Chapter 10 – The Storm Between Us
1332 Words
Olivia stepped into Reign Capital early Monday morning, the sharp click of her heels swallowed by the pristine silence of the executive floor. The weekend still clung to her like fog—Rick’s voice, the memories, the ache she thought she’d buried. But it was Clinton’s message that had haunted her most.
She wasn’t ready for him. Not today. Maybe not ever.
But Clinton Reign didn’t wait for permission.
His door was already open when she arrived, as if he’d been waiting.
He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, the city sprawling behind him, his silhouette cut sharp against the light. Hands in his pockets. Tense. Still.
“Come in,” he said without turning around.
She stepped inside, her throat tight. “You said we needed to talk.”
He finally faced her.
His eyes found hers instantly, and for a second, the room felt too small.
“Where were you Saturday night?” His voice was quiet, but it pulsed with something dark, barely leashed.
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You read the message,” he said, stepping closer. “I saw the read receipt. You didn’t answer.”
She folded her arms. “I didn’t think I owed you an immediate response.”
“You don’t,” he said tightly. “But you’ve never ignored me before.”
His words landed like an accusation. Or worse—a confession.
Olivia drew in a breath. “I was with someone.”
The silence stretched and snapped between them.
His jaw locked. “Rick.”
Her name in his mouth felt like a curse.
She didn’t deny it.
Clinton’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Tell me something, Olivia. Are we really going to pretend he didn’t rip your heart out and walk away like it cost him nothing?”
She stiffened. “That’s not your business.”
“The hell it isn’t,” he growled, stepping even closer. “When it keeps you up at night. When it shows on your face every time you flinch at his name. When I—” He stopped himself. Breathing hard.
“When you what?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“When I see you,” he said, voice cracking, “and I hate that he ever got the chance to break what I would’ve cherished.”
The words hit her like a blow.
He looked away, running a hand through his hair like he was trying to wrestle himself back under control. “Do you even know what it does to me? Watching you walk in here every day like you’re fine. Like I don’t see it—how much you’re holding in. And I swear to God, Liv, if he puts even a hairline c***k in what’s left of you, I won’t stay calm.”
She didn’t speak. Couldn’t.
Clinton laughed bitterly and turned away, pacing now. “I’ve been trying to respect your space. Trying to keep this professional. But you think I don’t feel it too? The pull? The way everything about you messes with the order I built?”
Her heart thundered.
He stopped and faced her again—raw, unguarded.
“I can’t stand the idea of him getting another piece of you. Not when I haven’t even had a chance.”
Olivia’s breath caught. “Why now, Clinton? Why are you saying all this now?”
His voice dropped, almost broken. “Because I’m losing the patience to pretend I’m not in love with you.”
The air between them trembled.
He stepped forward again, slower this time, as if afraid of what he’d just said. “You don’t have to say anything. Just… don’t shut me out, Olivia. Not now.”
She looked up at him, every defense she’d built cracking beneath the weight of his honesty. “You think you’re the only one scared?”
His gaze softened. “No. I think we’re both just too damn good at hiding it.”
For a long moment, they stood there, the chaos quiet for once. Breathing each other in. No more games.
Just truth.
Then her phone buzzed.
Rick.
Clinton’s eyes dropped to the screen. His jaw flexed.
Olivia silenced it.
“I’m still figuring things out,” she said. “But I’m here.”
His response was a barely-there nod, like anything more would undo him.
She turned to leave.
“Olivia,” he called.
She paused at the door.
“When you’re ready—I won’t hold back.”
She didn’t look back. But her heart was already sprinting.
By the time Olivia stepped out of Clinton’s office, her pulse was still erratic. The air felt heavier, soaked in the tension that had just sparked between them. She returned to her desk, but she wasn’t really there—her fingers moved across the keyboard, her eyes scanned emails, but her mind... it was still with him.
Clinton’s voice, strained with jealousy and something dangerously close to confession, wouldn’t stop echoing in her ears.
She hated how it affected her.
By five, she was out the door.
---
Later That Evening – Lily’s Apartment
Lily opened the door, took one look at Olivia, and without a word, handed her a glass of red wine.
“You’re early. Reign kick you out for once?”
Olivia managed a tired smile. “Something like that.”
She sank into the familiar cushions of Lily’s couch, her body still tense. Lily didn’t push—just passed her a blanket and turned the music low. It was Olivia who broke the silence first.
“I told them about Rick,” she said softly. “Layla and Ethan. I finally said it out loud. Everything.”
Lily’s eyes softened, but she didn’t interrupt.
“It broke me a little,” Olivia continued. “They’d never seen me like that before. I think I scared them.”
“You didn’t,” Lily said, reaching for her hand. “They’ve just never seen the version of you that bleeds. But it doesn’t make you weak. It makes you real.”
Olivia stared down at her hands, quiet. “Clinton was different today.”
“Different how?”
“He asked me if I still loved Rick,” she said, her voice trembling on the edge of disbelief. “And when I didn’t answer… he looked at me like he’d just lost something.”
Lily blinked. “Wait. Clinton cares?”
“I don’t know.” Olivia let out a bitter laugh. “He’s always controlled. Careful. But today… it felt like he was coming undone. And I think he hates that it’s Rick who’s doing it to him.”
“So, what are you feeling?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “Rick… he shattered me. And Clinton…” She trailed off, her voice almost breaking. “Clinton never let me close enough to even try.”
“You two had a thing, didn’t you?” Lily’s voice was soft now. Knowing.
Olivia didn’t deny it.
“It wasn’t defined,” she said. “We were dancing around it. Long nights. Close moments. Everything but the words. And I let it happen because I thought maybe... he’d eventually say what I couldn’t.”
“But he didn’t,” Lily guessed.
“No,” Olivia replied. “And now that Rick’s back… it’s like Clinton’s realizing what he might lose. But it’s too late to start caring when you never gave me room to believe in us.”
Lily pulled her into a side hug. “Sounds like your heart’s in the middle of a war.”
“It is,” Olivia said quietly. “And I don’t know if I’m strong enough to survive it again.”
Outside, the rain started a
gain—soft, persistent.
And inside, Olivia sat with the echo of two men tangled in her past, and the terrifying possibility that one of them might be her future.
- Writer
