Chapter 4 : Taking My Life Back

Olivia pov;

"Turn it off, Luca," I whispered, my eyes fixed on the glowing screen. "Please, just turn it off."

Luca reached across the white marble counter and grabbed the phone. He pressed the side button until the screen went completely black, silencing the rattle against the stone. He slid the phone into his back pocket and gave me a long, serious look.

"It is off, Olivia," Luca said softly. He pulled a wooden stool closer to my chair. "He cannot reach you here. He does not know where we live, and he never will."

I did not answer. I just pulled the thick white towel tighter around my shoulders. My body felt heavy and cold, and the small room seemed to tilt slightly whenever I closed my eyes. Adrian quietly walked over and set a large ceramic mug of hot tea on the table in front of me. Steam rose from the dark brown liquid, smelling faintly of peppermint.

"Drink this," Adrian said, his voice low and steady as he placed a hand on my shoulder for a brief second. "It will help you get warm. You need to rest now."

"Thank you," I muttered, my swollen lip catching on the rim of the mug as I took a tiny sip. The heat burned my mouth, but it made the shaking in my chest slow down.

I spent the next three days living on their gray fabric couch. The living room became my whole world. I kept the curtains pulled tight, blocking out the gray daylight of Maple Grove. Every time the old house groaned, or the wind blew a stray branch against the windowpane, I flinched, my shoulders jumping toward my ears. I slept in short, fitful bursts, waking up soaked in sweat, convinced that Damian's leather dress shoes were clicking down the hallway.

On the fourth morning, the rain finally stopped. A thin sliver of pale yellow sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains, hitting the coffee table. I sat up, pulling a wool blanket up to my chin. Luca walked into the room carrying a laundry basket full of fresh, clean clothes. He set it down by my feet and sat on the edge of the cushion.

"You have been hiding under that blanket for seventy-two hours, Olivia," Luca said. His voice was gentle, but his bright eyes were completely serious.

"I am just tired, Luca," I said, looking down at the fabric patterns instead of meeting his gaze. "I do not want to disturb you guys. I should find a small apartment or something. I can use the cash I saved."

"You are not disturbing anyone," Luca snapped, his jaw tightening slightly. "But you are doing something worse. You are agreeing with him."

I looked up, my eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

"I see the way you look in the mirror when you pass the bathroom," Luca said, pointing a finger toward the hallway. "I see how you pull those giant cardigans over your frame like you want to turn invisible. Damian told you that no one would ever want a plus-size woman, didn't he? He told you that you were lucky he tolerated you."

A hot tear spilled over my eyelid, tracing a path down my bruised cheekbone. I did not speak. The memory of Damian’s sneer in the kitchen felt as real as the wood under my feet.

"He is a liar, Olivia," Luca said, his voice rising with a fierce, protective heat. "He spent years trying to make you believe you are ugly and difficult to love just because your body doesn't fit into a tiny box. Your size does not make you unlovable. It never did. He used it as a weapon because he knew you were smarter than him, and he wanted to keep you weak."

"It hurts, Luca," I whispered, my voice breaking as I rubbed my sore ribs. "Every time I look down, I just hear his voice. I feel like he was right. Look at me."

"I am looking at you," Luca said, reaching out to squeeze my hands tightly. "I see a woman who survived a monster. I see a woman who graduated with honors and used to dream of running a company. That is who you are. Not what he said you were."

The front door clicked open, and Adrian walked into the living room. He did not take off his heavy wool coat. Instead, he looked straight at me with a calm, serious expression.

"The car is warmed up, Olivia," Adrian said softly. "We need to go to the community clinic down the street. If we want to make sure Damian stays away from you, a doctor needs to document those bruises."

My stomach tightened. "The clinic? Will people see me?"

"We will go through the back door," Adrian promised, holding out my winter coat. "I already called ahead. They are waiting for us."

I did not want to leave the safety of the couch, but Luca took my hand and helped me stand up. Ten minutes later, I was sitting on a cold examination table covered in crinkly white paper. A kind doctor named Dr. Evans gently pressed a stethoscope to my ribs and took clear, close-up photographs of the purple marks on my cheek and torso. Every flash of the camera made me want to shrink, but Adrian stood right by the door, keeping guard. Dr. Evans printed out the medical chart, stamped it with the official clinic seal, and handed the papers directly to Adrian.

"This is everything you need for the judge," Dr. Evans said with a firm nod.

Adrian took the papers, squeezed my shoulder, and looked at Luca. "Take her back to the house and keep the doors locked. I am going straight to the courthouse."

I spent the next hour back on the couch, drinking warm water and waiting. Finally, the front door clicked open again. Adrian walked back into the living room, wearing his heavy wool coat. He carried a thick blue paper folder under his arm. He shook the leftover water off his boots and walked straight over to the couch.

"I just got back from the Harper Family Court," Adrian said, sitting down in the armchair across from us. He laid the blue folder on the coffee table and opened it, revealing several white sheets covered in legal print.

"What is that?" I asked, leaning forward.

"It is a temporary restraining order against Damian Carter," Adrian explained calmly, pointing his pen at the signature line. "I talked to a clerk I know. We filed the paperwork using his text messages, the medical records from the clinic we just visited, and the photos Dr. Evans took of your bruises."The judge signed it.."

"Is he... will he know?" My heart gave a hard thump against my ribs.

"A police officer is serving it to him at Carter Innovations right now," Adrian said, his jaw setting into a firm, hard line. "If he comes within five hundred feet of you, or this house, or any place you work, he goes straight to jail. No phone calls. No warnings. The law is on your side now, Olivia."

I stared at the black ink of the judge's signature. A strange, light feeling spread through my stomach. For seven years, Damian had been the law. He decided what was right and what was wrong. Seeing a piece of paper from a real court that said he was the one who had to stay away felt like a heavy weight being lifted off my neck.

"Thank you, Adrian," I said, my voice barely audible.

"Do not thank me," Adrian said with a quiet smile. "Just use it to get your life back."

Luca suddenly stood up from the couch, clapping his hands together with a loud smack that made me jump. "Excellent. Now that the legal stuff is handled, we are going out tonight."

"Out?" I blinked, looking down at my old jeans. "Luca, no. I cannot go out. People will look at my face. The bruise is still yellow."

"We can cover the bruise with professional concealer," Luca said, waving his hand dismissively. "And you are not going to hide in this house forever. Tonight, you deserve one night to simply feel alive before the hard work of rebuilding your career begins. No Damian. No courts. Just a night out in Riverton."

He marched into the guest bedroom and pulled my canvas suitcase out of the small closet. He unzipped it and began throwing my oversized gray cardigans and dark sweaters onto the floor.

"What are you doing?" I cried out, standing up from the couch.

"I am banning these potato sacks," Luca said. He reached into his own bag that he had brought from his styling studio. He pulled out a deep emerald-green dress made of thick, structured fabric. It had a sharp, square neckline and elegant tailoring that gathered neatly at the waist. "You are going to wear this."

"Luca, that is too bright," I protested, my hands shaking as I touched the soft fabric. "It shows my shape. People will stare."

"Let them stare," Luca said, pushing the dress into my hands. "It is bold. It fits your curves perfectly, and it is beautiful. Put it on, Olivia. Do it for the girl who used to want a corner office."

I took the dress into the bathroom. I pulled off my old clothes and slid the emerald fabric over my head. The material was thick and supportive, hugging my plus-size figure without squeezing. I zipped it up and looked in the mirror. Luca came in behind me, using brushes and cream to carefully hide the yellowing bruise on my cheekbone and the small split on my lip. He brushed my long chestnut-brown hair until it fell straight and shiny over my shoulders.

When he stepped back, I stared at the reflection. The woman in the mirror did not look broken. She looked striking. The green fabric made my hazel eyes look bright and sharp. A tiny, unfamiliar flicker of my old confidence warmed my chest.

An hour later, Adrian drove us into the affluent center of Riverton. The city lights blinked through the dark evening, reflecting off the wet pavement. He pulled the car up to the curb in the Kingsbridge District, right in front of a building with a glowing blue neon sign.

The sign read: The Blue Note Lounge.

Low, smooth sounds of a saxophone drifted out from the heavy wooden front doors, mixing with the laughter of people dressed in elegant suits and dresses.

I stepped out of the car, the cool evening air hitting my bare neck. My flat shoes were gone, replaced by a pair of comfortable but stylish low heels Luca had insisted on. I stood on the sidewalk, my fingers clutching the small strap of my handbag. My breath hitched in my throat as I looked at the crowd entering the lounge.

"I do not know if I can do this," I whispered, my heels glued to the concrete. "Maybe we should just go home."

Luca put a gentle hand on the small of my back, pushing me forward just an inch. "You belong in there just as much as anyone else, Olivia. Walk in like you own the room."

I took a deep breath, holding my head high. I hesitated for one final second, my heart racing, then I took a step forward and walked through the heavy doors anyway