The love deadline.

OLIVIA“We’ll be home soon.”That was what he said to me—Axel. When he tried to reach for my hand to hold, I pulled away immediately.I didn’t want him holding or touching me. And I still couldn’t get why Isabella insisted that I leave with him.All I saw in my mind was a man who’d done nothing but hurt me. He was the reason I’d gotten shot in the first place—the last face I had seen before passing out.His countenance shifted after I refused to let him touch me. I sat close to the door of the car, making sure he sat far away from me.Minutes later, we arrived at his estate and I got down before he could open the door for me. Axel walked up to me and tried to hold my hand again, but I flashed him a cold glare, clutching my phone tightly.“I just want to take you inside, Olivia,” his voice cracked softly. “I’m not trying to hurt you.”I didn’t believe any of that. I turned to the entrance and began to walk in. Staring around the familiar space, I noticed the few changes.It was far di

Don’t leave me.

OLIVIA“Do you want anything else?” Mum asked me later that evening, but I shook my head in response. She sighed tiredly, her fingers raking through my hair.“I’m sorry you’re going through all these,” her eyes stared pitifully at me. “You don’t deserve any of the things happening to you right now.”I curled my lips into a small smile, gently reaching for her other hand. I had no idea what had happened, but seeing her healthy and alive made every pain inside me disappear.“Axel said it’s only going to take a few weeks before you find your voice again.”Axel.My stomach always tightened up whenever I heard his name.I retrieved my phone from the top of the pillow next to me, then began to type slowly.“Is he holding you hostage?” I asked through my screen.Mum read it and shook her head. “Not at all.”Believing her words was difficult for me because I knew how manipulative Axel could be.I typed again. “Did he bring you here himself?”“No.”I glanced at her face, searching for somethi

Please remember…

AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI“Where’s she now?”Elizabeth asked as I walked into the kitchen, her eyes staring at me with pity and concern.I walked straight to the fridge for an ice pack, my voice barely above a whisper. “She’s asleep.”She sighed in frustration. “I’m sorry you had to endure that. She’s never lost her temper like that.”I knew.And it was the same reason why I didn’t try to reprimand or stop her from reacting. A lot of things were happening to her at once, so it was normal for her to feel rage.I opened the fridge and retrieved an ice pack to place beneath my eyes. Olivia threw a shoe at me and it bruised the spot.“Where’s Alix?”“Sleeping as well.” She stirred the pot on the stove. “I thought you had a chef?”Rosa.I hadn’t heard anything from her or Viper. Knowing she’d committed a crime by lacing my medications with xylazine was enough reason for her to keep her distance.As for Viper, I couldn’t pinpoint why he was running away. Maybe he was working with Nelly… or Leon

A fragmented piece of you.

OLIVIAThe air smelled like antiseptic and medicines. And I found myself in that same situation, on a hospital bed, screaming as I pushed something out of me.“I… I can’t do it anymore,” I cried.“You’ve got to keep pushing,” a voice said firmly. “Your baby is almost here.”I groaned and pushed with all the strength inside me, but it wasn’t… enough. Weakness took over my whole body, and I struggled for air.“My insides…” I gasped. “They’re ripping apart.”Hands tapped my cheeks and thighs, trying to jolt me back to the moment so I wouldn’t pass out. I pushed and pushed with everything in me, screaming at the top of my lungs.“Mrs. Olivia?”A voice echoed in my ears, but I’d already transitioned from that room. I was in another living room, holding my baby in my arms while a… man screamed at me to get out of his house.“Leave!” He screeched. “Get this witch out of here right now.”“Mrs. Olivia?”The same voice kept calling me. I searched around, but nobody was there. It was just me,

Retracing what we lost.

AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.“Yeah. She’s still asleep, but she’s safe now.”I said over the phone, trying to calm Isabella down. I stood close to the pool, waiting for Grant to return from what I’d sent him.Footsteps thudded softly behind me seconds later, and when I turned around, it wasn’t Grant. It was Olivia.Dressed in a long, flowing red gown, she halted after realizing that I was on a phone call. The warm breeze blew through her hair, and she tucked away strands of her hair behind her ears.Olivia stood a few feet away, eyes staring at me with hesitation. I swallowed hard, then told Isabella over the phone.“I’ll call you later.”I didn’t wait for her response before hanging up. Quietly, I tucked my phone away, raising my gaze at Olivia.Unsure of what to do or say, I whispered curiously.“How’re you feeling now?”She clutched her phone tightly, her lips pressed into a thin line. I didn’t move from my spot. I didn’t want to annoy her by getting closer.The last thing I wanted was he

A hopeless romantic.

OLIVIAI waited by the window, only sitting whenever my legs grew tired. Every set of footsteps outside my room made my heart leap before sinking again when they passed.Axel said I had to be ready by nine-thirty, but I was already dressed and waiting since eight p.m.I couldn’t understand why, and I searched for answers to what was happening within me. Trusting Axel felt like a risk until… we’d gotten that close at the poolside.I’d felt his hot breath against my skin, seen the concern in his eyes, and heard the passion in his voice.Something snapped loose inside me. And after the flashbacks in the hospital, I knew that maybe… it was worth giving a shot after all.Still, it didn’t stop me from being careful around him. My body remembered and wanted him, but my mind refused to comply.I heard footsteps again, and I sat upright on the bed, wishing silently that it was Axel. He’d texted me earlier that he’d come and pick me up from my room.For some reason, I looked forward to the date