Chapter 3
1102 Words
Chapter Three
Olivia Harper...
The name lingers in the air, one that shouldn't exist in this part of my life—this new, fragile part I’ve built with tears and careful silence.
Who is Olivia Harper?
The question whirls round my mind, over and over, each repetition hitting harder than the last.
And how did they find out about the baby?
My chest tightens. The air in the room feels heavier with each passing second, replaced with dread. A dread so consuming it makes my knees weak.
How could they have known?
My head spins. Five years. I buried that chapter of my life so deep I started to believe it would never surface again. But someone has found the grave—and they’ve dug it up. Not just the memory… but the truth.
My stomach churns violently, bile rising in my throat as my vision blurs. I try to anchor myself to something, anything—but all I can feel is the icy sweat around my palms and the distant thud of my heart beating faster than it should.
This can’t be happening.
Not now.
I wipe the sweat from my brow with a shaky hand, the chill of the air conditioning doing nothing to cool the storm inside me.
Noah’s voice cuts through the haze, pulling me back to the present.
"Are you alright?"
I flinch. I’d almost forgotten he was here.
In this room.
So close.
Too close.
I fumble with my phone, shutting off the screen as if that could somehow erase the message, the name, and the panic crawling up my spine.
"Y—yes, I'm fine," I manage to say, though I’m certain the tremble in my voice betrays me. I sound like a liar, and worse—I feel like one.
"Leave!" His eyes are still on me, but he's clearly not talking to me. "We'll continue the meeting at another time." He says.
The four people in the room stand up to leave after a quick nod of their head.
Noah steps toward me, and my body reacts instinctively. I close my eyes, inhaling deeply as his scent fills the space between us. It used to be the only thing that could calm me.
It still is.
All I want to do is fall on his chest as I inhale him deeply, letting every wall I’ve built crumble in the safety of his arms. I want to cry into his expensive suit, ruin my makeup, and confess it all. The truth. The pain. The loss.
I want to tell him I’m sorry.
For leaving.
For breaking him.
For destroying the future we dreamed of.
He steps closer, his breath ghosting across my face. I open my eyes slowly, and his are already locked onto mine.
"You've never been good at lying to me."
His voice is low. Gentle. Kknowing.
"I know," I whisper, exhaling the weight of the truth I can’t yet give voice to.
He takes another step closer, leaving no room between us.
"Then please tell me the truth, the actual truth. Not somer-up lie or story," he says, voice tight with something raw. "Did you fall out of love with me?"
My breath catches.
His question slices through me like a blade. I can see it—the vulnerability in his eyes. The question isn't about anger. It’s fear. Fear that maybe the only person he let in truly stopped loving him.
But he’s wrong.
I never stopped.
Not for a second.
Tears spill from my eyes before I can stop them. I try to hold them back, but the dam is cracking, and the pain I’ve held in for five long years is leaking through.
"Noah, I—"
"I know," he cuts in softly.
"You're going to say it's hard to explain. But it's not. I know you, Elina."
He reaches for me, his warm hands cradling my face, lifting it until I can’t escape his gaze.
"I know you loved me. You still do. I I felt it every single time you looked at me, touched me, or breathed next to me. It wasn’t fake.
None of it." His voice breaks slightly, eyes glistening.
"What I don’t understand is why you left. Why you walked away when everything was perfect."
The c***k in my heart deepens.
Because it was perfect.
And that was exactly why I had to leave.
"Yes, Noah," I whisper, my voice shaking. "Everything was perfect. It’s just—"
My words falter, the rest caught in a tangle of grief and guilt.
He leans in closer, desperation seeping into every word.
"Tell me something, Elina. Anything. I thought I could move on, thought I was strong enough to let go, but I’m not. I’m drowning here. Help me."
And just like that, I break.
I clutch the hand he’s placed on my cheek, holding it as if it’s the only thing keeping me from collapsing entirely. His eyes search mine, and I know—he needs the truth.
I want to give it to him.
"Noah—"
The door swings open with a sudden, jarring thud as Judith walks in.
She takes a few steps in, then freezes. Her eyes land on us—on his hands on my face, on the tears streaking down mine—and something shifts in her.
Her voice falters.
"Oh, um—I’m sorry if I… interrupted something."
She’s never seen Noah like this. None of them have. The cold, calculated CEO with a steel spine and guarded heart—touching someone like she’s his entire world.
Noah steps away from me, hands dropping like lead weights. His expression shutters, and just like that—he’s back. The mask is on. The man she knows has returned.
He clears his throat.
"The business meeting with the stakeholders?"
Judith straightens, the slight tremble in her voice gone.
"Yes, sir. They’re waiting."
Noah nods once, adjusting his suit. The switch is so sharp it almost cuts me.
He doesn’t look at me when he says,
"I trust you’ll find your way out, Ms. Hemsworth?"
Ms. Hemsworth.
And just like that, I’m no one again.
I force a nod, trying to swallow the lump clawing at my throat.
"Yes. Yes, I will."
"Good." He turns to Judith. "Shall we?"
And then they’re gone.
The door closes behind them.
And I’m left in the silence.
The echo of his touch still on my skin.
The ache of unfinished truth burning in my chest.
And the name Olivia Harper still flashing in my mind like a warning shot I never saw coming.
- Writer
