1,2,3 And.. Love! (GXG)

Chapter 39

Olivia's POV

The air felt thick and suffocating the moment I stepped into the apartment. Elijah was sitting at the dining table, the only source of light coming from the small lamp beside him. He wasn’t drinking, wasn’t scrolling through his phone—he was just sitting there, staring at the envelope in his hands like it held the answers to every question he never wanted to ask.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding. “Elijah?”

His head lifted slowly, his eyes dark and unreadable. Without a word, he slid the envelope across the table toward me. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to.

“Open it,” he said, his voice eerily calm.

With trembling fingers, I picked it up and pulled out the photo inside. My breath hitched. The picture of Zoya and me kissing burned into my vision like a scar I could never erase. My hands shook as I flipped it over, seeing the message scrawled on the back:

Divorce her.

“Elijah, I—”

“Was this recent?” he cut me off, his voice low but sharp. “Or is this an old picture?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How could I even begin to explain? I looked up at him, pleading silently for him to understand something I didn’t even know how to put into words.

He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. “We were fine, Olivia,” he said, his voice rising. “We were happy. Then she showed up, and everything went to hell.”

I flinched. “Elijah, it’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it?” he snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like that.” He gestured toward the picture, his voice breaking slightly. “Tell me, Olivia. Is this what you wanted all along? Did you just need an excuse?”

“No!” I took a step closer, desperation clawing at my throat. “I never wanted this to happen, Elijah. I didn’t mean—”

He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “You didn’t mean to what? To fall for her? To let it get this far? Or to lie to me every single day while I sat here like an idiot, thinking we were okay?”

My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I refused to let them fall. “We were okay, Elijah. But somewhere along the way... I don’t know. Things changed.”

“No, Olivia.” His voice hardened. “You changed.” He paced the room, running a hand through his hair, frustration rolling off him in waves. “And you know what? I wouldn’t even care about your feelings for her, but then I get this.” He snatched the photo from my hands and waved it in front of me. “Who else would want to destroy our marriage, huh? Who else would gain from this? Zoya.”

I gasped, my chest tightening. “No. Zoya would never—”

“How do you know?” he challenged, stepping closer, his voice laced with pain. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I love her!”

The words burst out before I could stop them, raw and undeniable. The second they left my mouth, I knew there was no taking them back.