Free Oliver by Caitlyn Willows Page B

raced so fast she could barely breathe.
    “I’m not the novice you once knew, sweetheart. I am a Master . I take this lifestyle very seriously. You said it yourself—this is not a game.”
    Merideth managed a nod, cast her gaze downward, and tried to focus on eating. She blessed the silence, cursed it too for the time it gave her to wonder what she’d gotten herself into. One phrase would end it all. It’d also send her packing. She’d never felt more conflicted.
    “So if you gave all the money I sent your way to charity, how did you manage to pay for your education?” Oliver asked.
    A valid question, she wasn’t ashamed to admit, especially considering the course his life had taken him. “I used the skills I’d learned from you and hired myself out as a Domme. I called myself Lady Begood.”
    “And how did Lucas feel about this?”
    “He didn’t know.”
    Her nerves jolted when she heard his fork clink to the plate, a sign she now understood as displeasure.
    “So you neglected the man you took as sub at a time when he could have used the stress relief from a heavy university course load because you were busy servicing other subs. In turn, you expected Lucas to fulfill your own occasional need to be dominated. Something he clearly didn’t like doing. And you lied to him about your surgery, never once letting him know you carried our child.” He snorted. “No wonder it didn’t last.”
    He shoved his plate aside and stuffed his hand in his pocket. Merideth braced herself for the reappearance of the loopy john. Instead, he smacked his car keys on the counter.
    “I can’t be with you right now. You want to find a salon, drive yourself. I’m going to join Lucas.”
    She watched, mouth agape, tears swimming in her vision, as he stormed toward the staircase. Pain, anger, frustration exploded in her gut. Merideth launched herself to her feet so fast the stool toppled. Oliver whirled around. Fury darkened his eyes. She didn’t care.
    “Don’t you dare walk away from me, Oliver Holbrook!” She stabbed her finger in his direction. “You did this! You!” Tears fueled her. Fists at her sides, she charged him. “You locked yourself away from us when you got that money. You changed. Shut me out. Yes, I made a mistake. Yes, we were both stubborn. Yes, I left, and Lucas came with me. Because you shut him out too.” Two fingers this time, right in his face. Poking the bear. She didn’t give a damn.
    “You didn’t care enough to come after us. But you sent your fucking money, leading Lucas down the path with you from clear across the country. And he left me too. Shut me out. Tell him about a baby neither of you wanted? For what purpose? To add insult to injury? I loved you, Oliver, and you shoved me aside like I was nothing. Nothing . Then, for me to lose not only a child I craved and didn’t know I carried, but Lucas on top of it. I had nothing, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to take your charity. I made it on my own.”
    “And nearly killed yourself in the process.”
    The words, given so softly, gouged into what remained of her heart. She crumbled into sobs. Oliver caught her before her knees hit the carpet, lifting her into his arms. Merideth buried her face in his neck. In seconds, he had her cradled in his lap on the sofa and a box of tissue by her side.
    “Cry it out, sweetheart. Cry it out.”
    Curled into the comfort of his arms, Merideth cried like she’d never cried before. Gut-wrenching sobs that came from her soul. Oliver never budged. His soothing strokes over her back tethered her to him. She cried until exhaustion weighed her down, until the burn on her ass pushed itself back to the forefront, until there was nothing left but hiccups. And still he held on tight.
    “We were all at fault,” he finally said. “All have a share in the guilt of ruining what was once stupendous. We were young, inexperienced, overwhelmed, and ill-equipped to understand what true commitment requires.”
    “I