Rekindled with Rage

55: September 12, 2022

Chloe furrowed her brows, "I thought Dylan wasn't going tonight."

"I lied," I shrugged, texting my fiance back. "Well, changed my mind really."

"Why?" Bella questioned.

I sighed, "Because I didn't want him to go at first. We were still in the trenches of our... rough patch. Getting over being cheated on is hard."

"Cheated?" Destiny spat.

I nodded, gulping, "He was mad that Colson spent the night and he got drunk with his friends and woke up in bed with Barbara."

"That was months ago, Olivia," Bella frowned, her voice raising.

"I know, I didn't want to talk to anyone about it and have it influence my decision. I forgave him. We're just about over it," I told them all.

"Over it?" Bonnie scoffed. "Are you serious?"

I nodded, "Dead serious. We're engaged. We love each other and I am too old to start over and pretend that another man is going to never make mistakes—"

"It's one hell of a mistake, Liv," Chloe chimed back in. They all looked shell shocked. Besides Bonnie and Destiny's appalled faces.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Selena asked gently as she stepped up beside me and place a hand on my shoulder.

"Because I didn't want to hear you guys bashing him. We are working it out. And things are finally feeling normal again."

"Then why tell us now?" Destiny retorted. "You did that on purpose. What do you want to hear?"

I sighed, "If I should be sleeping with him. We haven't had sex in... well, months now."

"We can't decide that for you," Chloe said, giving me a sympathetic look.

"So you haven't forgave him?" Bella asked.

"I don't know. I think so. Like we don't talk about it. There's a bit of awkwardness between us. But we've been more intimate lately. He slept on the couch for like 3 weeks. He's finally back in bed with me. And... I feel like we should be having sex but then I get all choked up about it. I hesitate and I don't know if I need to just go for it or... Keep my distance. But does that delay us from totally moving on?" I questioned, huffing.

"I think if you're 'over it' then yes you should be comfortable sleeping with the man you're still planning to marry," Bella said.

"The timeline doesn't matter. What we think doesn't matter. Do you want to have sex with him? Or are you able to?" Chloe questioned.

"You two seemed fine the other night," Selena said, frowning. "We had dinner. You were all cozy on his lap. I just... I'm mind blown."

I smiled, nodding, "We're better. We made up on his birthday."

"His birthday. That's why you invited me over last minute?" Bella scoffed.

"You're still going to marry him?" Bonnie blurted, looking up from her phone.

"Bonnie Bennett, do not go spilling my damn business," I warned her, nodding at her phone and she rolled her eyes.

"Just Pete."

"I don't want anyone outside of this room to know. You're my closest girls," I said. "I've been dealing with this alone, and I'm finally ready to talk about it with you guys."

"What's there to talk about?" Bonnie retorted. "He cheated. It's over—"

"Didn't Jeremy cheat on you?" Destiny cut her off and I pressed my lips together as I stared instead of throwing in my agreement.