Novels by Judith Olivia

Amelia’s POVI didn’t go home after Evelyn’s office.I couldn’t.The streets blurred past me like they didn’t belong to my life anymore.Like I was just passing through someone else’s story.Evelyn’s words kept replaying in my head.Not as sentences; as pressure, and as weight also.As something pressing down on my chest until breathing felt optional.Your pregnancies were monitored… interfered with…And worse—Ryan never stopped loving you.That one refused to leave me alone.Because it didn’t make sense.None of it did. Not anymore.By the time I reached the mansion, my hands were shaking.Not from fear. From something worse. And that is clarity.The kind that comes right before everything breaks.---The house was quiet when I entered. It was way too quiet.Ryan’s car was in the driveway.So he was home. Of course he was.He was always home when it was already too late.I closed the door behind me slowly.Like the sound might wake something up.Or break something that was already br

Amelia’s POVI didn’t sleep after the anniversary, not really.I lay in bed staring at the ceiling while Ryan sat somewhere downstairs, silent, distant, and absent in a way that felt even worse than being physically gone.He came home late. Of course he did.I heard the door around midnight. There were footsteps.I paused.Then nothing. No explanation. No attempt to speak.Just silence settling between us like dust.And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t go looking for him. I didn’t ask where he’d been.I didn’t care enough to break myself again.Instead, I stared at my phone until morning.At Lucas’s messages.At the way he made simple things feel like air.At the way Ryan had once made everything feel like home.Now neither of them felt like that. One felt like escape. The other felt like memory.And I didn’t know which hurt more.---The decision to confront Evelyn came suddenly.It came too suddenly.Like something inside me snapped after weeks of swallowing questions that

Amelia's POVI woke up at six in the morning. I didn't wake up because of the alarm. I didn't have anywhere to go either. I woke up early because of the date.For several seconds, I lay still in bed, staring at the ceiling.Listening to Ryan's slow breathing beside me.Listening to my own heart.Trying to convince myself that today didn't matter; but it did.No matter how many times I told myself otherwise.No matter how much I tried to act indifferent.Today mattered. And nothing was going to change that.Because today was our wedding anniversary.Eight years.Eight years since I stood in a white dress and promised to love Ryan Carter for the rest of my life.Eight years since he slipped a ring onto my finger.Eight years since he looked at me as though I was the only woman in the world.I closed my eyes. The memory hurt more than it comforted.Because somewhere along the way, that version of Ryan disappeared.Or maybe I lost him. I wasn't sure anymore.Slowly, I turned my head.Ryan

Ryan was watching me.I noticed it three days after the incident with the debt collector.Not in an obvious way.Ryan Carter was too controlled for that. Too careful. Too proud. But I noticed anyways.The little things gave him away.The way his eyes followed me when I left a room.The way he glanced up whenever my phone buzzed.The way he suddenly seemed interested in where I spent my afternoons.It was strange though.For years, I had begged Ryan to notice me.Now that he finally was, I wasn't sure what to do with it.Or maybe I knew exactly what to do.And that was nothing.Because attention given too late didn't heal old wounds.---I was scrolling through my phone one morning when a text from Lucas appeared.Survived another boring business meeting. Reward me.I laughed.Immediately, another message followed.Coffee?A smile tugged at my lips.Before I could answer, I felt eyes on me.I looked up. Ryan stood in the kitchen doorway watching me.His expression was unreadable. But so

Amelia's POVHumiliation has a sound.For me, it sounded like my phone ringing at nine o'clock on a Tuesday morning.I was sitting alone in the kitchen, staring at a cup of coffee that had long gone cold when the call came.It was an unknown number.Normally, I would have ignored it.But lately, unknown numbers seemed determined to ruin my life.So eventually, I answered."Hello?""Mrs. Carter?"My stomach tightened.The professional tone immediately put me on edge."Yes.""This is Richard Wells from Crestwood Medical Collections."The words hit me like a punch.Collections. Oh no.My grip tightened around the phone."I—""We've attempted to contact you multiple times regarding your outstanding balance."Heat flooded my face.I glanced around the empty kitchen as if someone might somehow hear the conversation."Can we discuss this later?""I'm afraid the account is already overdue."My chest tightened.The familiar panic began crawling through me.The same panic that had haunted me fo

For a long time, I stood in the middle of the bedroom. Unable to move.The argument replayed endlessly inside my head.Every word we said. Every accusation.Every tear that dropped.Eventually my legs gave out.I sank onto the floor.And cried. I cried so hard. Not graceful tears.Not quiet tears.The ugly kind of tears.The kind that left your chest aching.The kind that stole your breath.The kind you'd spent years holding back.My phone buzzed. I ignored it.Then it buzzed again, and again.Finally, I looked at my screen.It was Lucas.Concern immediately flashed across his face during the video call."Amelia?"That was all it took.The tears came harder."Hey."His voice softened instantly."What happened?"I tried to answer, but I couldn't.The sob caught in my throat.Lucas's expression changed immediately.He was filled with fair, concern, and protectiveness."I'm coming."I ended the call.—Forty minutes later, the front door opened.I barely heard it.I sat curled on the couc