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THE PHOTOGRAPH AND THE SUSPICIONS

Penulis: ABY
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-10-01 02:57:27

Olivia’s POV

The message came in the middle of the night. No name, no words, just an image.

My hand shook as I tapped it open, and my stomach bottomed out.

It was us.

Blurry, grainy, but unmistakable. Me and Xander tangled together, his hand in my hair, my lips on his. The glow of a streetlamp lit us enough to make it clear what we were doing.

Kissing.

God.

My phone slipped from my fingers and clattered against the floor. I pressed both hands over my mouth to keep the scream from tearing out.

This was it. Proof. Evidence. The thing I had prayed no one would ever catch.

The knock came fast, urgent. “Liv? It’s me.”

Xander.

I scrambled, shoving the phone under the pillow before pulling the door open. His face was tight, stormy, his hoodie thrown over his head like he’d run straight from his room.

“You got it too, didn’t you?” he demanded, shoving his own phone in my face. The same photo glowed on his screen.

My knees nearly buckled. “Oh my God.”

He stalked inside, pacing like a caged ani
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  • OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER    OLIVIA'S PANIC

    Olivia's Pov The photos lay scattered across my floor like shards of glass I couldn’t sweep away. Every time I looked down, I saw my life splintering all over again.Xander’s mouth on mine. His hands gripping me. My body pinned against walls, surrendering to him.Proof.Proof of everything I’d been praying no one would ever see.I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, flashes of cameras haunted me, headlines already forming in my mind: Captain Hayes in Scandalous Affair With Older Woman—Best Friend’s Mom.-----By morning, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I stuffed the photos back into the envelope, heart pounding so loud it made me dizzy. I couldn’t sit here and pretend this wasn’t happening.I had to face him.So I drove. No makeup, no calm, no plan. Just me and the envelope burning a hole in my bag, my chest tight the entire way to the arena.The security guard barely glanced at me as I walked in, but I felt eyes everywhere. Like everyone already knew. Like the whispers had al

  • OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER    TORN APART

    Olivia's PovThe party had ended, but my body still burned.Back in my apartment, I couldn’t stop touching my lips, remembering the way Xander had kissed me in that hallway—hungry, desperate, like he couldn’t breathe without me. My pulse still raced like I was standing there pressed against the wall, his hands caging me in.I should’ve felt guilty. I should’ve been terrified. Cassandra had smiled at me like a queen giving a warning shot, her words sharp even beneath the polite applause. But none of that mattered the second Xander’s mouth crashed into mine.I kept telling myself I’d made a mistake. That I’d lost control. That this had to stop.And then I’d remember the way he whispered, “Wrong’s the only thing that feels right anymore.”And I wanted him again.So when my phone buzzed, I snatched it up, heart leaping.But it wasn’t him. Just Maya checking if I’d survived the gala. Text me tomorrow, you looked pale on TV, she wrote.I tossed the phone aside and paced the living room.He’

  • OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER    CASSANDRA'S THREAT

    Xander's PovThe party was supposed to be over.But Cassandra wasn’t done with me.The ballroom still pulsed with music and champagne laughter, but as soon as the cameras drifted elsewhere, she latched onto my arm with nails too sharp to be affectionate.“Smile.” Her lips barely moved, her face a perfect mask as flashes popped around us.I forced a grin for the photographers, but my jaw ached from holding it in place. The heat of her hand clamped down, pulling me into the elevator like she owned me.When the doors closed, silence pressed in. No violins, no applause, no champagne fountains just Cassandra’s breathing and the faint hum of machinery.And then she let go.Her hand dropped, her shoulders squared, her eyes cut at me like knives. The perfect fiancée act vanished.“Don’t you dare play me for a fool, Xander.”I leaned against the mirrored wall, loosening my tie, trying to look bored. “You’re going to have to be a lot more specific.”She laughed once, sharp and brittle. Then she

  • OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER    THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY

    Olivia's Pov The ballroom was too bright, too golden, too loud. I wasn’t a guest tonight—I was staff. At least, that’s what Cassandra’s people made sure of. A therapist dragged into an engagement party like some kind of ornament. My name wasn’t on the seating chart. Instead, I was tucked in the corner, standing with the servers in black and white, pretending I belonged.Cassandra’s family didn’t do subtle. They had rented the grandest hotel in Chicago—crystal chandeliers dripping from the ceiling, champagne fountains spilling into crystal bowls, violins humming in the background. Gold-trimmed invitations. Diamond centerpieces. A show meant for the press, for the cameras, for the magazines that would plaster Cassandra’s face across every gossip column by morning.And then there was him.Xander Hayes. Captain. Superstar. My son’s best friend. My biggest mistake and my biggest weakness all at once.He looked like a man out of a fantasy in his black tailored suit, cufflinks glinting unde

  • OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER    THE BIRTHDAY PARTY(Part 2)

    Olivia’s POVBy the time the cake was nothing but crumbs and the wrapping paper littered the floor, the night had shifted. The boys had turned my cozy apartment into a frat house, shouting over the music, daring each other to drink more, making up games that had no rules beyond lose and chug.I hovered by the counter, arms folded, pretending I wasn’t watching the disaster unfold.“Mom,” Ethan called, staggering slightly as he plopped onto the couch. “You’ve got to take a shot with me.”I shook my head immediately. “Absolutely not.”“C’mon. One.” He grinned, face flushed. “It’s my birthday. You can’t say no to the birthday boy.”Maya laughed from her corner, clearly enjoying herself too much. “Do it, Olivia. One shot won’t kill you.”I shot her a look that promised retribution later, but Ethan was already waving a shot glass in my direction.Reluctantly, I stepped forward, took it from him, and raised it. “Happy birthday, baby.”The room erupted in cheers as we downed the liquor. It bu

  • OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER    THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (Part 1)

    Olivia’s POVThe smell of buttercream frosting clung to my kitchen, sweet and overwhelming, the kind of scent that reminded me I was in way over my head.Streamers hung crooked across the living room, balloons bumping gently against the ceiling from the fan’s breeze. I’d spent the whole morning running around, making sure every detail looked perfect, and yet my chest still thudded like I was walking into enemy territory instead of my own apartment.It wasn’t just Ethan’s birthday. It was Ethan’s birthday with Xander coming over.That thought alone was enough to make me nearly drop the plastic cup tower I was stacking on the counter.“You’re twitchy,” Maya teased, snapping another balloon with a string and tying it to the back of a chair. “Like, really twitchy. Is this a party or a funeral?”I shot her a look. “I’m not twitchy. I’m...”She cut me off with a smirk. “You’re nervous because golden boy is coming. Don’t bother denying it.”I sighed, pressing a hand to my forehead. “It’s not

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