The Billion Dollar Affair [#7]

Chapter 6

Olivia couldn't sleep in the same bed with her husband. She had left for a walk around the grounds, and when she finally returned to the house, everyone was asleep.

She took the couch and then woke up early enough to accompany Daphnia to the market that morning. Daphnia was the one to find her on the couch, tears crusted in her eyes and completely broken.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she finally asked her daughter in law as they returned back to the house.

"He held her," Olivia said, shaking her head in disbelief. "The same way he holds me when I'm in distress. This woman almost took my husband from me, and now she has."

"Oh, Olive, our Tristan isn't going anywhere."

"How long were they together for?"

Daphnia briefly glanced at Olivia and sighed. "On and off for a couple years. They only snuck around to keep Killeen out of their hair, but he never loved her."

"I find that extremely hard to believe."

"My Tristan has never known love until you, Olive. That much I know is true."

The rest of the ride back to the house was quiet, and when they finally pulled into the driveway, Emily was the first to run to her mother.

"Mommy!" she exclaimed, wrapping her small arms around Olivia's waist.

"Good morning, baby," she said as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Go back inside. Mommy will be there soon."

Emily immediately obeyed her mother and followed her two siblings inside the house. Each of the children were about two years apart, and every one of her sons looked exactly like Tristan while her daughter reflected her. That much made Olivia warm inside.

"Mom, why didn't you answer your phone?" Tristan asked as he walked out to the car to help unload. "I need to speak to Olive."

Daphnia had no comment as she took whatever she could carry into the house.

Tristan eased his wife against the car door and kissed her on the lips, offering her a smile. "You didn't come to bed last night."

"You finally noticed."

"I noticed last night, but I figured you wanted to be alone."

"You were right," she muttered, reaching for a grocery bag.

But Tristan stopped her and pulled her against him, caressing her hair comfortingly. "I didn't think you'd witness that last night."

"Wrong choice of words, Devereux."

"I regret what I did. But it was a hug, baby."

Olivia broke away and with the roll of her eyes, stalked away. But of course Tristan was fast behind her.

"You're over reacting," he called to her.

She wasn't in the mood to argue, but if he wanted a fight, he'd get one. "This is the same woman you fucked from time to time. This is the woman who faked a DNA report. This is the woman you ran out of the bar to see when I was obviously in distress, despite the fact that you believed she was delivering your baby.

"And this is the woman who could have taken you from me. So forgive me for overreacting, Tristan. Forgive me for not being okay with you physically touching the same woman who was once no different from me in the bedroom."

"Don't you dare compare what Eloise and I did to what you and I do."

"Are you going to tell me that what we do is love?" She bitterly laughed. "Maybe so, but are the feelings any different when your dick is shoved inside her?"

"Goddamn it, Olivia!" He scrubbed a hand down his face and resisted the urge to punch something. The woman really knew how to piss him off. "Everything is different with you because I love you."

Her heart painfully constricted in her chest as tears clouded her vision. Her cheeks were wet with them, and the sobs she fought so hard to hold back defeated her from the inside.

"Olive," he whispered. He took a step toward her, but she shook her head. "Look at me, babe."

She couldn't. So she didn't.

But he lifted her head with his hands and kissed her on the lips. It was filled with passion and urgency as he held her in his arms. "I wish I never met her. I wish I was never stupid enough to fool around with her. I wish I wasn't hurting my wife because of the choices I made back then. I'm trying so hard to keep you happy, but in the process I end up hurting you. I'm putting my pregnant wife in distress by staying here, aren't I?"

"I'm trying to support you as you reconnect with Killeen, but seeing you and Eloise in the same room kills me."

He nodded. "She'll be gone after dinner. No later than tomorrow morning."

•••••

Joseph kept a steady eye on the ball and aimed his stick toward it. With a light tap, he shot the eight ball into the pocket and whooped in victory.

"The goal is to avoid that one until the end," Tristan said with the shake of his head.

"I tried my best, brother." Joseph spared his little brother a glance and ruefully smiled. Leaning against the stick, he focused his attention on him. "You didn't call me to hang out for no reason. What is it?"

"Eloise."

"Again?" he asked, laughing. "Is this about the shooting that happened with the Chases?"

"Her family hasn't disowned her, but for some reason she's staying with Mom and Dad until Killeen gets better," Tristan explained. "As long as Eloise is breathing anywhere near me, Olivia will shut me out and eventually try to leave me again. I'm not gonna play this game with her this time, so I need you to convince Mom and Dad to get Eloise out."

He quirked a brow. "They love Olive. Why doesn't she say anything?"

"Olivia will be Olivia," Tristan said, shrugging. "Besides, I'm not holding her accountable for asking them."

"So you want the big brother to try?"

"They've always listened to you."

"Not true," he said through a chuckle. "They've always listened to Sadie."

"In case you forgot, the sister who never believed in marriage is trying to have a baby with bottles of sperm."

"But you can call me?"

"What else were you gonna do tonight anyway? Probably get drunk, fuck a couple groupies on tour and then wake up with a hangover."

Joseph laughed. "Very true. So what's the plan?"

"No planning needed. Just get Eloise out of my sight and life."