"This is not the place."
James glanced around the bakery, performing wounded patience for their audience. "I wouldn't have had to come here if you had just answered me."
The line stung. He was weaponizing her lack of response, making her the problem in her own workplace. He took a step forward, trying to close the distance.
Olivia stepped back, deliberately placing the wide oak counter between them.
It was a small action, but the rejection registered in his eyes. He lowered his voice so it sounded private, though the sharp edge of tension bled through. "You are making this more complicated than it needs to be."
"I am not doing this here," Olivia said.
"Then come outside."
"No." Olivia planted her feet. "I'm working. I'm not discussing this in the middle of my bakery."
James's expression tightened with every refusal. He tried to pivot back to tenderness, leaning his hands on the counter. "I love you, Liv. Married people do not run away from each other. I know you're upset, but you need to come homeso we can fix this. You need to stop being unreasonable and overreacting."
Hearing the word home twisted something agonizing inside her. That house did not feel like a home anymore. It felt like the place where he had lied to her face for years.
Maria stepped in, wiping her hands on her apron as she approached. She didn't know the specifics of the betrayal, but she clearly understood that Olivia was cornered. "Do you need anything, Liv?"
"We are fine," James answered before Olivia could even open her mouth.
A fresh wave of anger pierced through Olivia's fear. Not an explosive rage, but a firm, grounding force.
"She asked me," Olivia said, her voice carrying more weight than it had all morning.
Maria stayed planted right beside her.
James gave Maria a polite smile that carried a dark warning beneath it. "Thank you, Maria, but this is a private marital matter."
Maria did not back down, deferring instead to Olivia's lead. "Then Olivia can tell me if she wants privacy."
The moment hung in the air. This was Olivia's space. James was used to controlling the house, the finances, and the narrative, but he did not control the people who loved her here.
"I'll speak with him in the office," Olivia told Maria, keeping her eyes on James. "But stay close by."
Inside the small back office, James shut the door. The moment the latch clicked, the concerned-husband act vanished. His features hardened into something cold and demanding.
"Where are the documents, Olivia?" he asked directly.
Olivia went alert. Her spine stiffened.
He noticed the reaction and smoothly tried to backpedal. "I just want to make sure you didn't lose anything important or misunderstand what you took. We have talked about those accounts before. I can explain what they are. You just don't remember or understand the structure."
Olivia stared at him. She wanted to scream that he was a liar. They both knew she had never seen those papers before last night. "I have them somewhere safe."
"What does that mean?" James asked, his eyes narrowing.
Olivia refused to answer.
"Did you give them to Leo?"
Olivia did not confirm or deny it, but her lack of response was enough.
James’s mask slipped. A raw, ugly flush of anger crept up his neck. "So that's where you went."
Olivia crossed her arms. "I left because I didn't feel safe staying in a house where the man who swore to love me has been stealing from me."
