Chapter 36

Who is she? My mind was screaming over and over again. I couldn’t understand. Why was he holding her? Why did he seem so surprised to see me? What’s going on?

“Ethan!” Mars cried out, taking Ethan’s attention away from me. He let go of whoever the girl was and approached me to help support Mars. I should have felt relief when Mars was lifted off my shoulders, but I felt like he was still there.

The reality of what I just saw weighed me down as my brain ran a million miles an hour to comprehend what it saw.

“Let’s get you inside,” Ethan dragged Mars back into the house and I was left out on the balcony with the girl in the red dress.

My eyes lingered on her, regarding the way she looked and the guilty expression on her face. Was there something going on between her and Ethan? There must’ve been.

Did she know he was married? Were they secretly dating?

I never knew anymore. I know I always assumed the worst when it came to Ethan with other women, but this situation was a little harder to rationalize.

Even worse, the girl in the red dress was beyond beautiful. Her hair was a dark blueish black, silky and long. Her face was round and youthful, but she didn’t look childish. Even after my boost of confidence and newfound good looks, I felt inferior compared to her. I think that’s what made her contact with Ethan hurt so much more.

Of course Ethan would want to be with someone so beautiful. Ethan was attracted to beautiful things, I knew that based on the decor in his house and the jewelry he picked out for me. This girl was the very definition of gorgeous.

“You must be Ava?” The girl in the red dress asked, her voice was high-pitched like a fairy. Not annoying like Dora’s.

“I am,” I squared my shoulders and tried to look more confident than I felt. “I’m sorry Ethan’s never mentioned you, who are you?”

She chuckled nervously at my somewhat cold introduction, “Olivia. Ethan and I are old friends.”

Why are so many gorgeous girls from Ethan’s past popping up left and right, I groaned inwardly. Was this something I would need to expect for the rest of our marriage?

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled, though I didn’t mean it. It was not nice to meet her. A bitterness burned my throat the longer I looked at her. I couldn’t believe the entire time I was searching for Ethan, he was out there on the balcony, embracing some gorgeous girl and leaving me alone in a room where I knew nobody.

I turned and followed Ethan and Mars back inside. They were sitting at a small table by the refreshments, Ethan was forcing cups of water into Mars’ hands to try and sober him up.

As I got closer I could hear Mars blubbering and whining about something not being fair. I thought, bitterly, that I agreed with him. I wasn’t sure what wasn’t fair but after tonight I was convinced nothing’s fair.

Olivia appeared right behind me, her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. What could she have to cry about, it’s not like her marriage was the most confusing arrangement on the planet.

“Is he okay?” She asked, her voice thick with emotion.

“He’s fine, just partied a little too hard,” Ethan looked up and made eye contact with her. Envy ate away at the lining of my stomach and I didn’t know how to act around any of them. I stayed silent, begging Ethan to reassure me or even acknowledge that he left me for another woman at the party.

He never even looked my way.

“We need to get him out of here.” Ethan said, grabbing one more cup of water and pressing it into Mars’ hand. Mars was slumped over the table, though, practically in a coma.

“I’ll help you!” Olivia perked up and ran over to Ethan’s side. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her, and trailed along behind them as they drug Mars out of the party.

Several guests called after Ethan, disappointed that he was leaving so early, but he waved them off and promised to throw his own party where they could get together soon. Olivia waved to some of the guests as she left, too, and more questions rang in my head.

Ethan and Olivia got Mars in the back of the limo we arrived in. Once Mars was secured in, Olivia took a step back and whispered something in Ethan’s ear. I watched helplessly as Ethan smiled at her, pulling her into a quick embrace and whispering something back to her.

Heat flooded my cheeks from embarrassment and anger. Ethan being intimate with her so blatantly in front of me made my blood boil. What on earth was he playing at?

I climbed into the limo before Ethan even let go of Olivia. Mars was leaning against the door opposite of me, and I folded my arms over my chest. My bottom lip jut out in a pout.

This was why feelings should never have gotten involved in this fake marriage. Just because we are physically attracted to each other doesn’t mean Ethan doesn’t have real emotional feelings for somebody else.

Ethan bid Olivia a quick goodbye and climbed into the seat beside me. He ordered the driver to take us to the house, and we started moving. The silence in the car was palpable, the back seat suddenly feeling incredibly crowded with the extra body in it.

“He’ll stay with us for the night,” Ethan said after several quiet minutes.

I hummed in response, looking out the window to wallow in my thoughts.

“What’s wrong? Did you not have fun?” Ethan poked the fleshy part of my thigh in a teasing manner. Usually I’d giggled at the contact, but I wasn’t in the mood. I turned my legs away from him so he couldn’t reach me anymore.

“I was left taking care of a drunk beta all night.” I murmured to him, voice low and kind of whiny. I didn’t mean to sound so immature, but I couldn’t help it. I felt like the fantasy of our relationship came crumbling down around me.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan cooed. When I didn’t reply he shuffled to the seat closest to me. “Ava, I’m sorry. I got caught up and didn’t realize I left you alone for so long.”

“You were busy with her.” My voice was venomous as I said it.

“Oh, she just needed me for the moment,” Ethan tried to reason. My head whipped around and I looked at him with wide, angry eyes.

“What did she need you for?” I demanded.

Ethan stuttered. I didn’t wait for him to figure out his words and asked another question.

“Who is she to you anyways? Why were you holding her where anyone could come out and see?”

“Ava,” Ethan paused, his mind whirring for the right words to say. I could practically see the gears in his head turning. “I- Well… She… We…”

I took that as a confirmation of my suspicions. There was something between them, something more than being old friends.

“Yea,” I frowned. “That’s what I thought.”

“I can’t explain right now,” Ethan grabbed my hand, but I pulled it from his grasp.

“Okay,” I said in reply, swallowing all the hurt and disappointment that was settling into my heart. I wanted nothing more than to believe Ethan, but he kept so much information from me that I never knew what was real or what was rumor.

“I’ll explain it to you one day,” Ethan reassured, pulling me into him. I didn’t fight at first, part of me felt relief at the contact.

When he started pressing soft kisses along my jawline, my senses came back to me and I pushed him away once more. I couldn’t handle having a strictly physical relationship when my feelings for him were all over the place.

His eyes were wide with confusion, so I cleared it up for him.

I glared at him, “Don’t touch me.”