, but I can’t. Something hot and painful lodges
in my chest every time I think of the wrongness of what she suffered. Fury rages every time
the trust disburses funds to me and Hugh. He doesn’t deserve a single penny! And it’d be
foolish to discard my plan when I’m so close. There’s no need to make a decision about my
future beyond kicking Hugh and his family off the trust right now. The elevator dings, and
the door slides open silently. I st ep out into the hallway. “Which way is Liam Kingswood’s
office?” I ask. “That way.” A scruffy guy who looks like he could use a bucket of coffee
mainlined directly into his veins points to my left. “He just st epped out of a meeting, so you
should be able to deliver those and get his signature.”
“Okay, thanks.” Wait—do I look like a delivery person? Shrugging in amusement, I start
toward his office with a spring in my st ep. But then stop dead in my tracks. The door is ajar
and his assistant is inside. Emmie was her name. She hands Liam an open box with a tie
inside. She’s smiling brightly—it’s not quite a purely professional smile—as Liam pulls out
the long strip of silk. Only then do I notice his tie from the morning lies on the desk behind
him. I hold my breath. Something about the way Emmie is hovering reminds me of... Brielle.
Liam loops the tie around his neck and tries to knot it but for some reason his fingers are
clumsy. Why? He’s knotted ties all this time without any problem. He shakes his head. “Let
me. I used to do it for my younger brother.” Emmie st eps forward and expertly creates a
perfect Windsor knot as Liam bends forward to make it easier. The scene is so domestic.
But it makes my eyes bleed. My mind says he isn’t cheating on me, but that doesn’t matter.
My breath hitches. The fear that I could lose him before I’m ready to let him go turns my
heart to ice. A need to rush inside and tear her away from him starts to spiral up inside me.
I close my eyes for a moment and clamp down on the urge. This is Liam’s company. And I
am not the kind of woman who gets jealous, especially over a contract husband. The chill in
my chest is just fury because Emmie has no business tying my husband’s tie. No other
woman does— Fuck it. I st ep into the doorway to his office. “Well. This is cozy.” The words
seem to come out of their own accord. Emmie jumps back with a gasp. Liam, on the other
hand, smiles. “Hey, Olivia!” “Is this how you spend your working hours?” “It was just a gift
to celebrate signing a new contract,” Emmie says defensively. Probably my contract. I close
a business deal with my husband’s company, and it’s his assistant who gets to celebrate
with him? I tower over her in my heels and arch an eyebrow. “I see. And are you done
celebrating?” “Um.” Her eyes dart to Liam, who’s staring at me slack-jawed.
“Get out,” I say. “You don’t have an appointment.” From the wide-eyed shock and
embarrassment, she probably didn’t mean to say that. But it still strikes me the wrong way.
Oh my God, Olivia, it isn’t like he’s your exclusive property. Brielle’s familiar laughing
words ring in my head. She taunted me every time she managed to sabotage yet another of
my relationships. I ke ep my voice cold and level. “I don’t need an appointment. I’m his wife.
Now, anyone unrelated to the family can get out and close the door behind them.”