Chapter <b>274 </b>
NICK
Marcus’s arrival had not been in vain. Because of him, we were able to find Olivia, and that in itself made every second of the chaos feel worth it. Seeing her alive, her breathing shallow but steady, was a relief that I hadn’t known I had needed until I <b>saw </b>it. But even in my relief, couldn’t shake the sense of unease that settled in my chest. Olivia <b>wasn’t </b>moving, her eyes vacant, her body still There was something deeply unsettling about it. She wasn’t the vibrant woman I knew, she wasn’t responding to anything
The worry gnawed at me. Something had happened to her. Something that had robbed her of the energy and life she once had.
As we made our way toward the cars, I nced back at Marcus, still clutching her to him, the man who had done what none of us had been able to do. He had found her when the <b>rest </b>of us were too blind to see the clues. I watched him<b>, </b>and even in that moment of triumph, I felt a pang of jealousy twist <b>deep </b>inside me. He had been the one to save her, and she was his now, his wife, his responsibility. A life that should have been shared with someone else. A life that had slipped through <b>my </b>fingers.
I wasn’t a fool. I knew my ce. I knew where I stood in this story. But that didn’t stop the knot of bitterness that tightened in my throat as I looked at the pair of them.
Luke’s voice broke through my thoughts, sharp andmanding, as usual. “Why don’t you just go?” he asked, his toneced with something I couldn’t quite ce, annoyance, maybe. His eyes flickered <b>toward </b>Marcus and <b>Olivia</b>, but his focus was entirely on me.
1 raised an eyebrow in response. “What do you mean, ‘go‘?” I wasn’t in the mood for cryptic games or power ys. I wasn’t in the mood for Luke, either. His presence always seemed to stir a mixture of frustration and resignation inside me. But I wasn’t going to get into it now. Not when my mind was racing with thoughts of Olivia’s condition.
“We are already going to the hotel,” I added, shaking my <b>head</b><b>. </b>“Where are you telling me to go?”
Luke didn’t answer right away, his face hardening as if he was calcting something in his mind. I was starting to feel like I was just another piece on his chessboard, a pawn for him <b>to </b>move around. He finally shook his head, his lips curling into a thin, knowing smile.
“Don’t act like you don’t know,” he said, stepping in front of me and blocking my path. “I know you want to follow her, Nick. You <b>know </b>damn <b>well </b>they didn’t take her to the hotel, and you want to be where she is.”
His words stung more than they should <b>have</b>. He was right. wanted to be with Olivia. I wanted to be there for her, to make sure she was okay. But I had no right to be with her not now. She had Marcus with her, and Marcus was her husband. Her real husband. She had her brother, and for all intents and purposes<b>, </b>I was an outsider to this whole situation.
I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat and tried to keep my voice steady. “No, I’m just concerned. But I want to be with my kids now. I need to tell them their mother is fine and that she will be home soon.” I tried to sound <b>casual</b>, as if this was just another day in a life that wasn’t mine to im anymore. But the words felt hollow, as if they weren’t even my own. Luke’s eyebrow raised at my statement, an almost imperceptible look of amusement flickering in his eyes.
“You called them your kids,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “And you only mentioned their mother, not their father. Did you forget they didn’t see Marcus, either?”
The words struck <b>me </b>harder than I wanted them to. I stiffened, the weight of what I had just said settling heavily on my chest. I wasn’t blind. I knew exactly what I had done. In my mind, they were both my kids. I had been there for them, watching them grow, helping raise them in the absence of a real father figure. But I couldn’t deny what
Chime<b>: </b>274
Luke was <b>pointing </b>out.
+25 BOHUB
<b>I </b><b>had </b>never truly gotten over Olivia. I had tried to bury my feelings for her beneathyers of dental <b>and </b>rationalization. I had convinced myself that she had moved on, that I had to respect her marriage to Marcus. But In that brief moment of vulnerability, it had slipped out. The love, the hope, the desire. It was still there, buried deep
inside me.