All Chapters of OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Olivia's Pov The hallway outside my apartment used to hum with noise—kids running, radios, someone laughing down the stairs. Now it was just quiet.Too quiet.When I opened the door that morning, Mrs Adams from next door was coming up the steps with her groceries. She saw me, froze, then shifted the bags to her other arm and kept climbing without a word.A week ago she’d asked me for extra sugar. Now she couldn’t look at me.I forced a smile anyway. “Morning.”She didn’t answer.The elevator doors slid shut on the sound of her heels.That was how every morning started now.---At the clinic where I worked part time , the waiting room looked the same—pale walls, ticking clock but the air felt different. My receptionist, Leah, didn’t meet my eyes when she handed me the schedule.Half the slots were empty.“Cancellations?” I asked.She hesitated. “Yes, ma’am. Three this morning. Two more just called.”Her voice was soft, like she hated saying it.I nodded. “All right. Reschedule if they

Olivia's Pov Rain slid down the window like moving glass.I hadn’t slept in two nights.The clock on the stove blinked past midnight while I sat curled on the couch, staring at the news ticker running beneath a muted sports channel. Every line carried his name or mine. Every word hurt.When the knock came, soft but certain, my breath caught.No one knocked at this hour.No one should.I hesitated, then crossed the room and looked through the peephole.He stood there—hood up, eyes shadowed, drenched from the rain. Xander.I opened the door just wide enough for him to slip inside.“Liv,” he said quietly, pushing the hood back. His hair was soaked, water dripping onto his jacket.“What are you doing here?” My voice was barely a whisper.“I couldn’t stay away.”“You can’t be here,” I said. “If someone sees.....”“Let them.”“Don’t,” I cut in, shaking my head. “You’ll lose everything.”He stepped closer, the distance between us shrinking to a breath. “I’m already losing it. Every headline

Olivia’s POVThe rain had stopped sometime before dawn, leaving the streets outside pale and washed out. Maya was still asleep on the couch, one hand dangling toward the floor, her laptop half-open beside her.I hadn’t slept at all. Every time I closed my eyes, the words from that message flashed again—You should have stayed away from him.By morning, the apartment felt smaller, like the walls had moved in overnight. I made coffee I didn’t drink, scrolled through the news I didn’t want to read. My name was still everywhere. My face. My life.I tried not to think about Ethan.But his silence screamed louder than any headline.I was rinsing the mug in the sink when the door burst open.No knock. No warning. Just the slam of wood against the wall and a voice that tore through the quiet.“Are you kidding me, Mom?”I froze. The mug slipped from my hand and clattered into the sink.Ethan stood in the doorway, rain dripping from his hair, his eyes red, not from tears but fury.“Ethan…” My v

Olivia’s POVThe rain hadn’t stopped for three days.It was as if the sky refused to let anything dry, like even heaven wanted to mourn the wreckage of my life. I couldn't even go to my clinic, no clients, not to talk of the reporters following me around.Maya had left that morning to meet with a reporter, someone she trusted to help rebuild the truth. She promised she’d call once she secured the interview.The apartment was quiet again. Too quiet.Every sound made me flinch—the ticking clock, the faint hum of the fridge, the occasional echo from the street below. I hadn’t turned on my phone since Cassandra’s last message. I couldn’t bear to see another headline or Ethan’s name trending beside mine.I was sitting on the couch, trying to breathe through the ache in my chest, when the knock came.It wasn’t tentative. It was sharp, familiar.For a second, I just stared at the door. My heart knew before my mind caught up.I stood slowly, crossing the room. My hand hovered over the knob be

Olivia’s POVThe morning started like any other—grey sky, rain tapping on the windows, the kind of silence that made you forget the world still existed.I hadn’t checked my phone in two days. I couldn’t bring myself to. Every time I tried, I imagined another headline with my name twisted into something cruel. But that morning, something in my chest wouldn’t let me stay still.I reached for the phone anyway.When the screen lit up, the first thing I saw made my stomach drop. Breaking News: Hockey Star Xander Hayes Missing After Last Night’s GameMy heart stopped.I opened the article with shaking hands. The words blurred as I tried to read them. “Sources say Hale left the arena late last night and has not been seen since. His fiancée, Cassandra Dane, has released a statement expressing concern.”A photo sat at the top of the article—Cassandra with fake tears in her eyes, clutching her chest like a grieving widow.My breath hitched. “Oh God, Xander…”The phone slipped from my hands.Fo