With Tamia still unconscious, Fitz frantically patted Tamia's pockets searching for a cellphone and car keys. Unfortunately, she didn't have her cellular device on her, but Fitz was happy that she had driven and stuffed the keys to her car into his pocket and began to pace the floor as he contemplated on whether he should leave and go straight to the police station or go home to the family that he'd missed so much? But the moment he heard Tamia groan as she began to stir awake, he knew that most importantly he had to stick around and get some answers from her.
"Well, well, well.. Look who's finally awake."
"Fitz? God, what happened?" She croaked, squinting her eyes at him before looking around to take in her surroundings. Then, she remembered. Immediately regretting the moment she had untied him.
Fitz stood there in silence, staring at her. He still couldn't believe they had ended up here. He never would have thought. "Why, Tamia?"
She rolled her eyes at the question. "Why not? You weren't going to leave her for me, so I took matters into my own hands."
"Of course I wasn't going to leave my wife!" Fitz shouted. "I love Olivia! How could you do something so crazy and disgusting like this to her? What about your nieces and nephews? Did you ever stop to think about how this would effect them? Because it's not just Olivia that you're hurting. The shit that you've pulled has done a lot of collateral damage! Your obsession with me has ruined so much!"
"I only wanted to help, Fitz. I'm giving you something Olivia will never be able to do again." She spoke innocently.
"What are- what are you talking about, Tamia!"
"Olivia had her tubes tied."
From the look on Fitz' face, Tamia knew she had revealed some information that he was not privy to.
"So, little Miss perfect didn't tell you?"
For a few seconds, Fitz was too stunned to speak. More questions began to race through his mind as it seemed like he couldn't catch a break.
"You're lying." He finally said just above a whisper. Was it true? Could he really believe this lunatic? No, of course he couldn't! There was just no way Olivia would do something like that without discussing it with him first. They hadn't even talked about having more children after Willow, and her body, her choice of course, but they were a team. That isn't just something you have done without talking to the man you're committed to first.
"Nope." Tamia shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm not lying to you, Fitz."
"How...how do you that? Liv told you this?"
Tamia gloated, nodding. "Oh yeah, before this all started, we were close, but you know that, Fitz. Liv would tell me everything. When we would have our sister dates, she'd brag to us about how good of a man you are, how good you are in bed and how good of a father you are. So, I wanted to test the waters for myself."
Fitz was fuming, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him get upset about his situation with Olivia. As much as he wanted to badmouth his wife, he certainly wasn't going to do it in front of Tamia.
"Tamia, what happened to you? You weren't like this? Out of all the men out there, why me? Why fuck up Olivia's happiness?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Life is what happened, Fitz. My life is so fucked up! My husband cheated so I did it too, but the asshole- he didn't even care! He just cheated again, again and again! Like I meant nothing to him! I was at my breaking point, and so I said, 'hey, why not fuck up Olivia's life as well?' She's always been the perfect one! When we were younger, all of the guys wanted her. Our parents kissed the ground she walked on and even now, too. She was everyone's favorite. She's even the one that got the record deal.." Tamia shrugged.
"But she's your fucking sister! You should be happy for her!"
Tamia looked at him and snapped. "I don't give a damn, Fitz! I mean, obviously, I don't!"
"You need help, Tamia. We're going to get that for you."
"Honestly? I'd just kill me if I were you."
"You're still my wife's sister. I wouldn't be able to live with myself with your death on my hands, and though you've done some pretty fucked up things, you have two children to live for, once you get the help you need," he said. Tamia gave him a confused look. "Two?" She questioned him before bursting into laughter.
"Oh god." She snickered once realization hit her.
"What? Why are you laughing? Do you not care about your children? I can understand you not giving a damn about my children, but your own? God, you are despicable, Tamia."
"Are you done yet?"
"You know what-"
"Fitz, lift up my shirt." Tamia interrupted.
"What the fuck? No!"
"Fitz, just do it, ok! I need you to see!"
Fitz hesitated before he walked closer to her. He no longer had the gun in his hand, because he knew for certain that she wouldn't be able to get loose from the rope. He slowly stretched out his hand and lifted the oversized black teeshirt that she was wearing over her protruding stomach. The sight before him caused him to gasp.
"You lying bitch!" He yelled in anger.
He had wondered why her reaction to him kicking her in the stomach had been such a small one. Why there wasn't any bleeding? Or her begging to get her to hospital, but now he knew why. Tamia had been wearing a fake pregnancy belly all along. He thought about Olivia and how she must've felt when she saw Tamia's protruding belly, but it was a fake! It was all fake! She had fooled everyone.
"Surprise!! There is no baby!" Tamia laughed.
If Fitz didn't care much about his morals, he would've pulled the trigger on her right then. That's just how angry he was, but even after all of her lies and deceit, he still cared for her in a brotherly manner. Somehow, he still saw the sweet eleven year old.
"Amazon made this all too easy. When I drugged you- oops."
"Wait, what? So you did drug me! When you came to the hotel in New York...that's when you drugged me, right?"
Tamia laughed. "Mhm. It had been too easy."
"And you were in my room when I made it back? You must've told them that you were wife, like you did with the assistant at the studio?" Fitz said. As his memory came back, he was starting to put the pieces together.
"Well, I tried that... Unfortunately, they knew that I wasn't Olivia. However, money talks and they eventually gave me a key to your room."
"Tamia, did...did we sleep together?"
Fitz needed to know. Nothing else really mattered as much to him than knowing if he had slept with his wife's younger sister.
Tamia remained quiet. She knew that him not knowing the entire truth was killing him. Even with the gun in his possession, she still had all the power.
"Dammit, answer me!" Fitz shouted angrily. "Did we sleep together?"
"No!"
"No?"
No!" She cried. "I tried, ok? But you wouldn't...you wouldn't get hard and I wasn't going to ride a limp dick. In between consciousness you would call out Olivia's name and every time you did, it made me feel...I don't know...dirty. After giving you a quick blowjob and taking a few pictures, I left. We never actually had sex."
Fitz sighed in relief as he ran his hand over his face. He was so relieved that he could cry. He hated the fact that she had saw him, touched him, and even had her mouth on him but he was thankful that that's all that happened.
"How the hell did you get me here? I...I can't remember anything from that day."
"After Olivia's and I blowup at our mom's house, I got into my car and followed her home. I just knew my sister was going to put you out." She laughed. "So I waited and I followed you. I knew getting to you would be impossible in a public setting, but luckily for me, you went to the studio and no one else was there besides Charlie. You know Charlie, right? Your security guy?" She smiled.
X
Flashback, one month ago
Fitz couldn't believe Olivia had actually put him out. He couldn't believe she didn't believe him, that she didn't trust him. After everything they had been through, all the years together and apart, after he had promised her on their honeymoon that he would never hurt her.
She really put him of their home, and to make matters worse, it all happened in front of their children!
Where was the trust? If she didn't trust him, surely their marriage wouldn't survive anyway. They would be just another Hollywood couple that didn't last. Maybe this needed to happen! Maybe this was an eye opener for both of them! He was going to clear his name, he was going to prove to her that he'd hadn't slept with Tamia, but he would never forgive her for this. For the way she made him look and feel in front of their children. He didn't deserve that. As her husband, he deserved to be treated better. He understood her anger in that moment, but that was NOT the way to go about the situation. All she had done was think about herself and not the way the rest of them felt.
He loved her deeply, but she could be so damn selfish.
Fitz didn't know where to go. If he went to his mother's house or his brother's, he'd have to explain why he was so upset and right now he didn't want to be bothered by anyone. He was angry as hell and knew that he needed to calm down before he went out and committed a serious crime that he would later regret.
His studio was like his second home. He'd been working in the very building for over twenty years and it was the place where he went to relax and clear his head which was certainly needed now.
He parked his vehicle in the assigned parking spot and stepped out. He hit the lock button on his key fob before slipping it into his pocket. He hadn't realized how chilly the weather was getting when he left home, but now that the adrenaline rush was gone, the cold air caused goosebumps to rise on his bare arms.
Looking around the parking lot, Fitz was grateful that no one else was at the building besides his security guy Charlie. He needed to be alone to clear his head and figure out how he would get Tamia to tell the truth, to confess everything to Olivia. Maybe he could pay her off, or sign her to his label? He knew she desperately wanted to be a singer too, but would that send Olivia the wrong message?
Fitz didn't know what to do. He didn't know who to call for a situation like this. He just wanted the truth out. Olivia deserved to know the truth, and he deserved to have his name cleared.
"Grant! Shocked to see you here!" Charlie greeted him once he was in the lobby.
Fitz nodded, forcing a smile. He wasn't in the mood to interact with anyone so he kept his response short and to the point. "Yeah. I needed the quiet space, the wife and kids are home."
"Right." Charlie nodding in understanding. He had been expecting him.
As Fitz began to walk away there was no way for him to notice Charlie coming from around his assigned desk that was full of security monitors then stepping behind him.
"Well, it would've been safer for you to stay home with your family and work things out," Charlie said.
Fitz stopped in his tracks, face contorting in confusion as what Charlie said registered in his head. What did he mean "safer", and how did he know things needed to be "worked out"?
"Excuse me?" He questioned, turning around to face the other man and ask what did he think he know, but it was too late.
X
Present
"Then he injected you, put you in a car and brought you here. He dismantled the tracking system in your car, erased security footage at the studio and traffic-light footage. He helped me bring you inside, tie you up and told me how I should give you the bucket so I wouldn't have to untie you for the bathroom. It's kinda scary what that guy will do for a couple of rounds of sex, lollipops and five thousand dollars. Did you know he was capable of such things, Fitz? Did you really know who you had working for you?"
Silence.
"I guess you didn't." Tamis cackled.
Charlie had been her accomplice? The same Charlie he trusted to look after his company and sometimes his wife and children? The man he'd known for over a decade.
Fitz realized that he couldn't trust anyone.
"This is the house my sisters and I grew up in," Tamia began speaking again as she looked around the abandoned space. She never used anything there besides the kitchen to cook him meals. That's one thing he could compliment her on, Tamia had certainly kept him well fed. In the beginning Fitz was skeptical about eating her cooking, but after a while he couldn't not eat anymore and learned that she wasn't trying to kill him, just torture him instead.
"I honestly don't know what I had planned for you when I had you brought here. Honestly Fitz, this wasn't even about you. This was about Olivia.. I wanted her to hurt."
Fitz's mind was racing. He still couldn't get over the fact that Charlie had helped her. "This...this still doesn't make any sense!"
"To you, Fitz! It doesn't make sense to you because you haven't lived in Olivia's shadow your entire life, but I have! My sisters and I have! It's always been about precious Olivia! When I got married, our dad didn't even come to my wedding. He didn't walk me down the isle, but he was there for Olivia. Not just once, but twice!" Tamia cried. "Oh, and let's not even mention the way our mother acts with Liv. Maya would dropped whatever she's doing if Olivia asked her to, but the rest of us? We better figure it out on our own, because mommy and daddy ain't coming.. Olivia is not the nice person everyone paints her out to be. She's a fucking monster. She manipulates and bullies. She uses that fucking Lupus as a tactic to get her way. I wish the bitch would just d-"
Before she could even finish her sentence, Fitz took the gun and pistol whipped her with it. Tamia screamed in agony. Louder than she had done when he kicked her in her fake stomach. He knew she felt real pain this time.
"I will not let you wish death on my wife! You are sick in the head, Tamia!"
Tamia cried with blood trickling from her mouth.
"I don't know what Olivia you're talking about but it can't be the one I'm married to. Olivia is the sweetest and most loving woman I've ever met. She could've left you and your sisters behind when she got her fame, but she didn't! She took care of all of you! Buying your houses, your cars, your clothes and the most expensive purses! When your sister Grace got sick, who paid the medical bills? Was it you? Was it your parents or any of your other sisters? No, it was Olivia! When your parents divorced, who was there to hold your fifteen year old hand, huh? It was Olivia! When you got pregnant at sixteen and wanted an abortion, who was there for you? Who paid for it? Who told you that if you wanted to keep it, that they would be there for you? It was Olivia! I don't know what picture you've created of your sister in that crazy head of yours, but Olivia has been nothing but good to you! She has always taken care of guys! Yes, she gets irritated and annoyed with you guys, but she loves you all so deeply! I can't imagine how she's feeling right now. There's no amount of love that would make me forgive you for what you've done, but I'm not Olivia. Though, I am hoping on Olivia's behalf that she never does find forgiveness in her heart and excuse the shit you've done. You don't deserve forgiveness and you sure as hell don't deserve her love."
Tamia silently cried as Fitz spoke. Her eyes were different now, he could sadness in them but he couldn't feel an ounce of pity for her. She deserved every bit of karma that was coming her way. He was sure of that.
"Goodbye, Tamia. When I return, I'll be returning with the cops."
X
Olivia sighed tiredly as she flopped down onto her bed. She had just finished deep cleaning her entire house and trying to make herself look presentable. Her kids were coming home today and she wanted to be her normal self for them. She didn't want them to see the depressed version of herself. It had been a mental challenge to get up and get started, she had many moments where she'd stop and cry thinking about how her life was in shambles, but she got through it. She had did it, and was proud of herself! She hoped having her babies home would motivate her to keep doing good.
Suddenly, Olivia heard commotion downstairs and knew they had arrived. The weeks they were away the house was so quiet and lonely. When she heard running on the stairs, she realized just how much she'd missed the chaos her children brought. She smiled as her babies barged into her room.
"Mom!" They all shouted as they jumped her.
Olivia laughed as she was forced to fall backwards onto the bed as she hugged them back. They were practically crushing her bones, but she didn't care one bit. She had missed them so much.
"Hi, my babies! I missed you guys so much!"
"Where's Willow," she asked. Noticing the youngest was missing from the bunch.
"Grandma has her downstairs. She pooped." Katie giggled.
Olivia chuckled and rose from the bed to go speak with Barbara. Their relationship was still rocky, but things were gradually getting better. After one of their talks, Barbara could no longer blame Olivia for Fitz' disappearance, she knew how much Olivia loved her son and it wasn't fair to put the blame her. Fitz had been keeping awful secrets from Liv, and the way Olivia reacted was warranted.
Blaming Olivia was wrong, Barbara knew that but she had been too worried for her boy to care at the time.
"Olivia!" Barbara smiled, taking Olivia into her arms. "How are you, dear?"
"Better today than I was yesterday."
"Call me if you need anything," she said. Olivia nodded, taking a freshly changed Willow from the grandmother and kissing her cheek.
"Children, be good for your mom! I love you all very much."
"Thank you, Barbara. For everything."
"Olivia, you can still call me mom. Nothing has changed, dear. We've talked about this."
Olivia silently nodded, hugging the older woman again before she and her children walked her to the door. They waved goodbye then returned to the living room to have some much needed catching up with each other.
"So, I was thinking that we could pick up Felix and Teddy later on and go see Black Panther?"
Nolan, Asher and Katie happily agreed. Who didn't love a Marvel Comics movie?
"Ok, great!"
After some much needed conversation with her boys, lots of hugs and kisses from Katie and Willow, Olivia felt so much better. It was still so amazing to her how her children could brighten up her mood; children were truly a gift and she loved motherhood.
Looking at Willow, Olivia realized just had gotten so big her baby had gotten. She was now nine months old, walking around, and even trying to talk.
Willow was definitely Olivia's twin, but as Olivia thought about the facts, knowing that she and Fitz had created the beautiful girl out of pure love, it had her wanting to cry.
During Willow's birth, she confirmed her doctor that she wanted her tubes tied. It had been discussed over several months with her obgyn behind Fitz' back when she was pregnant but she said she would have her mind made up once her daughter was born. She was getting older and she didn't necessarily want more children. She was certain that Fitz felt that way too since he was older than her, and she knew he would never go for wearing condoms, so she had the doctor to perform the tubal ligation procedure while Fitz had been distracted with their new baby girl.
But now Olivia would gladly have more babies with him if he wanted. She just wanted to satisfy him in anyway that she could. She just wanted him. She had to push away her tears and shake her head. She wasn't going to do any crying today.
Today was going to be a good day.
Olivia smiled as she held her precious daughter in her arms, kissing her chubby cheeks.
Willow looked at her mommy and smiled happily. They all giggled. She looked too adorable with her pink binky hanging from her mouth.
"She missed you mommy," Katie said, making Olivia get all teary-eyed again.
"I missed her too. I missed all of you!"
X
Katie and Willow had their toys scattered across the floor while Olivia, Nolan and Asher relaxed on the couch watching tv.
"I was thinking after we see Black Panther we could come home, order pizza and cinnamon rolls. You boys can play your video game, but Katie, Willow and I have a little spa night?"
Nolan and Katie nodded. They loved that plan. Especially Katie, she was very much a girly girl and loved being pampered. Princess behavior only, please.
Asher nodded, too. "That's sounds fun. I just want to be with you. I missed you, mom."
Olivia leaned down and kissed her baby boy's forehead. She was happy that he was no longer upset with her. She had missed her sweet boy tremendously. "I missed you too, Asher Jay."
"Now, let's call Ashlin and see if Felix and Teddy wants to hang with us," she said, grabbing her phone to call Fitz's baby mama.
Felix and Teddy were happy to go and arrived shortly after the phone call. They had missed hanging out with their younger siblings and Olivia, too. Things were different without Fitz around, but Olivia made sure that they were all happy. She was the best, and they were grateful for her.
X
"Holy shit! It's Fitz Grant," said an officer causing the entire police department to stop in its tracks.
"I need to speak with the chief, immediately."
X
Olivia had timed everything out perfectly so when they arrived at the movie theater, Willow was asleep, and luckily she slept through the entire movie which surprised Olivia. She had been prepared to step out during the movie so her baby wouldn't disturb anyone else, but she didn't have to and she was able to enjoy the movie with her big kiddos.
Now that the family had returned home, they all changed into their pj's and were ready for their family night of fun.
"Wakanda forever!" Asher shouted for the hundredth time that night.
Nolan slowly shook his head, annoyedly. "Dude, shut up!"
"De prince will now have de strength of de Black Panther", Katie mocked, trying to pronounce each word like the famous Forest Whitaker had done in the movie.
"Oh, Katie!" Olivia laugh loudly.
It was safe to say that the kids had enjoyed the movie, and that's all that mattered to Olivia.
Willow was well-rested. She was standing on the couch next to her mother, babbling loudly and playing with her toys. Every so often she turned towards Olivia and whined for bite of Olivia's pizza. "Ok, ok! Here, mama's girl." Olivia would say while breaking her off a piece to give to the demanding little girl.
"Burry me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the ships because they knew death was better than bondage!" Asher said, quoting yet another line from the movie.
"Do you know what it means, bro," Felix asked as he looked at his little brother. He was ready to give him a historical lesson. Olivia snickered thinking how much Felix acted like Fitz.
God, she missed him so much. Moments like these were the hardest and made her miss him even more. He should be here.
The doorbell rang and Olivia sighed as she got up. She wasn't sure who it could be, but she figured it was her mom or one of her sisters? Their relationships wasn't nearly the same, but they hadn't completely cut off one another and sometimes they did randomly visit her.
"Katie, give T'Challa and the people of Wakanda a break and sit down with Willow for me." Olivia instructed.
Katie did as she was told and sat with her baby sister on the couch so the little girl wouldn't fall while Olivia went to answer the door.
"Who is it," she asked while slightly opening the door to peek her head out. Her heart nearly jumped out her chest when the person that had their back to the door started to turn around.
"Hi." Fitz smiled.
Olivia flung the door fully open and ran and jumped into his arms. "Oh- oh my god!"
She threw her arms around his neck and tightly wrapped her legs around his waist as she buried her face into his neck and sobbed.
Fitz hugged her just as tightly with tears falling from his eyes. He had prayed for this moment- to be reunited with his wife, the love of his life. Just the thought of Olivia is what had kept him alive. What had kept him going day after day. All the anger and hurt he felt washed away as he held her in his arms.
"I love you so much. I'm sorry. I am so sorry." Olivia cried as she kissed all over face.
Katie came to the door to see what was taking her mommy so long to return. When she saw Olivia in the arms of a man, her little face frowned in confusion until realizing who the man was.
"Daddy!" She screamed as she began to cry her little heart out.
Back in the living room, the boys threw down their game controllers and Teddy grabbed his baby sister as they all rushed to the front door. All four boys bursted into tears once they saw their father standing there with Liv and Katie. "Dad!" They sobbed, walking into his opened arms.
Fitz engulfed his entire family in his arms, holding them oh so tightly. Back when he'd been tied up, he never thought he would get the chance to have a moment like this again. Tamia had been so unpredictable and he never knew what was going to happen, if she was going to kill him or leave him out there to die.
No one had dry eyes as the family stood on their front porch, out in the freezing cold -except for Willow- who had zero clue of what was going on. She was just happy to be receiving hugs and kisses, which she loved. She was so sweet.
"I love you guys so much." Fitz choked out as he kissed all their foreheads before kissing his sweet Olivia soundly on the lips.
Willow finally reached for her daddy and Fitz gladly accepted her, kissing the baby's face as she laughed that contagious laugh making everyone's heart swell.
"Dada! Dada!" She babbled making everyone gasp.
"Baby! That's her first word," Olivia said excitedly as she looked up at her husband with more teary eyes.
Fitz chuckled happily and smiled as his heart filled with joy. He didn't even think his daughter would remember him, but thank God she did.
"She's always been a daddy's girl." Fitz boasted proudly as his family walked in from the cold.
Olivia looked up at her husband bashfully.
Her beautiful brown eyes holding so much emotion in them just for him.
She couldn't believe he was really home.
Her broken heart was now whole again.
"I love you." They whispered in unison.
Fitz is home!
One chapter left!