Rina
Kia’s perched in the chair across from my desk, scrolling through her phone while I finish the last of my emails. For a moment, everything feels normal. The work stacked neatly in front of me, hockey schedules spread across the desk, the drone of productivity filling the space. It’s a slice of stability I’m desperate to cling to.
For the first time all morning, I let myself believe that maybe things are finally settling. The steady routine of work feels more like safety.
Control.
That fragile calm shatters the instant Oliver strides into my office and shuts the door behind him with quiet finality. His presence swallows the room whole. He’s too big, too forceful to ignore. By the solemn expression on his face, something’s wrong.
“What?” The question scrapes out of me.
His gaze slices toward his sister before returning to mine. “There’s a picture of us on the Railers Rumors site.”
The air vanishes from the room, leaving me to feel hollow and weightless, as if I’ve been yanked out of myself. I grip the edge of the desk to keep from swaying in my chair.
My stomach drops as the walls close in on me.
“Is it the one from yesterday?” Barely do I manage to push the question out.
His jaw flexes, the muscle ticking. “Yeah. And before you spiral?—”
“Oliver—” My voice fractures, splintering under the heavy weight pressing down on my chest. This is the nightmare scenario I’ve been bracing for in the quiet moments, the one I prayed would never come.
My job.
My reputation.
Everything I’ve worked so hard for will now crumble because I allowed myself to indulge in something I shouldn’t have.
Oliver closes the gap between us, his tone dropping as his gaze stays steady. “If this costs you your job, I’ll take care of you. Both of you. I promise.”
Kia’s head snaps up before she clears her throat and pops to her feet. “Uh… I’m going to step out and give you two some privacy.”
I blink hard, fighting to rein in the emotions that threaten to spill out. “Kia, you don’t?—”
“Nope.” She cuts me off with a wave of her hand, already moving toward the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back.”
A few seconds later, the door closes behind her, leaving the two of us alone together with the mess we’ve made.
“I don’t want to rely on you.” The confession escapes on a strangled whisper, because saying it louder feels like it might crack me open. “I can’t be in a position where you decide you’ve had enough and then I’m left with a child and no job. I watched Callie fight through hell when Zane walked away. I need to be able to take care of myself. And my baby.”
Every time I’ve trusted someone to stay, they found the nearest exit.
His eyes flash with heat, hurt, and maybe something darker before he drops to his knees in front of my chair. The movement stops me cold as I stare down at him.
“Our baby, Rina. Yours and mine.”
“Oliver…”
His hands slide up to grip my thighs, fingers firm but not punishing, as if he’s trying to anchor me in place.
“I will never let you do this alone. Not now. Not ever. I swear it.”
His voice cracks around the word never, and it hits me that this isn’t just about me. It’s about a man who values family above everything, who looks at the people he loves and sees something worth protecting.
It would be so easy to believe him.
To sink into the warmth filling his gaze, into the sheer force of his certainty.
