No one acknowledged what had been done to me.
Mrs. Diane spoke first, her voice carrying that same familiar authority.
“Olivia,” she said, as if nothing unusual had happened, “what’s done is done. You need to accept reality.”
I stared at her, my mind strangely clear.
“She’s pregnant,” she continued. “That child needs a proper family. A name. Stability. You’re a woman—you should understand.”
Understand.
The word felt almost absurd.
“You don’t have children yet,” Emily added casually. “So it’s not like anything is tying you down. Let Lucas go. We can all separate peacefully. No need to make things complicated.”
Daniel nodded along, avoiding my eyes.
And Lucas…
He said nothing.
He just sat there, letting them speak for him.
Finally, Chloe spoke, her voice soft but steady.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. “But Lucas and I love each other. I just want a chance to be his wife… and to give this baby a proper home.”
For a brief second, everything went quiet.
I looked at her.
At her carefully composed face.
At her hand resting on the life growing inside her.
Then I looked at all of them.
Six people.
All waiting for me to agree.
To step aside.
To disappear.
And something inside me… shifted.
Not pain.
Not anger.