Thanks so much for the love on the previous chapter! I hope you all enjoy this one just as much!

– xo

—

Every two weeks Fitz would take Olivia out for dinner and although they're separated, that fact remains the same. Except for the extra company that joined them tonight, they of course couldn't say no to their favorite little guy when he asked to join. It was a tradition that they've followed through since they first started dating after college. Regardless of how hectic things became, they vowed to always take time off and just be with each other. Oddly, that was requested by Olivia and Fitz, he would never pass up the opportunity to spend time with his Livy, so it wasn't a surprise to her when Fitz asked if they could continue their "date nights" even while being separated.

As the trio dined at their favorite restaurant chopping down on their favorite meals, in their favorite booth, cackling and having a grand time an older couple who were probably in their late sixties and early seventies approached them with beautiful, mesmerizing smiles on their faces

"Excuse us? We're so sorry to interrupt but my husband and I couldn't help but notice your beautiful family as we sat at our table. Your son's laugh is so contagious. I'm Kerry by the way and this is my husband Anthony Goldwyn." The older woman said as she waved to Carter.

"Thank you so much for the compliment and it's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Goldwyn. I'm Olivia, this is my husband Fitz and our son Carter." Olivia responded politely as Fitz and Carter acknowledge the couple with smiles and "hellos/heys". For some very odd, unexplainable reason Olivia felt an immediate connection with the older woman, almost like she had known her for years rather than two minutes.

"We were just heading out and we don't want to keep you, but my wife and I just had to say something. You three reminded us so much of our family. Our children are all grown up and have moved on with their lives, maybe we're just missing our bunch and that's why we had to bother you all." Anthony added as he chuckled.

"Oh, it's no bother at all, Mr. Goldwyn. May I ask how long have you two been married?" Olivia questioned as she eyed the exquisite rock on Kerry's finger. She couldn't help herself, it was just something captivating about this couple that reminded her of herself and Fitz. She wanted to know more about them.

The couple bantered with each other on who should tell the story then Kerry gave Tony a playfully "you do as I say or you'll be sorry later" look and he began to speak fondly about their relationship.

"Well, I married this sweet thang when I was just twenty-five years old. She was the only woman for me-" Anthony started but Kerry interrupted him almost immediately causing Olivia and Fitz to snort quietly

"Uh, that is not how I remember it, Tony! Now, what really happened is he asked me to wait for him because he was going off to the war so I did, I waited. And when he came home, I just knew we were gonna marry but who did he want after making me wait all that time? He wanted Jane Musky!" Kerry spoke very disapprovingly as she eyed Anthony and playfully rolled her eyes at him

"Ker, let bygones be bygones. Please.." Anthony pleaded, Kerry shook her head, "No, I'm gonna spill it. He married that old hussy and in two years time, she run off!"

"So did you continue to wait for him?" Olivia asked with a smile, she was so intrigued by their story, "No ma'am, I did not! I married Nnamdi Asomugha." Kerry said proudly while ignoring her husband's grunts and groans, Fitz chuckled at the older fella. He had a great sense of humor and Fitz could tell that he loved teasing his wife.

"He was the weirdest man I ever met! Never spoke a word in public. He was three times her age, too!" Anthony said disgustingly, "Stop it!" Kerry hissed as she swatted Anthony's chest, Olivia and Fitz were in a fit of laughter watching this amazing couple

"Tony's marriage ended when Jane ran off with the milkman. Literally! The milkman! Leaving him with two children to raise on his own. One day, I went to the market, and I saw him there, wrestling with his daughters. I laughed so hard and he got so mad at me!" Kerry said as she laughed at the memory which had every one else giggling as well, Tony just shook his head and smiled at his beautiful wife.

"She was rude! Very rude! There I am, trying to get these children in the car and she's just over there laughing!"

"You know what I did do? I strutted right over to him and I put my hand on my hip and I said to him, "I guess the grass wasn't so green after all!" She sassed, causing Olivia to chuckle as she bumped her shoulder into Fitz then Anthony added, "I swore that I would never speak to her again. But of course, I did."

"The very next winter, Nnamdi got sick and by the time summer came, he could barely move. Months later I buried him, then we had to leave the farm because we didn't own it. One Sunday I went to church, and I prayed for a miracle, a place for me and my two young children to stay and a few minutes later I looked up and I saw an angel! It was the finest, most handsome man I ever saw."

By this time, Kerry and Tony were facing each other, wrapped up in each other's love while Fitz, Liv and even little Cater watched, admiring this moment.

"It was him. All he said was, "Hello, Kerry." It was the kindest, sweetest sound that I had ever heard. And I knew then at that very moment that I wanted to marry him." Kerry ended with a shaky voice as happy tears slid down her cheeks, Anthony smiled down at her since he was so much taller then he wrapped his strong arms around her petite body, hugging her tightly.

"Olivia, I know you've heard the saying "Don't go to bed angry" but girlfriend, I am here to tell you that you can! When you go to bed at night, it doesn't matter how angry or sad you are, you don't have to say anything at all but you always, always have to touch toes! Touching toes is just a little reminder that I'm here and I still love you no matter what."

"She does the toe touching but I'm touching somewhere else." Tony winked, making Fitz and Olivia laugh and their mouths formed into O's, Kerry blushed and hid her face in Tony's chest as everyone laughed at her newfound shyness. These two are so adorable, Olivia thought to herself as she smiled at the couple standing before her family. She wanted this type of love for her himself and Fitz.

"She's my sweet, beautiful angel. We love each other so much. There's no fear. There's no ego, no attitude, no secrets. If you don't remember anything from us tonight, remember this; Love, pure love, will never return to you void." Anthony concluded as he patted Fitz's back.

The older couple said their goodbyes and wished them a very happy married life as they walked away leaving Fitz and Olivia both in deep thought, that is until Carter spoke up, "I have no idea what that meant, daddy!" He exclaimed before stuffing his mouth with more of his Italian dish.

At the exact same time Fitz and Olivia exclaimed, "That's YOUR son!" while pointing at each other. That gave them yet another loud, deep, hearty laugh. One that they needed.

It was sometimes creepy being that in sync with a person and their friends often made jokes about how "corny" they were for being that couple that finished each other's sentences or both reaching for the pepper at dinner, but each time that did happen, Fitz and Olivia fell deeper in love. They didn't find it creepy or corny, loved being so in sync with one other.

Once their bellies were full from all the good eating and their cheeks burned from all the smiling and laughing, the trio decided it was time to head out. Fitz paid the tab and Olivia tipped the waiter, Fitz hated it and protested every time but Liv ignored him and still did it anyway. She, too, was a bit sassy like Kerry.

––––––

The following week, Olivia sat quietly in her mother's living room, gazing out of the window then she finally spoke drawing her mother's attention, "Momma, I- I think it's time that I tell Fitz what happened."

Maya couldn't do anything but smile, she was surprised but so happy to hear her daughter say this. She's been waiting for this moment for a very long time. Too long.

Maya was the only person who knew why Liv kept Fitz away. It wasn't her place to tell Fitz or anyone else in that matter but she always wished that her daughter would handle the situation differently. More maturely.

"Livy, I am so happy to hear you say that, baby. I know this has been hard for you but telling your husband and being able to lean on him for comfort will make things so much better."

"What if he hates me afterwards? What if he doesn't forgive me? I feel like I have ruined us. I should have told him long ago but I was too afraid back then, I was afraid that he'd leave and move on to someone better than me. Then I got the grand idea that if I got him to hate me or resent me first that it'd be easier for me to leave so I kept pushing him away, but he's- Fitz and Fitz doesn't have a hateful bone in his body and he only tried harder to make me happy. I feel so terrible. I don't want to lose him, mom. I don't know what I'd do without him." Olivia cried as she buried her face in her hands

"Livy.. Baby, I want you to hear me and hear me good. Fitz will not hate you. Fitz will not leave you. Like you said, he's Fitz and that's impossible. Fitz loves YOU, all of you. You are not your mistakes and if you want your marriage to work, you need to be honest with him so that you both can heal and move forward. It's not fair that you leave him in the dark, he walks around wondering what he's done for you to stop loving him the way that you used to."

"I haven't stop loving him though! I could never stop!" Olivia protested loudly, almost angrily.

"Livia, calm down and put yourself in Fitz's shoes then tell me that you wouldn't think that his love hasn't changed."

"You're right but it's just hard for me to love him fully because I wasn't able to-." Liv voice cracked as more tears poured from her eyes. Maya brought her into her embrace, consoling her only child. She whispered that everything would be alright repeatedly and kissed her forehead.

She knew Olivia was at her breaking point and she knew that her child missed her husband. She knew she was ready to share her pain in order to save her marriage. And she knew she had to be right by her side if things got worse.

"Olivia, anyone can hide because hiding is easy but facing up to things, working through the tough situations, that's what makes you strong and that's what makes a marriage stronger. It's time that you stop running and face this situation head on, baby because the more you pull away the easier it'll get for Fitz to let you go and I know you don't want that. Just talk to him, don't allow this fear and the "what if's" to control you. Life is about accepting the challenges, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey. Because what's done is done. And what's gone is gone. If you want to fly, you have to give up the weight of what's holding you down."

"I love you, momma. Thank you so much." Olivia said as she dried her eyes with her hands. After her mother's encouraging words and the thought of Tony and Kerry came back to mind, she knew what she had to do. She was tired of living in fear and she wanted her family back.

—

Fitz sat in his office going over a few documents then he cellphone started to ring drawing his attention, he looked down and read that name that glowed on the screen, he smiled and swiped it over to connect the call

"Hi." She said ever so softly as she smiled into the phone.

"Hi, Livy." He said back as he smiled but his smile soon faded and he became worried from her lack of conversation, "Uh, Liv? You alright? What's going on?"

"Yea. Yes. I'm fine. When you're done with work- do you think you can stop by the house? We- I- I need to talk to you about something." She uttered nervously into the phone, for a long while Fitz was quiet and she knew he was already in his head thinking the worse.

"Fitz?" She called and he nodded his head to answer her question but immediately remembered that she couldn't see, "Yea, Liv. I'll be over at 8 o'clock. Are you sure that everything is fine?"

"I'm sure. See you at 8." She said before ending the call.

X

HI!

Did you guys enjoy the Terry scene? Ha, I thought it was cute and a good idea, but sadly that was their first and last cameo! (Shoutout to T.P. for that idea!)

Anyway, what do you think is going on with Olivia?! She's been hiding this secret for two years! Do you think Fitz will forgive her regardless of what she's done? Or will this be the straw to break the camel's back?

Find out in the next chapter!

-xo