OLIVIA’S POV
I hadn’t made it more than a few steps toward the house when I heard his voice again.
“Olivia,” Dominic called.
I froze.
Every muscle in my body tensed, but I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t. Not with tears threatening to fall but with my hands still shaking from the confrontation with Evelyn. I needed space. Air. Anything but him.
“Wait,” he said again, his tone harder now, like an Alpha commanding obedience.
So I stopped–but not out of obedience. Out of exhaustion. This time I am going to get him good.
“Do you always assume it’s me?” I snapped, turning slowly to face him. “Is that your default response whenever Evelyn so much as stubs her toe? Blame Olivia. Punish Olivia. Question, Olivia. Because Olivia only deserves punishment while Evelyn, a murderer, only deserves to sit on the highest pedestal.”
His brows pulled together, startled by the venom in my voice.
Good.
Let him be shocked. Let him taste even a drop of the disbelief and humiliation I’ve endured.
“What did you-” Before he could say another, I interrupted him again.
“Because I’m tired, Dominic,” I continued, my voice trembling–not from fear, but fury. “Tired of being the villain in your fantasy where Evelyn is always the wounded heroine that you are going to save.”
He stepped forward, something like regret in his eyes. His hand reached for mine, maybe to calm me down, maybe to lie again.
I flinched away.
“Don’t,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Don’t touch me. Not when you still believe her over me. Not when the truth stands inches from your face and you still look away. I am not asking you to pick sides, but I request you to please–please look for the truth as the Alpha and then decide who’s right and who is wrong. I don’t deserve all this hate and I don’t want my kid to be exposed to the same in future.”
The wind picked up, rustling the trees. Somewhere nearby, a bird called out. But I could only hear my heartbeat–loud and painful in my ears.
And then he did something that made it worse.
He stepped forward, took my hand in his and handed me a box. “Calm down, okay? It’s not good for your health.”
It looked harmless at first. Wrapped neatly. Simple and quiet.
But in my hands, it felt like the end.
I stared at it, my chest tightening. “My health? Are you deaf? Is this what I think it is?” I whispered. “Another gift–wrapped goodbye? Another divorce agreement disguised as generosity? Or maybe a hefty payment to buy my signatures on those papers so that you could play house with Evelyn?”
He said nothing.
That silence shattered what was left of me.
With a strangled cry, I hurled the box to the ground. It hit the pavement with a hollow thud, the sound echoing through the front yard.
CripherTWEEN FIE ANS PRET
+25 Bonus
“I’ll sign it,” I told him bitterly. “The moment my baby is born and safe–I’ll sign whatever you want. I’ll take my child and leave. That’s what you want, right? For me to disappear so Evelyn can have everything? She better be ready to pick all of my trash, including, you.”
Something in his expression changed then. Not guilt. Not sorrow.
Anger.
In a flash, he moved. His hand wrapped around my wrist–not harshly, but with a firm desperation. He yanked me toward the car, and before I could protest, he had me pinned between the door and his towering frame.
“Don’t talk like that,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “You don’t get to decide how this ends, I decide.”
His breath ghosted over my skin, and my knees almost buckled.
Damn him.
I hated how my body still responded to him. How the scent I once clung to in the dead of night still made my heart ache and flutter all at once. I hated the pull. The fire. The magnetic way my soul reached for him even when my mind screamed to run.
He looked at me like he wanted to consume me. His hand slid up my waist, resting just beneath my ribs, dangerously close to where our child lay nestled. His gaze flickered down to my lips.
“You’re mine,” he whispered, voice husky. “No matter how much you fight it, Olivia–you always will be.”
I trembled.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
And that terrified me more than anything.
I closed my eyes, willing myself to break free from the spell he always cast over me. My hand landed on his chest, and with everything I had left, I pushed him back just enough to breathe.
“You’ll always be my child’s father,” I said hoarsely. “But I will never be your Luna again. Even without Evelyn poisoning your mind–I would still leave you. I don’t need a blind man like you in my life.”
I didn’t wait for his reaction.
But he gave me one anyway.
Before I could move, his lips crashed into mine.
I gasped, stunned by the suddenness, by the heat of it. His hands cupped my jaw, holding me in place like I might vanish if he let go. And for a moment–I was gone. Lost in the fire. The desperation. The ache.
Because no matter how much I hated him, a part of me still craved the man I once believed he was.
His kiss was deep and possessive, laced with unspoken apologies and burning need. My fingers curled into his shirt despite myself, gripping the fabric like a lifeline.
And then–he chuckled.
That low, smug sound right next to my ear.
“You’ll never leave me,” he murmured. “You say it now… but you’ll always come back.”
Like a bucket of ice water, his words crashed into me.
And just like that, the illusion shattered.
I shoved him away so hard he stumbled back a step.
2/3
Choper 1 TWCR AND FROST
Without looking back, I ran into the house, slammed the door, and slid down against it, my breath hitching painfully.
Then the tears came–hot and heavy and angry.
Because he was right.
And that was what hurt the most.
P
Comments
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
