Page 64 of Heartless

They both looked at Serena who, now that she’d caught her breath, was on the verge of tears. “Pretty bad. He left home two days ago, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No. He won’t answer my calls or texts.” She swallowed and added thickly, “He said I betrayed our wedding vows.”

Indignant for her, Olivia said, “In what way?”

“We added some things to our vows, including that there would be no secrets between us.”

“Why’s that?”

Eve glanced over at Olivia. “Teresa.”

“Gotcha.” Sean’s first wife had not only been a habitual liar, but she’d had multiple affairs while he was deployed overseas. The marriage had lasted less than a year, but it had done a number on the man’s ability to trust.

“This was a special circumstance,” Olivia said.

“Maybe so, but that’s not the way Sean sees it. I knew he would be angry. I didn’t realize just how bad it would be, though.”

“He’ll get past it, sweetie,” Eve said. “Just give him some time.”

“I don’t think I’ll have a choice. I even called his stepmother who, as you know, is not my favorite person. In addition to saying, ‘I told him you weren’t good for him,’ she said she hasn’t heard from him.”

“Would she tell you if she had?”

“Who knows?” She shook her head, her eyes sadder than Olivia had ever seen them. “I just wish he would let me explain.”

“He didn’t give you a chance?” Olivia asked.

“I tried, but the instant I said that it was my choice not to tell him, he gave me a look and walked out the door. I couldn’t blame this on Ash. He told me if I needed to tell him, I could. But I knew if I did, he’d try to find Hawke on his own. The less people who knew, the better.”

“I’m so sorry, Serena,” Olivia said. “What we did… We really were trying to protect you all.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. Especially after the way we treated you. And I should have reached out to you once I knew the truth. I just didn’t know how to do that and keep the secret that Hawke was alive.”

“Did Hawke tell you why he didn’t want me to know?”

“He said you were moving on in your life and that it was for the best. I’m sorry, Liv. I should have questioned him about it.”

“Did he tell you he almost died because of me?”

Frowning, Eve asked, “What do you mean?”

Olivia explained about the explosion. How they had wanted his death to look as authentic as possible, so she’d set a bomb to go off in the cabin. Hawke was supposed to escape seven seconds before it detonated.

“Somehow Iris, or someone associated with the people she worked for, was able to detonate it early. I watched what I thought was a live feed. I thought it went exactly as planned.”

“He’s never said anything,” Serena said. “How badly was he hurt?”

Olivia closed her eyes against the tears that threatened as she remembered the horrific scars on his back. She could not imagine the pain he’d endured. “Bad. He was in a coma for several days. He has burns on his back, scars all over his chest, and his leg was almost destroyed. Iris taunted him about it in the interview.”

“Bitch,” Eve said softly. “She knew exactly what Hawke would think, that you did it on purpose.”

“Yes.”

“How did he survive?”

“Kate. She found him and took care of him.”

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