Clarence’s POV.I hadn’t been home in weeks, not really. Julian’s house had become a place I stayed, but not a place I lived. I had begun to feel like a guest there long before I packed my things.The silence in my own house was louder than I remembered. It greeted me the second I stepped in, filling every corner with something cold and familiar. I needed that quietness now. I needed space to think. To breathe. To go back to the beginning and start digging through the pieces again.I hadn’t answered Julian’s calls since the day I discovered the truth. I had read his messages when I couldn’t sleep, but I never responded. I didn’t have the energy to argue. And really, what was left to say? Every time I looked at him, I felt a weight pressing against my chest, like something invisible but heavy was sitting there, reminding me that he still hadn’t told me the truth.At the office, I kept my distance. I would go in for the bare minimum—brief meetings and quick check-ins. We hardly crossed
Kristina’s POV.I stood in the doorway long after Julian left, staring at the empty space where he had stood. I kept replaying every second. His voice, his eyes, and how disgusted he looked. I didn’t expect him to be happy to see me. I knew he would be mad but deep down, I thought maybe, just maybe, after everything with Clarence falling apart, he would see me differently again.We had a bond once. That wasn’t fake, I knew it. That wasn’t nothing no matter how much he was trying to deny it now making it look like he never loved me, I knew he did. And I believed if I reminded him of it if I showed him I still cared, that I could make things right again.So I started with a message.It was long and carefully written, every word chosen to sound honest. I told him I was sorry for what happened. All I wanted was for Clarence to know the truth. I said I was trying to help him not hurt him. I told him I still loved him, always had. That maybe this time, we could be something real.He didn’t
Julian’s POV.The following days passed like an endless punishment. I would wake up hoping for something different—for her to speak to me, to look at me like she used to but nothing changed. If anything, it only got worse. Clarence had built a wall so high I couldn’t see through it anymore, and every time I tried to reach over it, she pulled away like even my presence made her sick. I could only manage to make her keep staying with me begging the police to make her see reasons why she was unsafe at her place because of all the attacks she had had while she resided there. That was the only reason she still barely remained at my place.At work, she kept her distance, barely acknowledging me in meetings. At home, if she came home at all, she went straight to her room and locked the door. We didn’t eat together anymore or talk. I had gone from being her partner to being a stranger under the same roof.The silence wasn’t quiet. It screamed at me every second we weren’t speaking.And the
Clarence's POV.I didn’t even think twice before storming into Julian’s office.I didn’t knock. I just walked straight in, gripping that damn letter like it had scorched a hole in my palm. My heart was racing too fast, and even though I told myself to stay calm, I could already feel the storm rising inside me.Julian looked up from his desk, his expression softening when he saw me but I didn’t care. I wasn’t there for explanations laced with calm voices and carefully chosen words.“I was emailed a letter,” I said coldly, holding it up between us. “And I listened to the tape it came with.”“What are you talking about?” he asked, looking at me with surprise as he noticed the mood I was in.“You knew who was behind my assaults and hid it from me.”He stood slowly. “Clarence, I—”“You knew,” I cut him off, my voice trembling. “You knew who hurt me… who humiliated me in front of everyone, and you said nothing. You looked me in the eye and swore you would protect me, and the whole time you
Clarence’s POV.The morning light felt softer than usual as I stepped into the office. It was early, and to my surprise, Olivia was already there, sitting at her desk with a warm smile when she saw me. She greeted me like everything was normal. She didn’t look tense, no weirdness either, and for a moment, I let myself believe maybe she had finally found some peace.“Good morning, Clarence,” she said quietly but kindly.I nodded back, trying to match her tone, though something about her still didn’t sit right with me. Her behavior these past few weeks had been strange, sometimes distant, and sometimes over-friendly, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. But today, she seemed almost normal.“Morning, Olivia,” I replied, forcing a small smile.She went back to her work, and I headed to my office. All through work in my office, I kept having a strange feeling prompting me to want to question Olivia. I wanted to ask her about her sudden change, what happened to her in the past that mad
Olivia’s POV.I never imagined it would come to this being stuck in the middle of Kristina’s twisted plans. When she first came to crash at my apartment, I thought it would be temporary. A few days, maybe a week at most. But now, weeks had gone by and she was still there, dragging me deeper into her mess, giving orders like she owned the place and me just because of the evidence she had against me.One of the latest things she demanded was so simple in her eyes like it wasn’t a big deal. “Make Clarence look bad. Start with the office. Turn the people there against her. Get them talking.”I didn’t want to do it but saying no to Kristina had never gone well. She had a way of making you feel like your life would crumble if you didn’t obey. She was angry, unstable, and far too desperate to get revenge on Clarence.So I tried.It was during lunch. A few coworkers were sitting around the break room table, eating and chatting like they always did. I forced a smile and eased into the conver