Chapter 50

I took my time cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. I wanted Ethan to feel like he had as much space and privacy as possible while he figured out his feelings. I stared at the blackened meat, dry and crunchy vegetables, and with a sigh threw them all away.

If I was in such a position a year ago, I’d have eaten them anyways and been thankful. Waste was such a privilege that I was glad to finally know a little taste of it.

Eventually, though, the kitchen was clean and the living room sparkled, I needed to go upstairs to bed.

I slowly crept up the staircase, the house was silent except for Ethan’s voice booming from his office. He was obviously still on the phone, two hours after the news, and it sounded like the person on the other end might be Mars, but I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure.

I wanted to knock on the door when I passed, stop and offer him some comfort. I knew, though, that my presence would only complicate things.

I sulked to bed, washed my face and covered myself with soft blankets to quiet my brain and fall asleep. Sleep didn’t come easily, though. Ethan’s voice, while muffled, was traveling into my room and surrounding me. He was so mad, and I felt so bad for him.

I wanted to be there for him, but he kept me in the dark for so much of his life outside of these walls, I didn’t know what I could do. I forced myself to sleep, humming to drown out his voice, until I finally dozed off.

When I woke up, the house was empty. Ethan’s car was gone, and so were the reporters. I was happy to see the front lawn cleared, but I knew that meant something big was going on somewhere else.

I walked to the children’s home, since I was free to do that without all the paparazzi, and when I saw Baron playing hopscotch with a couple of little girls, my anxiety started to dissipate.

Baron was a nice distraction from it all. Even if he did ignore things that I wished he wouldn’t.

“Hey!” I jogged over and greeted them. Baron looked up, still hopping on one foot, and smiled at me.

“Hey,” His grin was infectious, “Care for a try?”

I shook my head with a self-deprecating smirk, “Nah, I’d like to talk if you’ve got the chance?”

Baron ruffled the little girls’ hair and told them to play on their own for a bit. I smiled and waved at them, and he followed me to sit on the playground swings while we watched them from afar and talked.

“I know you must have a lot of questions about what you saw the other day,” I looked at him.

He shrugged, “I do, but I know that your business is yours. You’d share it with me if you wanted to.”

“I know you’ve told me about yourself multiple times, and I never even mentioned that I had a husband. It’s confusing I’m sure. Ethan and I are married,” I waved my hands in the air as I spoke, “He’s the CEO and alpha of the Blue Moon Group. He’s running for alpha chairman, and we haven’t been married long.”

Baron nodded along, obviously trying to understand where I was going with all this.

“I’ve never told you anything about myself and I realized how unfair it was to you to come in and see that display of photographers and…” I thought about Ethan and I’s kiss. My stomach flipped at the memory of his lips on mine. “And kissing, and what have you.”

“Ava,” Baron frowned, “You don’t owe me anything, not even explanations.”

His words made a warmth form in my chest, I thought it might be similar to what I felt for Ethan, maybe I could get over him. In the end though, it was nowhere near as extreme or fulfilling. It was a passing heat like comparing a lightbulb to the sun.

“I want to tell you, though. He’s confusing and I’m confused all the time.” I kicked my feet in the dirt, swinging ever so slightly, “He’s cheating on me. I think.”

If Baron was surprised by the confession, he didn’t show it. He watched me intently with warm eyes and a sympathetic nod every now and then.

“I trust you to keep that between you and I,” I blurted out standing from the swings. “I shouldn’t have told you, but I don’t know who else to go to.”

Baron stood up to follow me, chasing me and catching me by the wrist to stop me.

“You can tell me anything, I promise to hold all your words close to my heart.” Baron said it so genuinely, I felt like he meant every word.

The girls continued playing hopscotch and I pressed my forehead into the palm of my hand, letting out a shaky breath.

“I don’t know what to do, I don’t want him to love her.” I admitted to him, and for the first time to myself, “I don’t want him to leave me. But how can I tell him what to feel?”

Baron pulled me into a tight embrace as I felt my emotions get the better of me. I started to cry just a bit, a weepy, wilty cry. He held me close as I grieved the ending of a marriage that never truly began. We never consummated the marriage, never went further than kissing and touching, and yet I was heartbroken over what was yet to come.

“He’s an idiot if he’s cheating on you.” Baron’s voice rumbled in his chest. He smelled sweet like honey and sweat. Nothing like Ethan. He was nothing like Ethan.

I wanted him to be, though. I just wanted Ethan and the more Ethan distanced himself from me, the worse I felt.

I leaned back and opened my mouth to reply, but the clearing of someone’s throat surprised me and I jumped back from Baron.

Mars was standing next to us, his eyes were dark and angry. He glanced down at the way Baron had his arms around me, and I pushed him away. I straightened out my clothes and looked at Mars.

“What are you doing here?” I questioned. His fiery red hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions and he no longer looked like the mischievous boy I met at the charity gala. He was harder now, more broodish.

I wondered what was happening to him behind the scenes.

“Ethan needs you home,” He looked Baron up and down and then flicked his gaze back to me, “Now.”

“Can’t it wait?” I asked, shuffling a few steps away from Baron. Mars looked ready to kill.

“No,” He handed me a cream white envelope with a golden wax seal. It was a letter addressed to Ethan and I, and it had already been opened.

“What’s this?” I plucked the thick card from his hand and opened the letter. Inside was a gold and green cardstock invitation that read:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Velasco,

It would be our greatest privilege to invite you to Andrew and Olivia’s wedding ceremony taking place next Saturday at 6pm You are allowed one guest respectively, please RSVP below.

Love,

Andrew and Olivia

Below the printed invitation, there was a handwritten note from Olivia herself. She was asking Ethan to come as Andrew’’s best man, and for me to accept to be her maid of honor.

I reread the note three more times. It didn’t make sense, I hardly knew her.

What game was she playing?