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Home / Romance / My Billionaire Husband is Addicted to Me / Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

All Chapters of My Billionaire Husband is Addicted to Me: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

105 Chapters

81

[Olivia’s pov]The first thing I realized, sitting across from Nina with a half-eaten plate of fries between us, was that I hadn’t felt this normal in days.No tension pulling at my chest.No Carter or Ronan looming in my thoughts like an unresolved storm.No hospital alarms echoing in the back of my mind.I leaned back slightly in my chair, sighing in contentment as I stole another fry off Nina’s plate.“You know,” I said thoughtfully, chewing slowly, “if life were fair, this would be my permanent job.”Nina raised a brow. “Stealing my food like you used to do in high school?”“Yes,” I nodded seriously. “It’s a highly skilled profession.”“You mean shamelessness.”“That too,” I admitted easily.She shook her head, smiling despite herself. For a moment everything felt light. Like I could almost forget everything else. And then a voice came up.“Is this seat taken?”My hand froze mid-air.No.No, no, no—I didn’t even need to look up.I knew that voice.I slowly turned my head and th

82

[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

83

[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

84

[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

85

[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

86

[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

87

[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.

88

[Olivia’s pov]The house felt too quiet when I stepped inside.The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, familiar and oddly comforting, blending with the soft hum of the lights. It was late enough that the world outside had gone quiet too, and for the first time since the gala, I could actually hear my own thoughts.That wasn’t a good thing.I slipped off my heels near the entrance, my fingers brushing absently against the console table as I steadied myself. Everything from tonight replayed in fragments—Carter’s voice, the look in his eyes, the way he had said my name like it mattered.My chest tightened.I had said it, finally. There was no taking it back now.“Olivia?”I barely had time to turn before I was pulled into a hug.“Whoa—”“Homer,” I laughed softly, surprised as his arms wrapped tightly around me.Homer smelled faintly of coffee and disinfectant, his embrace warm, grounding. So different from the chaos I had just walked out of.“I knew it,” he said against my ha

89

[Olivia’s pov]The hospital always smelled the same in the morning.Sterile. Controlled. Predictable.Usually, that comforted me.Today, it didn’t.My steps slowed as I walked down the corridor toward my cabin. My fingers tightened slightly around the file I was carrying. I wasn’t thinking about the surgery scheduled in an hour. I wasn’t thinking about the DNA test Carter had agreed to.I was thinking about Ronan too. I knew him well enough to expect anger.Not loud. Not explosive.Worse.Quiet. Controlled. Cutting.He had seen everything last night, the confession, the way I had taken Carter’s hand, the way I had chosen publicly.And Ronan wasn’t a man who accepted things easily when they slipped out of his control.I exhaled slowly as I reached my cabin. Part of me almost expected him to be inside already, leaning against my desk, arms crossed, that unreadable look in his eyes.My hand rested on the handle for a second longer than necessary. Then I pushed it open, the room was empt

90

[Carter’s pov]Morning light cut through the windshield in sharp, pale streaks as I drove. Candice sat beside me, unusually quiet.She usually filled the car with endless questions, curious, relentless but today she just stared out the window, her small fingers tracing invisible patterns on the glass.Children notice things.Even when they don’t understand them.“You’re quiet,” I said, glancing at her briefly before returning my eyes to the road.She shrugged. “You’re quiet too, dad.”I huffed out a faint breath that might have been a laugh. “It’s just a checkup, kiddo.” I added, keeping my tone steady. “Nothing to worry about.”She turned to look at me then, her expression thoughtful in a way that didn’t belong on a child’s face. “Are you coming with me?”There it was. The part I couldn’t avoid. “I’ll be there,” I said carefully. “Just… not in the room.”Her brows pulled together slightly, but she nodded. “Okay. Will aunty Olivia be there too?”Silence settled again. “Yes, kiddo. Sh

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