LOGIN[Olivia Jude Velcro]I couldn't take it anymore. How could Camilla be so careless around her daughter? When Carter suggested taking her away I instantly agreed. Candice fell asleep in my arms, her small body warm against mine. Her fingers were still clinging to my shirt as if I might disappear if she let go. The poor girl was truly afraid.I carried her down the hallway, careful with every step. The house was still rumbling with their quarrel, drenched in soft amber light. The outdoors were so calm for a place where storms lived behind closed doors.As I reached the spare bedroom, I glanced toward the door. Settling in the bed with Candice in my arms. It took me a few walks here and there to put her to sleep after calming her down.Carter was there, leaning against the door with a glass of water in his hand. His eyes lifted to mine. Sharp. Knowing. “Thank you.” I could see genuine gratitude in his eyes as he handed me over the glass.He knew. But did he care about me?He knew about th
[Carter Velcro]The words hung in the silent air, sharp and irreversible. Camilla stared at me. I didn’t move either. But I saw it, the flicker of pain in Olivia’s eyes. As much as I dispised Camilla I didn’t wish for Candice to grow up without her mother.Being an orphan I knew that was the last and horrible thing Olivia could do to her. Candice was innocent. “I need time,” Olivia said, her voice quieter but steady. “Time to think. I won’t make this decision while everyone is pressuring me.”Camilla stepped forward instinctively, desperation spilling from her eyes. “Olivia, please—”I lifted my hand, stopping her. I didn’t even look at Camilla. “Don’t,” I said. “Not another word.” I couldn’t allow her to pester Olivia. Camilla left stomping her foot. Olivia went to her room while I stood there in the storm of my own thoughts. I was trapped and I needed to find a way out without hurting Olivia. Later that evening, we weren’t expecting visitors. Camilla stood in the lounge but this
[Carter Velcro]“Lower your voice, Camilla.” The words tore out of me, rough and lethal. My teeth clenched so tightly my jaw ached.Camilla froze. For the first time, she was seeing a side of me she had never dared imagine. We stood in the drawing room, the air thick and suffocating, and still she had the audacity to lie to my face.“Carter, you have to believe me.” Her voice trembled. Hesitation flickered in her eyes — the telltale crack in a liar’s armor. “I have nothing to do with Jace.” She reached for my face, as if tenderness could erase betrayal.I swatted her hand away with violent impatience. “Don’t lie to me, Camilla. Do you really think I didn’t investigate?”My hands closed around her arms, grip tightening with uncontrollable rage. “Don’t you dare lie to me about Jace.”When Olivia was attacked, I had hired a private detective. This morning, the truth had been delivered to me like a death sentence. Camilla’s name. Jace’s name. Intertwined.And the guilt ate at me because I
[Olivia Jude Velcro]What was Carter even saying?He almost lost me. He was worried.The irony nearly choked me. Laughable even.How could I trust a man who had already shattered me once?“And?” I snapped. My heartbeat roared in my ears, frantic and uneven. I forced my face into indifference, though my insides trembled. I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze with utter coldness. “What about it, Carter?”His restraint broke.In a blink, he surged forward, hands closing around my arms. His breath hit my face, hot and ragged. The grip was tight, desperate and when his palm brushed the bandaged wound, pain shot through me. I sucked in a sharp breath.“I almost lost you, Olivia.” His voice was rough, fractured. “I thought…I thought I’d never see you again.”For a moment, doubt flickered. Was this real? Or just another performance crafted to cage me?His eyes were panicked, raw locked onto mine. His thumb rose to my cheek, stroking the skin he knew was his weakness and mine. A gesture that once
[Olivia Jude Velcro]Carter’s arm stayed locked around me as he guided me inside. His voice hovering in my ear like a constant warning. “Careful. Watch your step.”Blood slid warm against my neck, trailing toward my collarbone. But what caught my attention wasn’t the sting of the wound—it was Carter’s face. The frantic tightening of his jaw. The worry carved into his forehead. The way his eyes never left me. What was it? Concern. From him? It almost made me laugh.“I can walk on my own, Carter.” I pushed lightly against his chest, trying to break free of his grip. “Go get your hand treated first.”I needed space. Needed distance from the hypocrisy wrapped so neatly in his touch.If he had truly cared—he would never have betrayed me. Never crawled into Camilla’s bed. Never built another life behind my back.But he only shook his head, stubborn as ever. “Not until you’re taken care of.”We reached the ward. A junior nurse hurried off for the first aid kit while Carter eased me into a ch
[Olivia Jude Velcro]“You are insane, Carter! Get away from me! Go to Camilla!” I snapped, my voice sharp enough to make the air crack between us. My chest heaved, my hands trembled, and every nerve in my body screamed with frustration and betrayal. “You don’t care about Candice anymore? Or what?” I jabbed at him with every ounce of hurt I’d buried, and I saw his forehead crease with anger, his jaw tightening like he was about to explode.I shoved him back, desperate for distance, and lunged for the door. The cold metal handle felt like my only anchor. “Tell them we’re coming,” I instructed the resident, my voice trembling slightly despite my forced authority. “And… don’t… don’t mention this to anyone, please.” I watched her smile—small, knowing, loyal. She was one of the few who truly understood the storm I carried, the private chaos of a marriage no one else could see.Aside from Homer, she was the only one who knew the truth. The raw edges of my life with Carter, the silent crac







