Chapter 107
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Chapter 108
Julian’s POV
“Amber, you can’t mean that,” I said quickly, bordering on desperate. “I’m sorry I had to cancel our plans last night, but p>
“Why did you cancel our plans?” she asked. She spoke like she already knew the answer.
Still, I wasn’t about to admit that I had to call off our dinner last night because I had gone into an Alpha
rage and couldn’t trust myself to be around anyone.
That would irrevocably harm our relationship.
“I had reasons…” I said.
I’d never lost my temper like I had with Chase last night. But what he had been saying had been so vile,
so low, I had acted without thinking. I couldn’t let him get away with saying any of those things. And if
he were to try to act on them…
Just thinking about it made my blood turn to fire as my rage once more pushed on the edge of my
consciousness.
No. Not here. Not with Amber.
I breathed deeply, forcing myself to calm.
All the while, Amber watched me closely. Maybe she could see the change in me, I didn’t know. I tried
hard to hide it, but that didn’t mean anything to someone who knew me as well as Amber did. She knew
me maybe better than anyone.
At least, she used to.
I tried to think of reasons why Amber would turn on me now. Perhaps Chase had spoken to her about what happened. Worse, perhaps he had used that to somehow break through her walls.
Gods, what if he already wormed his way into Amber’s heart?
“I don’t want to see you hurt,” I said. “I know Chase from the pack. He’s not a good guy, Amber. He’s a playboy, with a different woman every night. If you let him into your heart, he will only hurt you p>
She frowned at me. “Who I let into my heart is none of your concern p>
I grit my teeth, knowing that was true, but wanting so much for it not to be. To me, she was my wife and my mate, and that hadn’t changed even after all this time.
I knew she saw things differently, though. And I also knew that if I pushed the issue, I might lose her forever.
Chapter 108
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Damn it. For now I had to back off.
“Besides,” she continued. “My decision to cancel our plans tonight has nothing to do with Chase, and everything to do with you p>
“Me? ”
“Yes,” she said. “In fact, I’m starting to reconsider this project entirely. ”
How could she say that? Wasn’t this project part of her dream? Why would she be so willing to turn that away?
She said it wasn’t because of Chase, but I struggled to think that was true. Before Chase, things had been tense between us, but we were mending things. Since his arrival, everything seemed to be falling apart.
Chase was the common denominator in all of this.
He had to be the one to blame.
“Don’t do that,” I said. “Don’t even say that p>
“Then don’t make me, ” she replied. “Give me the space I need now p>
I hated this. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, I didn’t have much choice. “Very well p>
Olivia’s POV
Sitting on the foot of the bed, Olivia filed her nails, barely paying attention as Chase, in the bathroom,
stared at himself in the mirror and complained.
“I can’t believe I let you convince me to go along with this,” he whined. “You told me it would be amusing.
I didn’t realize I’d be punched in the face p>
“It’s just a bruise,” Olivia said. “I’m surprised it hasn’t healed already p>
“You know why it hasn’t, ” Chase said. “I told you about my condition p>
“Oh, right p>
Olivia had forgotten. The first time Chase had told her about his weak heart, she’d assumed it was a line to get her to pity him enough to sleep with him. It was only over time that she came to realize he’d been genuine. It didn’t fully matter to her though, so she sometimes forgot.
“Well, even so. It will heal soon enough. You are being dramatic,” Olivia said.
“You wouldn’t be saying that if it was your face,” Chase grumbled.
Sighing, Olivia set the nail file away and stood. Slowly, she sauntered to the bathroom.
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“Chase, this was a necessary evil,” Olivia said. “We have to drive a wedge between Amber and Julian, and making her doubt his temper is the fastest, easiest way p>
“It hurts,” Chase said, touching the edge of the bruise.
“Stop touching it then,” Olivia said.
Chase lowered his hand, but continued to stare at himself. He looked somewhat pensive as the pain
ebbed from his features.
“This… Amber. She doesn’t seem all that bad,” Chance said.
“Excuse me?” Olivia snapped.
“Well, it seems like she actually wants to try to treat my condition. I’d never had anyone want to actually try before p>
Stepping closer to him, Olivia placed one finger under his chin and turned his face toward hers.
“Don’t fall under her spell, Chase,” Olivia said. “I need you to keep your eyes on the prize p>
“I haven’t forgotten the money, love,” Chase said.
“Well, maybe it would be easier to remember if I doubled it,” Olivia said.
Just like that, the doubts swept away from his eyes. “Double p>
Olivia hummed in the positive.
“You spoil me p>
“This is important to me, ” Olivia pressed. “I need you to be focused p>
“Focus is good, ” Chase said, leaning in. “But maybe we could both let ourselves be distracted for a while p>
Olivia lowered her hand, allowing Chase to kiss her.
Much later, after I had my fill of Chase and sent him on his way, after I showered away any trace of him, and changed into a tight dress and heels, I set my new plan in motion.
After checking my hair and make–up in the mirror – immaculate, as always – I grabbed a wine bottle out of the fridge, two glasses from on top of it, and then stepped out of my room. It was a quick walk to Julian’s room, where I knocked on the door.
“I don’t need housekeeping today,” he called through the door.
Infuriating. Did he even look through the peep hole?
I knocked again, this time calling, “Julian? It’s Olivia p>
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There was silence from within for a long moment before he finally made his way to the door. He threw open the lock and opened it.
Standing inside, he looked like hell. His hair was a mess, like he’d been dragging his fingers through it, and he was informally dressed in a white t–shirt and slacks. His shoes and socks were gone, leaving him
barefoot.
It was odd to see him like this. Usually he was a pinnacle of suited fashion.
“What are you doing here, Olivia?” he asked, sounding tired.
I held up the bottle of wine with one hand and the pair of wine glasses with the other.
“I thought you might be feeling low and could use a pick me up,” she said. “This isn’t great wine, but I’m sure it will do the trick. What do you say? Let an old friend in for a drink p>
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