LOGIN[Olivia’s pov]“I’m fine.” It was probably the fifth time I had said it in less than two minutes. Before Carter went out of the room. I had to practically force him out.And judging by the expression on Carter’s face, he believed me less with every repetition. “Olivia, you know me.”The way he said my name low, clipped, threaded with frustration, made it clear he was reaching the end of his patience.I sighed and looked up at him from the sofa. “I mean it,” I insisted. “Camilla didn’t touch me.”He was already shaking his head before I had even finished. “That isn’t the point.”“Then what is?”“The point,” he said, crouching in front of me again, “is that you’re pregnant, you’ve just been threatened, and she nearly shoved you.”His jaw tightened visibly. “And until a doctor tells me everything is fine, I’m not taking chances.”The intensity in his voice stole any immediate argument from my lips. It wasn’t anger, It wasn’t control either. It was fear. The kind that made his hands tense
[Olivia’s pov]The sharp echo of Camilla’s heels lingered long after she stormed out of the room.Even after the door slammed behind her with enough force to make the walls tremble, I remained frozen where I stood.My pulse was still racing.My chest was rising and falling too fast.The threat she had thrown over her shoulder before leaving replayed in my head like an ugly refrain.You’ll pay for this humiliation, Olivia.The venom in her voice had been unmistakable. And yet…what stayed with me more than her threat was what had happened just before it.But Carter?The way he had stepped in front of me. The way his body had instinctively shielded mine. The way his voice had hardened when he warned her to stay away from me.For so long, there had always been hesitation where Camilla was concerned.A line he refused to cross.A softness born out of obligation, guilt, and years of believing Candice tied them together.But today?That hesitation had vanished.And standing there, watching h
[Carter’s pov]The moment I saw Camilla raise her hand, something inside me snapped. There was no thought. No pause. Just instinct.One second she was lunging toward Olivia, fury twisting her face into something sharp and ugly. Next, I was already moving.My hand shot out and caught her wrist midair with enough force to stop her completely.Her skin was cold.Tense.But mine was worse.Because rage unlike anything I had ever known surged through me so violently that for a second, I could barely hear anything over the rush of blood pounding in my ears.“How dare you?” The words came out low. Deadly.Camilla’s eyes widened as she looked up at me. “Carter—” I didn’t let her finish. I shoved her backward. Not hard enough to hurt her.But hard enough to force distance between us.Enough distance to make damn sure she couldn’t get anywhere near Olivia. Because that was all I could think about now.Olivia. My wife.Pregnant.Carrying our child.The thought struck through me again with sudden
[Olivia’s pov]For the first time since I had walked into that room, I saw it clearly. Not perfect, not complete but enough for Carter to stand on his own feet again.He nodded slowly after I spoke, like each word had settled somewhere deep inside him, reshaping something that had been fractured moments ago.“Yeah,” he said quietly. “You’re right.” His voice wasn’t as unsteady anymore. Still heavy. Still burdened.But steadier.He looked at me then, really looked at me and something softer replaced the storm in his eyes. “Thank you, Olivia.” he added.Simple.But it carried weight.I gave him a small smile. “You don’t have to thank me.”“I do,” he said, his tone firmer now. “You didn’t have to stand here and help me sort through this. I know I have cleared things up but somewhere deep down I still feel guilty about all of it.”I held his gaze.“I wasn’t going to leave you alone in it, Carter. Especially when I came to know about the truth.”Something flickered across his expression, s
[Carter’s pov]The moment settled but it didn’t last.It couldn’t.Because no matter how tightly I held onto her, no matter how much I wanted to stay in that one quiet space where everything felt almost… right. The reality was still waiting. And it wasn’t going anywhere.I stayed on my knees a second longer than necessary, her hands still in mine, my forehead almost brushing against them as I tried to steady my thoughts.But they didn’t settle.They shifted and sharpened, more focused. Because now I know. Not everything but enough. Enough to understand that what I had walked into wasn’t just a mistake.It was a lie.A calculated one.Six years in the making.My jaw tightened. Slowly, I let go of her hands and pushed myself up, the weight in my chest returning the moment I stood.I ran a hand through my hair, pacing once across the room before stopping near the window.“I have to deal with them,” I said. My voice sounded different now. Colder. More controlled.But underneath there was
[Carter’s pov]For a second, I thought I had misheard her.The room had already been spinning. Too many truths colliding, too many fractures in things I thought were solid and then she said that.She wouldn’t mind another child. The words didn’t land all at once. They echoed.Slow.Heavy.And then something in my chest locked.I still went.Completely still.My hand was still in hers, resting where she had placed it, but I couldn’t feel anything else—not the room, not the air, not even my own breath.“What…?” My voice came out rougher than I expected. “What did you say?”She didn’t pull away.Didn’t hesitate.She just looked at me—steady, calm in a way that felt almost unreal compared to the storm inside me.“I’m pregnant,” she said.Just like that. No buildup. No hesitation. The world shifted. Not violently. Not like before.This was something else. Something quieter. But deeper. My fingers tensed under hers, my gaze dropping instinctively to where our hands rested.To her.To the pl
[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
[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 Jude Velcro]“You have to come with me tonight, Olivia. Please.”The word ‘please’ tasted foreign on my tongue, but I meant it. I needed her there with me as my wife. Where she had always belonged. Somewhere deep inside, a foolish hope flickered that if I could just get her to stay beside m
[Olivia’s pov]The room felt like it had stopped breathing.Just like I did silently.Camilla stood in front of me, the wine bottle raised in her hand. I glanced at her once again, pleading with my eyes that she stops. Meanwhile, Camilla had made it clear with her threat that she held so many grud







