ログイン[Carter’s pov]The room was quiet in a way that made every breath feel louder than it should.Candice was now with Nina and they have been getting along well. I sat beside Olivia on the couch, the dim golden light from the lamp washing over her features. She looked softer tonight, lighter somehow and yet my chest felt tight.Because despite everything we had survived, despite the relief that should have been filling me, there was one thing left troubling me.One thing I needed to ask her.I glanced down at my hands resting on my lap, flexing my fingers before I finally reached for hers.The second my skin brushed hers, Olivia turned toward me. Her eyes softened instantly. Even after everything, she still looked at me like I was someone worth loving.My throat tightened.I curled my fingers around her hand and held it carefully, almost reverently, as if she might disappear if I held on too tightly.Her hand was warm.I gave it a gentle squeeze, my thumb brushing over her knuckles.“Ol
[Olivia’s pov]The words stunned me. “What?”His hand didn’t leave my stomach. “She was arrested this morning.”Shock rippled through me. “How?”His jaw tightened. “Fraud. Attempt to murder. The man who attacked you confessed willingly.” The cold precision in his tone told me everything.He’d made sure of it.A strange mix of relief and disbelief flooded my chest. “She’s really gone?”“For now.” His thumb brushed softly across the curve of my belly. “She won’t be coming anywhere near you. Or our child.”The quiet certainty in his voice made something inside me finally unclench. It felt like I’d spent an eternity bracing for Camilla’s next move.Her next lie.Her next manipulation.And now she was behind bars. Unable to hurt anyone. I exhaled shakily. Carter’s gaze softened. Then he glanced briefly toward the garden doors. “Candice is sick.”The abrupt shift caught me off guard. “What? What do you mean?”He looked back at me. “She has a respiratory infection.”Concern immediately surg
[Olivia’s pov]After Ronan was gone and I was alone in the lounge. Thinking and overthinking on the issue. The first thing I noticed was the sound.The low rumble of tires against the gravel driveway outside.I had been sitting by the window in the upstairs sitting room, absently flipping through one of Nina’s aggressively curated pregnancy magazines while pretending not to stare outside every thirty seconds.The article in front of me was apparently trying to convince me that talking to my stomach in a cheerful voice would improve fetal development. “These articles are crazy!” At this point, I was fairly certain my baby had already been exposed to enough emotional chaos to come out either exceptionally resilient or deeply judgmental.Still, none of the words were really registering.Because my attention had been fixed on the long winding driveway beyond the glass.Waiting.Watching.Hoping.And now my heart lurched. A familiar black car curved through the front gates. For one breat
[Olivia’s pov]My breath hitched.I could leave.I could walk away right now.No! No, no I rebuked myself. Enough.Drawing in a slow breath, I pushed the doors open.And froze.Ronan stood near the grand fireplace, one hand tucked into the pocket of his charcoal trousers. He turned at the sound.Our eyes met.The sight of him sent a strange ache through my chest. He looked exactly as I remembered.Tall and composed.Impeccably dressed.His dark hair was neatly styled, his sharp jaw tense. But his eyes—His eyes held something new.Distance.Not anger.Not bitterness.Just restraint.And somehow, that hurt worse. “Olivia.” His voice was quiet, controlled and low.I stepped inside, my fingers clutching the fabric of my gown. “Ronan.” An unbearable silence stretched between us.Then his gaze dropped to my stomach. His expression shifted not dramatically. Just enough for me to see the flicker of realization.The understanding.And the pain.He looked back up slowly. “You’re glowing. Pregn
[Olivia’s pov]The moment the knock sounded against my bedroom door, my stomach twisted.Not because I wasn’t expecting visitors.But because something in the rhythm of it. Careful, measured, almost hesitant that it felt wrong.I had spent enough time in Pierce’s estate to recognize the household’s patterns. The maids usually entered after a soft announcement, cheerful and efficient.This knock felt different.“Come in,” I called, shifting against the mountain of silk pillows supporting my back.The door opened slowly, and one of the younger maids stepped inside, lowering her gaze respectfully.“Miss. Olivia,” she said softly. “Mr. Ross is here to meet you.”For a second, my mind refused to process the words.Then my breath caught.Ronan.What was he doing here?A cold ripple ran down my spine.My fingers instinctively pressed over the slight swell of my stomach, the rounded curve unmistakable now beneath the satin fabric of my nightgown.Four months.Four months of my world unravelin
[Olivia’s pov]The force of it startled a soft laugh out of me. “There she is, that’s my girl.” she murmured into my hair.I blinked. “What?”“That little bit of hope.” Her arms tightened. The warmth of her embrace wrapped around me completely. And suddenly the tears I’d barely been holding back spilled freely.I buried my face against her shoulder. Nina’s hand immediately moved to the back of my head, stroking gently through my hair.“It’s okay,” she whispered.The tenderness in her voice cracked something open inside me. For days now, I’d been carrying fear like a second skin.Fear for myself.Fear for my baby.Fear for Carter.Fear that everything around us was too tangled, too broken, too dangerous to ever fully unravel. And now…now there was finally a glimpse of light.Nina seemed to understand exactly what was breaking loose inside me. She held me tighter. “Everything’s going to be alright.”Her voice was quiet and certain. And somehow, coming from her, it didn’t feel like empty
[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
[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
[Olivia’s pov]I didn’t realize where Carter was taking me until the car slowed in front of a familiar building. My breath caught in my throat.He remembered it.It was my favorite restaurant.For a moment I simply stared at it, unable to hide my surprise.Carter turned off the engine and stepped
[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 h







