e silverware on the polished mahogany table one last time, my heart swelling with the familiar, patient love I held fo

d beautiful, as always, a classic beauty that seemed effortless. B

nice meal," I said, pulling

. Grandpa called again. He wanted to

y. An heir I apparently couldn't provide. The doctors had found nothing wrong with either of us, but in her family' s eyes, the fau

said softly. "That's a

had summoned us to his study, a divorce decree already on his desk. Olivia had refused. She had stood in front of me, taking the lash of his cane across her back when he flew into a rag

r, the bedrock

calloused hands and a simple, almost crude way of speaking. He was a country boy

eyes fixed on me with undisguised contempt. "He

a sledgehammer. He was here to

," she hissed later that night when we were alone. "Look

s-up," I had said, my own pride stung. We were united in our contempt, or so I thou

en, the whispers started among the staff. I overheard two mai

Miss Olivia...

say it's B

he air leave my lungs. It couldn't be true. Oli

a mile long as I walked to our bedroom. She wa

I asked, my

sorry. I was drunk. We had that fight, and I drank too much. I went to our ro

stake, a horrible mistake. I'll send him away, Liam. I promise. I

ed. I was a man who had built his life around this woman. The thought of losing her wa

ut she was still seeing him, secretly. When

from a drunken mistake to a calculated decision. "This is to secure our future, Liam. Once the ba

, I gave her ye

. I got a frantic call from Olivi

they took him! They

an cold. "

want the Walton heir's husband as a hostage. They want you

rd the unvarnished truth. It wasn't about me.

y voice hollow. "Wh

aring through the last of my illusions. "He can't die, Liam!

and Brandon. He had replaced me. In that moment, I realized I was not ju

piece of trash. As they dragged me away, the last thing I saw was Olivia's

." She couldn't. So she had simply found a new "you" to pu