Chapter 7: Nathan Presents the Contract to Olivia

Nathan's reverie was jerked to an abrupt end by the sudden rap on his door. He glanced at his watch—6:15 PM. It was too early for Olivia; their dinner reservation wasn't until 8 p.m. He frowned, a line of concern crossing his face as he moved to answer the door. He opened the door, and what he saw clenched his heart. Olivia stood there, her emerald green eyes now red-rimmed and distant; her posture slumped as if carrying an invisible weight. "Liv?" Nathan's voice was soft with concern. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Olivia's lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out of them. Instead, she advanced a step further and buried her face deep in Nathan's chest. To do this, he instinctively put his arms around her and held her close, as his carefully rehearsed speech could be forgotten by the obvious distress. They stood there for a very long moment in the doorway: Olivia's shaking shoulders attested to her silent tears, Nathan holding her, his mind whirling with what could have happened to shake her up quite so badly. Finally, Olivia pulled back a little, wiping at her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have come. I just… I didn't know where else to go." Nathan cupped her face gently, his thumb brushing away a stray tear. "Hey, no. Don't apologize. Come inside, tell me what's going on." He ushered her into the living room, settling her onto the plush couch before he excused himself to get them some water. "Let me get you some water," he called over his shoulder, needing a moment to collect himself. While drawing a glass of water at the counter, Nathan's eyes fell on the manila envelope sitting there. The contract. His stomach did a guerrilla flip with guilt. How could he go through with this now when Olivia was obviously in pain? But, of course, he thought about his daughters and the life he had built. He must do that. For everyone's sake,. Taking a deep breath, Nathan picked up the envelope along with the water and headed back into the living room. Olivia sat balanced forward on the sofa, and the loaded emotions expressed through her smallness and vulnerability reached out to him like a gut punch. "Here," he said softly, and he handed her a glass of water. She took it with a grateful grin. Her hands shook a little. Nathan sat beside her, the envelope a heavy weight in his lap. "Liv," he began gently, "what happened? You're scaring me a little here." Olivia took a shaky breath, her eyes fixated on the tumbler. "Nathan, I—" But before she could say any more, Nathan's resolve crumbled. He couldn't stand seeing her in so much pain. Whatever was wrong with her had to be bigger than what he had been planning to do. "Wait," he interrupted, setting the envelope aside. "Before you say a word, I have something to tell you. I had this whole evening planned out, but seeing you like this, I just can't wait. Olivia, I—" "What's that?" Olivia's voice cut through his rambling, her eyes fixed on the manila envelope. Nathan's mouth had gone dry. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. There was no turning back now, though. With a heavy heart, he reached for the envelope and held it out to her. "It's a contract," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Confused, Olivia furrowed her brow as she took the envelope. "A contract? I don't understand." Nathan watched in suspense as Olivia opened the letter and pulled out the document inside. Her eyes skimmed up the first page, growing wider with each line she read. "Nathan," she said slowly, her tone shaking, "what is this?" He gulped and willed himself to hold her eyes, his own welling up. "It's an agreement. To end things. Officially. Permanently." The silence that followed was deafening. Olivia stared at him with shock and hurt as her countenance seemed to practically scream, "You want it to end—just like that? You really wish for everything to just reach its full end." "Liv, please understand," he said, reaching out to grasp her hand. She pulled it away, and the rejection stung more than he'd expected. "This hasn't been easy. But it's the right thing to do. For both of us." Olivia laughed, and the bitterly hollow sound made Nathan flinch. "The right thing? You're handing me a contract to sign, giving away our relationship, probably like making a purchase order, and you think that's right?" Nathan ran a hand through his hair, feeling his frustration rise. This certainly wasn't going the way he had planned. "I know it seems cold, but I thought. I thought this would make it cleaner. Easier." "Easier for whom, Nathan? For you?" Olivia's voice rose, anger replacing her shock. "You think that I would have smooched along just on the dotted line and walked? And forget all about it—the whole thing we've gone through together?" "Of course not!" Nathan stood and began pacing across the floor. "God, Olivia, don't you see? This is killing me too. However, we cannot go on like this. It's not fair to anybody—not to you, not to me, and above all, not to my family." At the mention of his family, Olivia seemed to deflate. She set the contract aside, and her shoulders slumped. "Your family," she repeated softly. "Right. I almost forgot about them for a moment there." Her bitterness was sharp enough to ache in Nathan's chest. He kneeled before her, taking her hands in his. This time, she didn't pull away. "Liv, look at me. Please." Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his. There, he saw a pain that almost broke him. "I love you," Nathan said, his voice breaking with emotion. "God help me, silent, for I love you more than I ever thought possible." But I have responsibilities. Commitments. I can't just throw all that away, no matter how much I want to be with you. Olivia was silent for a long time, her eyes probing his. Then, so softly he hardly heard her, she said, "What if I told you I'm dying?" Nathan felt the air had sucked out of the room. "What? Olivia, what have you done?" Olivia did nothing but slither to one side, a pitiably woebegone smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "It doesn't matter. You're right, Nathan. We can't keep going on like this. It's not fair to anyone." She suddenly stood up and grasped her purse. Nathan scrambled to his feet as his mind raced with thoughts. "Olivia, wait. Please, we must talk." But Olivia was already striding toward the door. She turned her hand on the knob, then half-turned back to him to give him one last look. "Good-bye, Nathan. I hope you find what you want in life." Then she was gone. Nathan still stood in his living room, and the unsigned contract remained on top of the coffee table. He kept staring aside at the closed door, his heartbeats racing, Olivia's last words playing in his mind over and over again. What if I said I was dying? As the full weight of what had just happened crashed over him, Nathan sank to his knees, burying his face in his hands. He had that gnawing sense that perhaps he had done the biggest wrong of his life when doing the right thing.