Alle Kapitel von OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER : Kapitel 111 – Kapitel 120

Olivia's Pov Xander finally lets me go, but only enough so he can look at me. His thumb brushes a tear from my cheek, slow and gentle, like he’s afraid I’ll break if he presses too hard. “You ready to face outside?” he asks quietly. “No,” I answer honestly. “But I have to.” “We’ll go together,” he says. “All of us.” Maya comes back to my side like she was waiting for the hug to finish. “Well,” she says, lifting her bag over her shoulder, “if we walk fast enough, maybe the reporters won’t swallow us alive.” Ethan snorts. “They definitely will.” “Positive thinking, Ethan,” Maya counters. “I’m positive they will swallow us alive,” he replies. I laugh softly. It feels strange to laugh today, but a good strange. We walk toward the courthouse doors. The hallway is still busy—lawyers rushing past, officers talking into radios, people whispering about Cassandra. Once we reach the doors, I stop. I can hear the noise outside before they’re even opened—the shouts, the cameras, the

Ethan’s POVThe sound of skates cutting into the ice usually calms me. Today, it feels like every scrape is a reminder of how wrong everything is.Coach Miller’s whistle pierces the arena.“Back to the line! Again!”We skate. Hard.The guys move in rhythm, but I feel out of sync, like I’m a half-second behind everyone else. It isn’t physical. I barely slept, but that’s not what’s slowing me down.It’s the way they keep looking at me.Not outright glares… but quick, silent glances.Like I’ve done something unforgivable.I push harder, trying to shut it out.“Ethan!” Coach snaps. “You’re drifting. Focus.”“I’m trying,” I mutter, almost too low to hear.No one responds, but I feel the shift around me.Teammates skate past, and their whispers cut sharper than skates:“Still defending her?”“He brought this on himself.”“Can’t have a captain who picks his mom over the team.”I clench my jaw. I’m tired of hearing this. Tired of pretending it doesn’t bother me. Tired of defending something t

Xander’s POVThe moment Olivia opens the door for me, I know something’s wrong.She doesn’t smile. She doesn’t step into my chest the way she usually does. Her shoulders are tight, eyes distant, hands shaking slightly like she’s holding something fragile inside her that might break if she moves too fast.And the worst part?She avoids my gaze.“Hey,” I say softly, stepping inside her apartment. “You didn’t answer my texts. I got worried.”“I was busy,” she murmurs.Busy. Olivia never uses that word with me. Not like this, sounding very cold and distant. The door clicks behind me, and the sound feels like the air sealing shut. She walks ahead, her steps slow and heavy. Something is wrong. Something big. I can feel it in my chest like a pressure I can’t name.I follow her into the living room. She doesn’t sit; she stands with her arms crossed like she’s trying to hold herself together.“Olivia,” I say quietly, “talk to me.”Silence answers me first. Then she exhales shakily, turning he

Olivia’s POVThe apartment is too quiet.Too still.Too full of all the things I wish I hadn’t said and all the things Ethan didn’t mean but still hurt more than anything else ever has.I sit on the couch with my hands clasped together so tightly my knuckles ache. The moment Ethan walked out, everything in me collapsed. The silence became unbearable. The guilt settled on my shoulders like a blanket woven from lead.And now I can’t escape the same truth that keeps circling in my mind like a storm:I’m ruining their lives.Both of them.The door opens suddenly.I jump. Xander. I wasn't expecting him at all.Xander strides in, breath uneven, jaw clenched, hair messy like he ran a hand through it a hundred times. He drops his keys on the counter, and the sound is sharp, angry, unforgiving.He looks at me.And everything in him softens, only for a second before the tension rushes back in.“What happened?” he asks, voice rough.I swallow hard. “Ethan came by.”Xander’s eyes flash. “He yelle

Olivia's PovThe address from the message keeps replaying in my head. I sit in the backseat of the taxi, hands shaking in my lap, eyes glued to the screen of my phone. The words feel loud even though they’re silent.Private press interview. No cameras. No reporters. Truth only. Think carefully before you refuse. I don’t know why I came. Maybe because I’m tired of running. Maybe because I’m tired of being called a liar. Maybe because part of me still believes that someone out there wants the truth.Xander wanted to come with me. He practically begged. But the address was clear: Come alone.And something in my chest said I needed to face this myself. For once. For my own name.Still, my stomach twists every few seconds, tight and sharp. My hands won’t stop shaking.The taxi slows. The building looks nothing like a news studio. It’s a small private office with tinted windows and a plain door. No sign. No guards. Too quiet. A trap. I know it the second I see it.But I don’t turn back. Ins