Dating

10:52 AM S

Chapter 118

Alright…I admit to being a bit of a coward.

I had every intention of telling Liam about my conversation with Arthur and about his invitation to have dinner with him. However…I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. He’d just come from a long, strenuous day of training and I knew he was beyond exhausted on all accounts.

He asked me about my day and all I was willing to tell him was the call I had with Monica. But nothing that involved Arthur.

Yes, I know he deserved to hear the whale truth of the situation. But I really couldn’t bear the chance of another argument with him over the

matter.

But, when Liam openly invited me to sit in on another practice with him at the rink, I agreed without hesitation. I decided that I needed a real break from writing entirely for the time being. No matter how long I chose to sit at that desk and stare at my work, I knew the words weren’t going

to come to me.

So there I was, sitting in the bleachers with numerous layers of clothing on, trying to conceal what little heat I had.

For the time being, I kept my focus on Liam’s team moving around the ice. Watching the puck slide around the rink was enough to put me in a self- induced trance. With all that had been going on, I felt like I had entered a mental stalemate with both Liam and Arthur.

No matter how I tried to look at the situation I wasn’t able to find an easy way to manage it. I needed to speak with Arthur even if it meant potentially putting myself at risk. But at the same time, I didn’t want Liam to think that I was doing any of this with the intention of hurting him.

“Peter heads up!” Noah yelled out from the other side of the rink.

Apart from the never–ending tug of war with Liam and Arthur, my mind somehow split off into a third category. Noah.

He turned his head and gave me a wave. Giving an awkward wave back, I tried to process Noah’s odd transition from his former self. What exactly inspired him to want to change? It was hard to believe that it had anything to do with me.

Yet the times the two of us had found themselves in each other’s company, I could tell he was trying to make an effort.

I wasn’t exactly considering him in any sort romantic light–nor was 1 considering Arthur–but I couldn’t shake the changes

from him.

“Those Graven boys are really something, aren’t they?”

I’d

been witnessing

I instantly turned my head to see Olivia sitting right next to me. Geez, I must have been so lost in thought that I didn’t even notice the other girl’s presence.

“Oh, hi,” I greeted awkwardly. “You don’t have practice today?”

Olivia gave a slight shake of her head. “No, not until later, thankfully.”

“What were you saying before?”

“Oh, nothing. Just that the Graven brothers are a rather unique pair.”

This remark happened to set me a bit on edge. Why on earth would she say something like that? Was it perhaps that she knew Noah and only knew a bit about Liam through association?

All my thoughts traced back to Noah because I was able to recall what Liam had told me days ago. He had no idea who Olivia was.

Maybe she was one of Noah’s conquests when he and I were together.

The thought slightly stung, but it was the only logical explanation I could give myself,

I did my best to hide my bewilderment and decided it would be wiser to play dumb as a means of getting more information.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

.A

She jutted her chin out toward the rink. “They have a way of attracting people, even when their personality may not be the best, people are always gravitating toward them. They both possess that ‘bad boy‘ exterior but once you get to know them they’re really soft and caring.

I was starting to regret my choice of prying for further information. Mainly because I really had no idea what to do with it. It was scary how well she spoke about Liam and Noah as though she truly knew them.

“Well, you certainly described Noah to a ‘T. Have the two of you dated in the past?”

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10:52 AM J

Chapter 118

Her brows drew together in confusion. “Hm? Oh, no. I’m talking about Liam.”

It took every nerve inside of me to force down the building panic and mild shock inside me.

“You…You and Liam dated.”

Olivia nodded her head and smiled. “For almost a whole year.” My stomach sank. “I really thought he and I were going to seal the deal, but…”

Seal the deal…She means to fully bond.

From what I could remember Monica telling me, fully bonding with another was a very serious commitment that is not made to be taken lightly. It was basically stronger than any marriage vow because it was not something that could be dissolved if at all.

My throat grew dry while I subtly tried to clear it before speaking. “What happened?”

Did I seriously want to know this? Any of it?

“I guess I just wasn’t enough for him,” Olivia said lightly. “Everyone said that we were perfect together, even our families. But I suppose he had other plans in mind. I figured if I wasn’t enough to satisfy him then no one else could…Shit, no offense.”

I forced a smile even though my insides were trembling. “None taken,” I muttered.

Actually, there was a great deal of offense taken from that off–handed statement. This entire conversation was unraveling my whole outlook on Liam at the seams. But I wasn’t about to let my heavier emotions get the better of me, at least not in front of other people.

“Truthfully, Liam and I haven’t been together long. But we’ve sort of known each other for a good portion of our lives. It seems that I keep discovering new things about him,” I commented.

Suddenly, one of Olivia’s friends called out to her from one of the side entrances.

“Oh, I gotta head out. It was nice chatting with you, Ella,” she said with a soft smile.

I forced a smile back. “You too.

Now that I was alone once again, I finally came to address the growing hole in my chest that I didn’t know what to do with.

Was what Olivia told me true? so, why had Liam lied about knowing her?

Arthur’s menacing words echoed through my head when he’d spoken to me about how I’d been putting my trust in the wrong people. The very notion made me nauseous to think that he was right about something like that.

Unlike his brother, It wasn’t likely that someone like Olivia.

lam would have forgottert something:

so crucial as

a

year–long relationship. Especially if the girl was

So why did he see the need to lie to me?

I didn’t want to give this situation another moment of my time. Without thinking, I got up from my seat and headed toward the nearest exit. I faintly heard Liam’s voice calling out for me.

My steps faltered as I glanced over my shoulder to see him.

“Ella! Where are you going?”

“I need some air,” I told him.

“Ella-”

“It’s fine. I’m going back to my room.”

I turned on my heels and left the rink, not having a single clue what to do about this new information I’d been given.

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