Olivia’s POV
Calvin stared at like I’d just confessed to committing treason.
His jaw was clenched so tightly I thought it might crack. His hands fisted at his sides, and I could practically feel the rage radiating off him. But to his credit, he didn’t yell. Not yet. His voice, when it ca, was low... controlled.
Too controlled.
"Whatever you think you’re doing," he said through gritted teeth, "you need to stop. Now."
I lifted my chin, already bracing for the inevitable wave of judgnt. "Calvin—"
"No." He cut off, his eyes blazing with anger. "No excuses, Olivia. This is disgraceful. Sleeping in the bed of the sa people who ripped your heart apart? Whose family has done nothing but tornt ours?"
Nora looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Lolita bit her bottom lip, like she was dying to say sothing but knew better.
I tried to stay calm. "It’s not that simple."
"Yes, it is!" Calvin snapped, the first crack in his control showing. "Their family and ours are enemies. Olivia, enemies. Do you even understand the implications of what you’re doing?"
"I do," I said quietly, folding my arms. "But that doesn’t make what I feel any less real."
He scoffed, stepping forward. "And what about the fact that we’re related?"
"We’re not directly related," I said firmly. "You know that, Calvin."
"That doesn’t make it right," he fired back. "So what? You’re just going to forget everything they did to you?"
That hit deeper than I wanted to admit.
My silence must have said enough.
Calvin’s expression shifted. His voice dropped, softer now. "You’re going to forget how they rejected you? Humiliated you? Tore you apart? Is that it?"
Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I stood my ground.
"I haven’t forgotten," I whispered. "But I’m trying to heal. And they’re trying too."
Calvin shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with disappointnt. "Our parents would be ashad of you."
That one... that one shattered sothing inside .
He turned and walked toward the door, but before leaving, he paused, his back still to .
"You might think this is love," he said, voice colder now, "but this is just obsession."
Then he walked out.
Nora shifted beside , then turned toward the door. "I’ll be back," she said suddenly.
I frowned. "Where are you going?"
She simply gave a small frown. "I’m coming."
And then she walked out too—leaving with Lolita.
I sank slowly onto the edge of my bed, my arms folding around myself. My chest ached from the tension, from Calvin’s words, from the ugly truth of it all.
Was I doing the right thing?
Lolita stepped closer as she sat beside .
"You okay?" she asked softly.
I hesitated before nodding. "Yeah... yeah, I’m fine."
She gave a look that said she didn’t believe that for a second.
I swallowed hard, then turned to her. "Lolita... do you think Calvin’s right? That I’m making a mistake?"
She tilted her head, letting the question settle before answering. "I think... love doesn’t co with a right or wrong, Olivia. It just is."
I looked down at my hands.
"He said I’m letting them off too easily," I whispered. "That I’m forgetting what they did."
"You’re not forgetting," Lolita said gently. "You’re choosing to forgive. There’s a difference."
"But what if I’m just being weak and stupid?" I asked.
"You’re not weak or stupid," she said firmly. "You’re strong enough to let yourself feel. That’s more than most people can do." She touched my arm, comforting . "The triplets... they love you. I see it, clear as day."
I looked up at her, my eyes burning. "Then why can’t Calvin?"
Lolita sighed. "Because they haven’t shown him. Not yet. He’s still stuck in the version of them who hurt you. That’s all he knows. But you... you’ve seen a different side. You’ve seen them fight for you, cry for you. He hasn’t. So I understand where he’s coming from too."
Her words sat heavy in my chest.
Just then, the door creaked open.
I turned.
Calvin stepped back inside, his face unreadable. And right behind him... was Nora.
I blinked.
Calvin cleared his throat, his gaze lowering briefly to the floor before finding mine again. "I... I’m sorry," he said quietly. "If my words earlier hurt you, that wasn’t my intention."
My breath caught.
He glanced at the window, then back at . "I still don’t accept them. I don’t know if I ever fully will. But I shouldn’t have said what I said like that. That was... wrong of ."
Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away again.
I sat frozen, my heart still racing.
My eyes shifted slowly to Nora, who leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
I stared at her. "What... did you say to him?"
She shrugged. "Nothing much."
Lolita raised a suspicious brow at her. "Is there sothing you are not telling us?"
Nora swallowed hard but shook her head. "No... what is there to hide?"
Lolita and I exchanged skeptical glances at Nora’s too-quick answer. Obviously, we don’t believe her.
She shifted on her feet, her arms still folded, but I could see her throat bob as she swallowed hard.
"There’s nothing to hide," she repeated, a little too calmly.
I narrowed my eyes but let it slide—for now. My head was still spinning from Calvin’s outburst and his unexpected apology.
Nora cleared her throat and changed the subject, almost too quickly. "Anyway... guess who’s in your brother’s dungeon."
I blinked. "What? Who?"
Lolita leaned in slightly, her tone low. "Anita."
I sat up straighter. "Wait—Anita? As in the Anita?"
Nora nodded.
My mind reeled. "How? Why? I thought—"
"Don’t you know?" Lolita cut in, her voice more serious. "She lost the last pregnancy."
My breath hitched.
"She miscarried?" I asked, stunned.
"She did," Lolita confird. "And after that, everything crumbled. The triplets—especially Lennox—banished her and her mother from the pack."
I was still processing when Nora added, "Her mother couldn’t take the disgrace. She killed herself not long after."
"Oh my goddess..." I whispered.
"It got worse," Lolita went on. "We don’t know all the details, but from what we’ve heard, her father used a dark spell on the triplets... we don’t know how."
I stiffened. "What?"
"Alpha Lennox ordered his execution," she said. "He was crucified. As a warning to any pack mbers who tried to use dark magic."
The room felt colder all of a sudden.
I was stunned... All of this had happened... and I hadn’t known?
"And now," Lolita said, looking at with concern, "she’s here. We don’t know how, but sohow, Alpha Calvin sent his n after her. She’s locked in the dungeon."
I sat in stunned silence, every part of trying to absorb what I’d just heard.
My mind was spinning... "How did Anita’s father use a dark spell on the triplets?"
Nora shrugged. "We have no idea... you’ll have to ask them yourself."
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