Page 67 of The Ruthless and the Strong

Lizzie

After waitinga little over a week for the car, I finally got it on Thursday.

It was beautiful, and I had brought it myself, which made this even better. The first car I drove was the one my parents had bought me when I got my driver’s license at sixteen.

The second and last car I drove was the one Sam had bought me on our one-year anniversary.When things had been going well between us and I had convinced myself that I could live the rest of my life with him, that I could forget about Max once and for all. I had been a fucking fool.

Now, I still didn’t know where I stood in Max’s life, even the though the sex had been phenomenal between us.

He told me I was his and he wouldn't let me go.

A huge part of me wanted to believe him. Max never said anything he didn’t mean. He told me I was his, so I was his.

But a smaller, more insistent part of me still couldn’t believe that he was mine.

That after all these years of wanting him, and loving him, and waiting for him, he was finally mine, and I didn’t know what to do with him.

I had just dropped Hunter off at school, and he loved the ride in “Mommy’s new car” before I headed back home to pick Olivia up.

I didn’t know how she did it, but she’d found a handful of investors for the play, plus one big investor who was putting in sixty percent of the production cost, which meant Cato’s Rapture was now officially in production.

I still couldn’t believe it, and though I was excited, a part of me was afraid this might be a one-off, and that it would be my one and only success as a playwright.

I shook away the depressing thought just as I reached to Olivia’s house, but before I could say anything else, she was out the door, dressed in a pale pink button-down shirt and black slacks.

She looked adorable and professional, and she offered me her signature bright smile before heading toward me.

“Hey,” she greeted cheerfully.

I grinned. “Hey. Ready?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, buckling in. “I can’t wait to show you the production. We’re still doing the casting, and it could be a while before we have everyone, but the production team is already putting in some stuff like costume designs and props.”

“That sounds great,” I replied, and it did. I always loved seeing the beginning stages of a production. It made everything even better when I saw the final result, people bringing my vision of a story to life. “Are you directing?”

She shook her head. Olivia had done a lot of the directing for our plays back in high school and even college, but that wasn’t her job now.

Now she played a huge part in looking for plays and wooing the rich to invest. It sounded like she really enjoyed it.

Sometimes I was jealous of her.

She had been so lost in college, while I had been determined. Now it felt like our roles were reversed and I didn’t know what to do with myself most of the time.

“But don’t worry,” she said after a moment of silence. “I have a final say on how I want this story to play out, and I’ll stay true to your vision.”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t worried.”

“Good. Oh, and did I tell you about the surprise party I am throwing Max for his fortiethbirthday?”

I smiled and shook my head. “No. But let me know if you need help with anything. I’m sure he’ll really love it.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “No, he’ll probably be indifferent toward it. I swear, it’s so hard to do something for Max. He already has everything he wants, so I always have a hard time trying to be creative for his birthday.”

“I’m sure he’ll love it because you did it for him,” I said, and that was true. He probably would be excited about the party, but he would love it because Olivia did it for him.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. I hummed in reply but didn’t say anything more.

I pulled onto the highway, and we were quiet after. I was lost in thought, still thinking about my future, about my son, and mostly, about Max. I could still remember the way it felt when he was moving inside me.

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