LOGIN[Carter’s pov]Olivia didn’t say anything else after that.She just stepped closer.For a second, I thought she was going to change her mind. Stay, argue, push me again until one of us breaks. But she didn’t.She rose slightly on her toes, her hand brushing my arm not holding, not claiming, just there and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.It wasn’t dramatic.It wasn’t desperate.It was quiet.And somehow, that made it worse.“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. Then she turned and walked away. Just like that. No looking back. No hesitation.Gone.I stood there longer than I should have, my hand lifting unconsciously to where her lips had touched my skin. The warmth lingered, faint but persistent, like a reminder I couldn’t shake.Something wasn’t right.Not with her.Not with anything she had said. It wasn’t a suggestion. It wasn’t even a request. It was… a setup. Or a warning. Or both.I pulled my phone out, already dialing before I could overthink it. She picked up on the second ring.
[Olivia’s pov]“Come with me,” Carter said, his hand closing around mine again the second we cleared the thickest part of the crowd.His grip wasn’t forceful. But it wasn’t loose either. It carried urgency. Expectation maybe.Like he thought if he let go, I might disappear.I looked at our joined hands, then up at him. His expression hadn’t settled yet. “I can’t,” I said quietly.The words landed between us, heavier than they should have.His grip tightened. “What do you mean you can’t?”I exhaled slowly, trying to steady the storm still moving through me. “Not like this, Carter.” I said.His brows pulled together. “Olivia—” He paused, hesitating. “I tried to fix our marriage and now did everything I could to give you the rightful title.”“No, Carter.” I shook my head, cutting him off before he could pull me back into that emotional gravity I was already struggling to resist. “You don’t get to say all of that and then expect everything to just fall into place.”His jaw clenched. “I’m
[Olivia’s pov]I didn’t realize I was crying until the tears blurred the edges of him.Carter’s voice was steady and painfully honest. It kept echoing in my ears even after he stopped speaking. The room had gone quiet, the kind of quiet that presses into your chest and makes it hard to breathe, but all I could hear was him.My fingers trembled in his as I stood there on the stage, exposed under a hundred watching eyes, my heart cracking open in ways I didn’t know how to control.He had lied.For years.Hidden something so big, so devastating, that it should have shattered everything between us beyond repair.And yet now….He had just told the truth.In front of everyone.He cleared out the misunderstanding about his wife. But somewhere deep down it still didn’t satiate me.My throat tightened painfully as I looked down at him, still on one knee, still holding onto me like I was the only thing anchoring him to the ground.I didn’t know what I was feeling.Anger burned, sharp and justi
[Carter’s pov]A murmur rippled through the crowd.“I’d like to invite my wife,” I continued, the word deliberate, “Mrs. Olivia Jude Velcro, to join me on stage.”The room reacted instantly.Plenty of gasps. Many whispers. People began to expect. I was under peer pressure. All of it pushing toward her.Olivia didn’t move at first.She just stood there. Every eye was on her. Then someone near her clapped. Everyone was pushing her to come to the stage.Then another insisted.And another.Until the entire room was urging her forward. Relentlessly everyone wanted her to come up to the stage.She turned slowly and when her eyes met mine, I saw everything she wasn’t saying. It was not anger, not hurt. She didn’t fear what I was doing either. It was something else.Something that hadn’t left yet. She walked. Each step measured, small and controlled. Like she was holding herself together one second at a time. When she reached the stage, I stepped down to meet her. Not above her.Not tonigh
[Carter’s pov]The corridor felt smaller after I stepped away from her. I stared into her eyes. “What are you going to do?” Olivia asked me but I was too immersed that I ignored her.I had to fix everything.And today was the perfect moment.To claim my wife and to win her back.I walked anyway back into the noise. Back into the polished lies and curated smiles. The kind of room where everything looks perfect and nothing actually is. I knew everyone was there to snag the deal which belonged to me.The moment I stepped into the main hall, reality settled back in my mind, like it had been waiting. I looked behind when Olivia walked up to me. She wanted to talk. To prevent me from making a mess.But now I had to fix things.It was already enough. I had to step up for my wife.Camilla was across the room, already recovered, already playing her part. Laughing lightly at something someone said, glass in hand, posture flawless.Of course she was here to cash over the title as my wife. Peo
[Carter’s pov]The hall hit me like a wall of sound crystal glass clinking. Low laughter wisped in the air. I moved through it anyway. I always do. I hated these kinds of pointless gatherings. If it wasn’t for money I wouldn’t be here.Camilla’s hand rested at my elbow, light yet demanding. The kind of touch that looks intimate from a distance and means nothing up close. I didn’t look at her.She had forced her way into this gathering with me.At the top of the marble steps, the host stepped forward, all polished charm. “Mr. Velcro. We’re honored.”I gave him a nod, already scanning the room. Exits, faces, who mattered and who didn’t. I wanted to get done with this nonsense sooner.“And Mrs. Velcro,” he added, turning to Camilla with a warmer smile. The words hit me like a slap. Harder than they should have.Olivia was right. The world saw her as the other woman.Camilla didn’t miss a beat. “Thank you. It’s a beautiful evening.”I said nothing. I simply couldn’t. I didn’t correct
[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
[Carter’s pov]Then there was silence. I could not speak anything. My mind struggled to catch up.“That’s not—” I shook my head instinctively. “That doesn’t make sense. How could Candice even do something so gruesome like this?” I denied. Not that I was worried that perhaps Olivia was lying to m
[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







