His Heart's Desire (Book 2 in His Heart's Series)

Chapter 26

Olivia

In the end, I accepted Luke's offer. I decided to stay at his place until I have recovered and I'm able to not just take care of myself but also the twins.

Luke stayed true to his words and made sure we didn't cross each other's paths since we last talked in the hospital.

I must admit... I do miss him terribly, but I also know that it's for the best. I can no longer pretend that it doesn't matter what he thinks of me. That it doesn't matter that he doesn't believe me, or that his friends think I'm not good enough for him.

It's been three days since I've been out of the hospital, and I still have difficulty getting around, but I am doing much better.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in."

"Ethan is here to see you," Gail said.

I froze.

"I can tell him to come back some other time if you're not up for it?" Gail offered.

I shook my head. "No. That's okay. Do you mind watching the twins for me?"

"My pleasure," she said with a smile.

I smiled at her. "Thanks," I said and headed out of the room to talk to Ethan.

My heart was pounding. I was nervous.

I came out of the hallway and found him standing there.

"Hey. You need help?" He asked when he saw me walking with a cane.

I shook my head. "No thanks. I'm alright."

He nodded.

He looked nervous as well, which made me feel a little better.

We sat on the couch in the main room.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked breaking the awkward silence between us.

"Have you noticed Luke lately?" He asked.

I frowned and shook my head. "No. I haven't seen him, Ethan."

"I know it's not my place, and I don't really know what's going on between you two, because Luke won't say anything..." He trailed off.

He looked at me for a second and then he sighed. "Can I be frank with you?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Liv, you know that I loved you like a sister. When you hurt my brother, you didn't just hurt him. You hurt the whole family," he said and I tried so hard not to lash out. I bit my lip and stayed quiet.

"I was angry at you because my brother was devastated with what happened. I came looking for you because I wanted to understand why you did it and when I found you pregnant I was furious because I knew that there was a possibility that it wasn't my brother's," he explained. "When he found you and the twins, that was the first time I saw my brother happy again. He was alive again. But I was scared. I was scared that he's going to get hurt again. But Luke loves you and he was happy again, so I tried so hard to be accepting," he said and I couldn't help the snort that came out of me.

He chuckled. "I said tried, not that I succeeded," he pointed out. "Anyways, Luke isn't happy and I know that it's because of you..."

"Ethan..."

"Please let me finish. I know that you broke things off with him," he said and I didn't deny it. "I also know that the dinner we all shared was part of that reason, and what happened afterwards took a toll on all of us. Most specially, Luke. I know you think I hate you, but I don't. I also didn't want you to get hurt, and you have no idea how happy I am that you're okay," he said. "I never hated you, Liv. I hope you know that. I just hate that Luke had to get hurt."