로그인[Olivia’s pov]Nina had given up her spot beside my bed hours ago and collapsed into the armchair with her arms crossed, head tilted awkwardly against the cushion. Mallory had ended up on the small couch again, one arm hanging off the edge like she’d fallen asleep mid-sentence and simply never recovered.Even in sleep, they looked like they were still guarding me.The thought made something warm tug faintly in my chest.I sat propped against the pillows, my daughter asleep in the bassinet beside me.A soundless kind of miracle.I still couldn’t believe she existed. That she was here, that she was safe, that I was still here too.The door opened softly. I turned instinctively, expecting a nurse.Instead—“Hah.” Homer stepped in like he owned the place. “You bitch of a mother!” He joked. He paused in the doorway, hands on his hips, and scanned the room with exaggerated disapproval. Then his gaze landed on me. “Why are you crying again?”I blinked.My hand instinctively touched my chee
[Carter’s pov]I sat alone in the lounge, half-slouched in the leather armchair, a glass of whiskey loose in my hand.I tipped the glass back again.The burn hit hard, sliding down my throat like liquid punishment.I deserved it.The bottle was nearly empty.It didn't matter.Nothing was touching the ache hollowing out my chest. I hadn’t gone to the hospital. Not because I didn’t want to.I had spent three hours sitting in my car outside the private maternity entrance, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.But Pierce had made himself very clear.If I came near Olivia, he’d have security remove me.And if somehow I got past him, Olivia herself would probably order them to throw me out.The thought twisted something ugly inside me. My daughter was born tonight. I hadn’t held her. Hadn’t seen her. Didn’t even know what she looked like.And every second that passed made the distance between us feel less temporary and more permanent.I downed the rest of the whiskey.
[Olivia’s pov]The hospital room was quiet in that strange, heavy way only hospitals could ever be.Muffled voices behind closed doors.I sat propped against the pillows, staring blankly at the rain-speckled window across from my bed. It was still dark outside.Not fully night anymore, but not yet morning either.Nina was asleep on the small sofa near the wall, curled awkwardly beneath the thin hospital blanket she had stolen from somewhere. One arm dangled over the edge, her hair falling across her face.Even in sleep, she looked exhausted.She had refused to leave. Mallory had tried convincing her to go home and rest. She’d nearly bitten Mallory’s head off.Mallory herself had gone to the nursing area twenty minutes ago to check on my daughter. A tiny person existed because of me. The thought should have made warmth bloom inside me.And part of it did.But another part hurt so deeply it almost eclipsed everything else.Because Carter hadn’t come.Not once.Not after the delivery.No
[Carter’s pov]The silence inside the hall was unbearable.Hours ago, this room had been alive.Crystal glasses clinking. Investors murmuring over champagne, camera shutters flashing. Now it was dead.And I sat alone on the edge of the stage. Exactly where she had looked at me with those shattered eyes and told me she hated me. “I hate you, Carter!” The words hadn’t stopped echoing since.I leaned forward, elbows braced against my knees, staring blankly at the floor below.The deal signing with Ronan had been postponed indefinitely.Of course it had.No one wanted to sign multimillion-dollar gemstone agreements after witnessing the public destruction of the Velcro family.Not when reporters had practically trampled each other trying to capture footage of Olivia collapsing.Not when my stepfather had stood in front of the world and declared my marriage a lie.Not when I had responded by punching him hard enough to send him sprawling across his own precious stage.My fist still hurt.
[Olivia’s pov]Darkness took me away slowly the moment Ronan brought me out of the hall. Now I could feel some flicker, not all at once.First came the sound.A soft rhythmic beeping somewhere to my left. Then the faint hum of air conditioning. The distant shuffle of footsteps outside a door.And finally, the dull ache spreading through every part of my body as consciousness pulled me upward like something heavy being dragged to the surface.My eyelids fluttered open.The bright white ceiling above me blurred into focus, unfamiliar and sterile.For a moment, I didn’t understand where I was. I blinked again, my throat dry and scratchy. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled my lungs.Hospital?The realization came in fragments. Pain lanced through my chest, not physical this time, but memory colliding all at once.My breathing quickened.I turned my head weakly, trying to make sense of the room around me. Then panic struck. Everything inside me jolted awake.“Nina?” My voice came out hoa
[Olivia’s pov]A sharp, deep contraction tore through my body so suddenly I couldn’t even inhale properly. My breath hitched violently.No—Not now.Not here.My hand flew to my stomach instantly, fingers digging into my dress as another wave followed, harder than the first. It stole the strength from my knees in a way fear and anger hadn’t been able to do.“Ah—”The sound escaped me before I could stop it. Mallory tightened her hold immediately. “Hey—hey, what is it?” she asked sharply, her voice changing instantly from defensive to alert.I tried to answer, but my body bent forward on its own. Another contraction hit, this one was worse.Crushing. Unrelenting.My vision blurred so badly the lights above dissolved into streaks of white. “No…” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. “No, no, no—”This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Not in a room full of people. Not with cameras and not with Carter standing there.My breath came faster now, uneven, panicked. Mallory’s hand
[Carter’s pov]My phone rang just as I was about to take a turn toward the school. I didn’t hear it at first among my worry and scattered mind. The phone rang once again and when the car stopped at the red traffic light I snapped out of it.Olivia.Her name flashed across the screen. For a second,
[Carter’s pov]The restaurant door closed behind Olivia with a dull thud. But the sound echoed inside my head like a gunshot. I felt it as if my heart had stopped pounding. My soul died at that moment.For several seconds, I didn’t move.I even forgot to breathe. Didn’t even blink.My eyes remaine
[Carter’s pov]A cold wave of dread crawled down my spine. I felt like my head was spinning. The restaurant noises faded into the background. For a moment, all I could hear was my own heartbeat.Six years ago.I stared at her. “You wouldn’t.” My shallow voice warned her. Despite how many times I tr
[Olivia’s pov]I was taken aback by the way they ridiculed me. All of this was Carter’s fault. Nobody knew who his real wife was.For a moment, I couldn’t speak.The cruelty in her words struck deeper than I expected. My fingers curled into fists at my sides as heat rushed to my face.Was this how







