Now upstairs away from the innocent ears of their children and behind a closed door, Olivia paced the floor angrily as Fitz begged and pleaded for her to calm down and hear him out. With tears in her eyes, Liv had told him everything that had been said at her mother's house, and Fitz felt downright awful. There was no other way to put it. There was a knot in his throat, like locking pliers were clinched around his trachea, and he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him as Olivia relayed the things Tamia had said to her-- about him, about "them". He knew he had had plenty of time to explain things to Olivia in his own way, the truthful way, but instead he had been too much of a coward and Liv's sister had beat him to the punch telling nothing but lies. Fitz had no one else to blame but himself. If only he had just opened his mouth. "Olivia, please listen to me! Tamia..Tamia is lying, ok! Liv, why would I...why would I do something like that, huh? I love you, Olivia! Just you!"

"I don't know why, Fitz! But you better tell me or I swear I will divorce your ass right now! What did you do because right now, 'love' has nothing to do with the situation!" Olivia shouted. The look she gave him was one of hurt and anger. Olivia had never ever felt this type of distress and betrayal before. Not even when she caught Jake cheating on her. She never thought Fitz was capable of hurting her this way, but things like this always seemed to happen when you put someone on a pedestal. They disappoint you in a way you would have never imagined.

"Divorce? You can't be serious!" Fitz stressed. Everything he didn't want to happen was, in fact, fucking happening, and all because of Tamia's delusional ass. "I didn't do anything, Olivia! Just- just think about what you're asking me! When have I ever shown any interest in your sister, huh? Of all the people, Tamia? You sound about as crazy as she does asking me these questions!" Fitz scoffed.

Olivia scoffed back. "I'll show your ass crazy, Fitzgerald. Why would Tamia lie about sleeping with you and being...being pregnant with your child? Just answer this, did you or did you not call her to come see you when you were in New York?"

"No! Of course not!"

His answer was immediate as he looked her square in the eyes. Fitz's usual nicely tanned face was as red as tomato right now. He was so damn angry at Tamia for causing all of this strife in his marriage, at Olivia for clearly not trusting him and questioning his loyalty to her, but more importantly at his own self for not fixing the situation when he had the chance to! And now Olivia's talking about a divorce? There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen! He had lost Olivia once and he damn sure wasn't going to lose her again, especially not because of this! Yes, this was a terrible, terrible situation to be in and he understood Olivia's reaction to it all, but he hadn't done anything wrong!

"Was she at the hotel that you were staying at? What about at the studio? Did you see each other at all? And don't you dare lie to me, Fitzgerald. Was Tamia there?"

Fitz became hesitant. There were some things that he could remember clearly, like the hotel and the beginning of his trip, but the middle of the trip? His memories were still muddled. He just didn't know, but he did know, without a doubt, that he did not call Tamia. "No- ok, yes, I think...she was at the hotel? I...I remember her being there and we spoke briefly, we actually had a disagreement about something, but after that I can't remember anything. All I remember is waking up the next morning for a meeting with a banging headache, but I swear to you that I didn't tell her to come and nothing happened between us, Livie. And again, there's no way I could've asked her to come. I don't have Tamia's number programmed into my phone! She showed up on her own, with her own agenda to create a story about us! I swear...I think she might've, she might have drugged me!" Fitz expressed worriedly while also trying to make his words stick. But he knew she didn't believe him. He could see it written on her face. Mentally, she had already checked out.

Olivia shook her head as tears fell from her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. So, Tamia had been there after all..But Fitzgerald had made a fool out of her for the last time. "Now she drugged you? How, Fitz?! Where? In the same hotel room where you fucked her? If you saw my sister and 'nothing went on', why wouldn't you tell me about it? Why was seeing Tamia such a big secrecy? What did you two have a disagreement about? You know what.. Never mind, Fitz. Get out."

"What?" Fitz asked with knitted eyebrows and confusion written on his face. Even though things were literally falling apart, he still wouldn't tell her the entire truth, like how Tamia had showed up at his office even before his trip and how she claimed to be his wife at his meeting. He knew Olivia didn't believe him now anyway and she was way too angry to listen to him, so what was the point? He was hoping that he hadn't heard her right though. He'd just told his wife that he was drugged and she was putting him out? "Liv, I said I believe that I was drugged and you're telling me to leave! Don't you believe me?"

"Fitz, get your shit and go! I am not doing this with you! Get the hell out!"

Fitz stalked towards her, grabbing her by the arms causing her gasp and look away from him. "Look at me, Olivia! I am your husband! You are supposed to believe me! I am telling you the truth, Liv! I would never do anything that would jeopardize our marriage, our family!" He expressed sincerely as she fought against him; tears falling from her eyes. Hell, he was on the verge of crying himself. He couldn't believe his marriage was coming to this all because of lies. He knew he should've told Olivia everything when he had the chance. The thought of causing her any hurt is what held him back. Olivia had already taken so many loses in her life, he didn't want to be the cause of her losing her sister, too. Of all the men in the world, why in the hell did Tamia have to choose him to obsess over!

"Livie, please, listen to me!" He begged.

With her eyes now looking into her husband's, Fitz leaned down and kissed her with earnest. All the things he couldn't say, didn't know how to say, was put into that kiss and Olivia could only kiss him back with just as much intensity. When she snatched away, snapping out of his spell, a soft whimper fell from her swollen lips and she laid her head on his chest as she cried harder at the thought of them being no more. Fitz continued to place light kisses on her; trailing from the top of her head to her cheek. "You've got to believe me, Livie." He repeated over and over, then he kissed her soft lips. Olivia shook her head and pulled away from him, stepping completely out of his embrace.

"Just go, Fitz. Please, just go," she choked out. Completely heartbroken.

She flopped down onto the bed behind her as the tears continued to roll down her face. She couldn't even look at him. Fitz stood in place as the tears he'd been fighting back finally fell, wetting his carmine cheeks. After a deep inhale, he walked to the door and placed his hand on the knob, but before walking out, he glanced back her and said, "I want you to really think about the type of person I am, Liv. I know we've had our issues in the past, but we were young and I've changed. When I saw you that night of the gala for the first time in years, I vowed to myself to make things right between us because I knew I couldn't go another day without you in my life and that someday I was going to make you my wife. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, Olivia. You said love has nothing to do with this situation but, it absolutely does because me loving you means that I would never intentionally hurt you, I would never do something as disturbing as sleeping with your younger sister. You are my life, Liv. No one compares to you and no one ever will. I know this is hurting you badly and I know you may not believe me right now but whatever your sister told you, it is not true and I am going to make this right. Your sister is trying to ruin us, I don't know why, but I will not let her win. We've fought too hard and have been through too much to give up now. No matter what, I love you, Livie, and I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to tell you everything when it happened but, truthfully, I was only trying to protect you from getting hurt. You...you don't deserve any of this."

He walked out of the door and softly closed it behind him after that.

Olivia's heart shattered once she heard the latch click. She didn't know who or what to believe at the moment. She wanted to believe Fitz, her gut was telling her that she should, but her gut feeling was always a tricky thing when it came to him, and if what he was saying was true, why didn't he just tell her when it all happened? How was keeping secrets protecting her? He was only protecting himself! If not, why wait until things hit the fan?

She took off her wedding ring and stared at the shimmering diamonds. In an instant, she hurled the piece of jewelry across the room before sobbing into her hands. Though she had been joking, her mother had been right when she said that all men cheat save for Barack Obama.

As Fitz descended from the room, he could hear his children's laughter the closer he came to the living room and the dulling ache he felt over his entire body intensified even more. What the hell was he going to tell them? Should he just sneak out? Of course not, he couldn't just disappear without saying anything.

After ridding the tears from his face, he made his presence known by clearing his dry throat.

"Good, you're back! I need you back on my team, dad," Nolan beamed once he saw Fitz.

"Guys, I'm- I-" With a heavy sigh, Fitz walked over to his kids, took his spot back on the couch and grabbed the controller. He would leave after having a talk with them. But for now, he was going to play whatever the hell they wanted him to play.

"Who's ready to lose against dad?" He forced a smile. Pretending was not easy when all you really wanted to do was break down and cry from anger, frustration and sadness.

X

It had taken Olivia nearly an hour to calm down and when she finally did, she headed downstairs to check on the kids. She knew she should've came downstairs soon after Fitz left, but she wasn't ready to face them just yet. She needed to time to convince herself, convince herself that she'd done the right thing by asking Fitz to leave though her heart was telling her something completely different.

Entering into the living room, Olivia couldn't believe her eyes. Her sadness and worry for her children's state of mind quickly turned into anger seeing Fitz still in her-- their home.

Unfortunately, this time, Olivia's consideration for the kids being present went out of the window. She saw Fitz as the enemy, and she wanted him gone immediately. "Fitz." She hissed. "What are you still doing here? I asked you to leave and I meant it." She spat.

After those words, the children's attention quickly shifted towards Olivia. Seeing their faces instantly made her regret saying that in front of them. The entire situation was reminding her of her own childhood when her parents had physically fought in front of her and her sisters about their father's infidelity. God, this is not what she wanted, ever.

"Mommy?" Katie softly spoke. Because just like the rest of them, Katie had immediately picked up on the venomous tone in her mother's voice.

"Why would you ask dad to leave?" Nolan frowned curiously.

"Nolan, honey, not now. How about you guys go upstairs, yeah?" She suggested, trying to smooth things over with a kind smile. However, their children were far too intelligent to go for that and were experts on reading body language. They had noticed the way Fitz hadn't said anything in response to Liv's demand, they noticed how Olivia was stand-offish, and they even took notice of their parents eyes. They could see that both Fitz and Olivia had been crying, and that was alarming enough.

Something was very wrong.

"No!" Asher spoke up. "Not until we know what's going on? Why...why are you telling our dad to leave?"

Silence filled the room. Everyone was taken aback by Asher's tone, especially Olivia. Asher was her baby, the one that would usually side with her against any and everyone else, not that that was important now, but it was a fact. Was she crossing a line now? She hadn't even taken the kids feelings into consideration, all she was thinking about was herself and how foolish she'd look when everyone found out the situation with Tamia.

Fitz was their father though, of course they would be upset about her asking, no telling, him to leave their home.

"Hey, Ash, it's ok," Fitz said, nodding his head. "I'm going to respect your mother's request and go, but first I want to be honest with all of you. Mom and I...we aren't seeing eye to eye at the moment, so for now, we are going to be separated and I'll be staying somewhere else-"

"You're what? You're really going to leave?" Nolan interrupted. "Why...why can't you just sleep in another room? You don't have to leave, dad! Mom and dad's fight all the time, but that doesn't mean that they leave!"

"I know that, Nolan. But, that isn't our case." Fitz shook his head, letting his children know that that wouldn't work. Seeing their eyes fill with tears was really tearing him up inside. He hated that he'd allowed things to get this out of control. Not only was he and Olivia hurting, but now their children was suffering as well. He had to fix this as soon as he possibly could.

With a sigh, Fitz pushed himself up from the couch and almost immediately Katie gripped his shirt. "Daddy, don't! Don't go!" She cried, looking up at her father. Olivia quickly turned her head away from the scene unfolding before her and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth to keep herself from whimpering aloud. She had just gotten herself to stop crying, but the tears were already falling again. She never wanted her babies to hurt, never wanted them to see her and Fitz fight, especially like this, but what else was she supposed to do?

"Hey, I will be back, ladybug. I- this is only for a short time. Everything will be back to normal soon, ok? Don't worry, it's only a temporary change. Married couples have issues all the time, they separate all the time, but that doesn't mean that I have to stop being your father and a husband to your mother. I love you all so-so much." He said as he started to get choked up again. One thing he hated to do was to cry in front of people, especially his children. He kissed their foreheads and told them that he'd be back soon.

"Love you, dad." Asher softly spoke.

"I love you too, Ash. Be good, buddy."

It didn't go unnoticed by Fitz nor Olivia that Asher had called him dad, twice now. They both just wished it was happening under better circumstances.

"Dad," Nolan called. "Please, hurry back. We need you here."

Fitz nodded. "I know, Nolan. I know. I'll call you guys soon. Be good for mom, ok?"

Casting a glance in Olivia's direction, he caught her eye just as she lifted Katie into her arms to console the crying child as her own tears coated her cheeks. Before he could even attempt to say anything to her, Olivia turned away from him. His only choice was to shake his head and walk out of the door.

He had to figure this out and make things right.

He had to get his wife back.

X

"And now I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant" Was all Olivia heard in her head, she was so zoned out thinking how disgusting her sister was for getting pregnant by her husband. This was some real yeehaw hillbilly shit! Never in a million years did she think she would be in a situation like this. Was this karma for cheating with Fitz when he was married? Was this karma for keeping Nolan a secret? Was this karma for cheating on Jake...with Fitz? Why did horrible things always happen to her! Was she truly meant to live an unhappy, loveless life? Why couldn't she marry the man that devoted himself to her, and to her only!

"Mommy! MOOOOOM-MEEEEE! Mommy," Katie shouted tapping the glass door. Olivia gasped at the sound of daughter's voice finally breaking her out of her trance-like state. She wiped away the fog then looked at Katie. "Yes, ladybug? I'm sorry. What is it, baby," she asked trying to focus on the child that was standing outside of her walk-in shower. Olivia truly didn't have any privacy these days thanks to Katie and Willow; they were always right there. Even in the bathroom they were with her, no matter what she was doing.

"Gosh." Katie sighed, annoyedly. It felt she had been standing there calling her mom's name forever. "I want pizza, mommy."

"Ok, honey. Let mommy finish her shower and I'll place the order when I get out. Ok?"

Katie nodded then ran out of the bathroom. After rinsing off the soapsuds and turning off the water, Olivia opened the glass door and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the warm drying towel around her petite body and sighed as she padded over to the double sink and looked in the mirror. The steam shower hadn't really helped at all. Her eyes were still puffy and red from crying. She still felt knotted and stressed. Altogether, she still felt like crap.

Two weeks had already gone by since Olivia and Fitz had their huge fight. Two weeks since she'd told him to leave, and two weeks since they had last spoken to each other.

She missed her husband terribly.

If she could go back to that day, she knows she would change her approach and actually try to listen to him. Although she's super angry with him, she knows Fitz better than that. She knows her husband isn't the type to cheat on her with her sister, and she should have believed him. But he also should've told her the truth about everything the second it all had happened.

After time alone, without Fitz's presence, she had time to really think about the situation, to really focus on the details and process everything she had learned. Yes, Tamia and Fitz may have seen each other in NY but it didn't mean they slept together. Olivia had thought back on the day Fitz left for the trip, how Tamia had been there to witness it, and how she was extremely interested in knowing the details, which had never happened before. This, Olivia knew, but some things still didn't add up like why would Tamia lie about sleeping with Fitz? Why was she doing this to them? To her?

Olivia spoke to her mother regularly since she was the one to witness everything firsthand between her and Tamia. She wanted to know if Tamia had said anything else about Fitz or if she knew his whereabouts. Poor Maya was trying her best to be supportive to both daughters, and Olivia couldn't understand that. If one of her own daughters was lying about something so damaging, she knew she wouldn't be able to support her.

So, Whitney became Olivia's main source of comfort. Whitney would come over to help with the kids and to just be there to help Olivia get through the day, to be a listening ear and of course to give her own take on the situation.

Olivia had immediately filled her in with details so she knew everything about the situation and she definitely believed that Tamia was lying on Fitzgerald Grant. She knew Fitz pretty darn well, she knew he was not that type of person. He was crazy about his Livie and Whitney hated the fact that Olivia had kicked him out before they had a proper conversation without being angry at each other.

With Harrison and Fitz being the best of friends, everyday Olivia would ask Whitney if she or Harrison had heard from Fitz, but their answers remained the same— they hadn't seen or spoken to Fitz in weeks.

The hardest part had been having a conversation with Barbara and Fitz's brother. Awkwardness surrounded them as Olivia told them why they were separating in the first place and with that came more interesting information like the fact that Benjamin and Tamia had actually slept together on more than one occasion.

Barbara was absolutely disgusted by Tamia, yet rightfully so. It had been hard for her to keep her tongue in check whenever she spoke to Olivia about the situation, but Olivia understood the woman's anger. Fitz was her son and no one wanted their child to be toyed with and lied upon, regardless of their age.

What Olivia hadn't expected though was for Barbara to distance herself from her. This, of course, broke Olivia down even more. It felt like everyone had turned their backs on her and blamed her for everything, but she was the victim! Olivia tried to explain to Barbara and Benjamin that she was hurt and angry when she told Fitz to leave, but she never wanted anything bad to happen to her husband.

Barbara was crushed when she couldn't get in contact with her baby boy. She had called his phone over a hundred times but each time it went straight to the automated voicemail. Olivia was hopeful that Fitz was ok wherever he was, but her request to her in-laws was if they got in contact with Fitz first then to please have him come home to her and their children.

In reality, Olivia wasn't certain that he was ok, and she didn't know if would ever come back to her. She had broken him when she had told him to leave. She saw the look in his eyes but she had been far too upset to back down. But now, all she wanted was for him to come home so they could fix their marriage. Divorce was not option. Even after everything, she still loved Fitzgerald Grant with everything in her. She needed that man like she needed air to breathe.

As for Tamia, she was already beginning to show with a baby bump.

Olivia had gone over to her mother's and Tamia had been there. Seeing her sister with a bump nearly brought her to tears and she almost believed her sister was telling the truth. All the signs were there, she was with Fitz in NY and now she had a stomach with a growing fetus to prove her claims. Fortunately, Whitney and Harrison was there, too. They helped Olivia see the light again. Their minds weren't clouded. "Liv, there's no way that Fitz could be that things father! I don't care what anyone says, I know Fitz would not do this to you. And if you really want him back, you need to start believing in him yourself! Wasn't Tamia the one that told you directly that she had cheated on her husband anyway? There's no telling whose kid that is, but you have to believe that it is not Fitz's. I'm no doctor, but it has got to be too soon for her to be showing." Harrison had said, and thank god Olivia got her head back on straight.

The Pope sisters were now at a crossroads.

They didn't know which sister to believe and which sister to comfort. They were all at a lost, but since Fitz had basically run off and Tamia actually had evidence (her stomach), it was easier for them to take Tamia's side making Olivia feel alone. Her family had basically turned their backs on her when she needed them the most.

"Mommy! Pizza!"

Olivia sighed heavily at Katie's shouting. Olivia loved her kids more than anything, but these days it was getting harder and harder to parent. She just wanted a fucking break. "Katie, I need you to hold on for just a second! I said I was coming!" She shouted angrily at her daughter through the door. When she heard the little girl sniffle and stomp away, she sighed. "Great Olivia. Just fucking great."

Life without Fitz was fucking stressful.

After getting dressed in a sweatshirt and pants, she brushed her hair into a messy bun before ordering the pizza along with a cookie cake. Then, she went to the living room to find Asher holding Willow. They were both asleep on the couch and Willow was lying on top of her big brother's chest. Olivia couldn't resist snapping a picture of them. Since Fitz leaving, her relationship with Asher had become complicated to say the least. He'd been so upset with her for asking Fitz to leave and not explaining why, but she just wouldn't/couldn't say. No matter what, Fitz was a fantastic father and she didn't want the children looking at him differently because of their situation, especially since she didn't know the full truth.

She continued walking around the house, in search of Katie, then she realized she and Nolan were in the backyard. Once she stepped out onto the patio, she called Katie over to her and she apologized profusely for snapping at her. Katie did not deserve that. "I'm so sorry, Katie. I should not have spoken to you that way and I never want you to allow anyone to speak to you that way. You deserve respect. That was mean and ugly of me and I really do apologize. Forgive mama?"

Katie nodded as she threw her arms around Olivia's neck, hugging her. "I forgive you, mommy." Olivia smiled and kissed her cheek. "I love you, ladybug. Now go play, cupcake! The pizza is on its way," she said, patting Katie on her bottom before the little girl took off running to the jungle gym Fitz had built a while back for her and Willow, whenever she was old enough to enjoy it as well.

Olivia sat next to Nolan and he looked at her, then he looked away as he said, "I don't need an explanation for why you asked him to leave or why he's still gone. I just want him back."

Olivia sighed. Her sons had become so accustomed to Fitz's presence and him not being around wasn't just affecting her, but them as well. "I don't know where is he, Nolan," she said, biting back tears. "I thought he'd be back by now. I've tried calling him and everything." She explained to her oldest. Surprisingly, Nolan had been showing a lot more compassion than she thought he would, it was like he and Asher had traded places.

"What if something bad has happened to him? What if he got into a car accident when he left? What if he's in the hospital," Nolan asked. Everything he'd asked was all Olivia's fears. She had those some questions running through her head constantly, but she wasn't going to allow her son to think that way too. "Nolan, I'm sure your dad is fine. If something bad has happened, then I'd know. I know Fitz, and I know he's fine," she said, not only trying to convince her son but herself as well.

"Do you even miss him, mama? Because you seem fine even though he's been gone for two weeks and hasn't taken the time to even call us? I talked to my brothers. Felix and Teddy, and they said he hasn't called them either. Do you care if he's ok?"

Olivia felt the tears pricking her eyes at the questions. She nodded and answered, "Of course I miss him, Nolan, but life does not stop just because he isn't here. I have to keep moving forward for you, for your brother and for your sisters. I shouldn't have asked Fitz to leave, but I was angry and I do apologize for that but what happened is between your father and I. I'm not explaining any of that to you. I absolutely hate the fact that he isn't returning any of you kids phone calls, because none of you deserve that and this separation was only going to be temporary, but I guess he's needing more time than we originally thought. Honey, I love your dad so much, and I certainly do care if he's ok or not."

"Yeah. I guess."

Silence fell over the two until Olivia's phone vibrated, alerting her that the pizza had arrived.

"Come inside, the delivery guy is here," she said to him before shouting, "Hey, Kat! The pizza is here, honey! Come inside!"

"Mom, I love you," Nolan said as he, Katie and Olivia walked inside the house. She smiled, giving him a side hug and kiss on the forehead. "I love you more, baby. And your daddy loves you, too. No matter what happens between us. We love you...we love all of you."

Asher had gotten up and put Willow down to continue with her nap while Olivia went to the front door to retrieve the pizza and chocolate chip cookie cake. Katie gasped and her eyes lit up with excitement. "Mommy! Cookie cake!!"

Olivia smiled as the boys laughed at their sister. "Yeah, but first pizza. Did you wash your hands, baby? You've been outside."

"I did! And I know, I know! I know, mommy." Katie sang as she danced in her seat. Olivia was seriously debating whether or not to give Katie a slice of the cookie. Her child seemed to already be on some sort of sugar high. But to see her happy after being down from Fitz's absences made it all worth it.

X

The family of four sat around the table talking, eating and laughing. She knew her kids were suffering from Fitz's absence but for the first time in two weeks, things were good. The were talking, they were laughing. Olivia glanced at the spot where Fitz would normally be sitting and suddenly she couldn't control her emotions. She quickly excused herself from the table and went upstairs to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

With fallen tears, Olivia did something that she honestly hadn't did a very long time, something her mom taught her and her sisters to do when things just weren't right. Olivia fell to her knees and prayed to her Heavenly Father.

She asked Him to show her the truth in this difficult situation. She asked Him to take the speck out of her eyes. She asked Him to forgive her of all her wrong doings, so that she may do the same to others that had done wrong to her. And lastly, she asked God to fix her marriage and safely bring her husband back home to her and their children. She loved him and she didn't want to do life without him. Her vows had been for better or worse. She wasn't ready to throw in the towel.

Together, they could figure this thing out.

Olivia wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes as she got up from the floor. Her phone pinged with a text message alert just as she was going into the bathroom to wash her face, so she walked back over to her phone and it was a message from Clara, the only sister that would genuinely check in on her. The message read: "Thinking of you and my bad ass nieces and nephews. I love you. Stay strong, Lib." Olivia could only smile to herself. Her sister doesn't even know how good that message made her feel. It was like confirmation.

..Confirmation that everything would be alright.

She placed her phone down, went into the bathroom and smiled at her own reflection. Something she hadn't been able to do in two weeks. She was ready to find out the truth. Who was the father of Tamia's baby? And where the hell was Fitzgerald Grant?

X

"You are one crazy bitch, you know that?! You are not going to get away with this!"

"I already have." She laughed.

Next, she closed the door to the abandoned place behind her. Once again leaving him all alone.

He wanted to give up hope, but the thought of his family kept him strong.

He would just have to keep fighting like hell.

And after all of that, all I have to say is that this book has only three to four more chapters to go!