TRAPPED

OLIVIA I opened the door, and my breath snagged in my throat. Lilian was standing there. “Sister…” she whispered, her voice shaking. My eyes stung, and before I could blink the tears away, they spilled over. A broken sound tore out of me as I fell into her arms, clinging to her like I was afraid she’d vanish. She held me close, one hand moving gently up and down my back. For a long moment, neither of us said a word. The only sound was my uneven sobs and her quiet breathing. When I finally managed to catch my breath, she eased back to look at me, her hands on my shoulders. Her eyes were soft with worry behind them. I wiped my face, swallowing hard, trying to piece myself together. “Come in,” I croaked. She nodded and stepped inside, and I shut the door quietly behind her. She sank into the couch, her eyes locked on mine, heavy with sorrow. “I’m sorry you had to go through this,” she murmured. I lowered myself onto the couch across from her, my fingers twisting in my lap. They wouldn’t stay still, trembling as I tried to stay calm. I bit down hard on my lip, willing the tears back, but they burned anyway. “I never thought my marriage would end like this,” I whispered, shaking my head, my vision blurring. “I never imagined Dominic would do this to me…” Lilian leaned forward, closing the space between us. “Don’t let him drag you down with him,” she said, her hand lifting to gently cup my chin, tilting my face toward hers. “I know you were angry yesterday, but don’t let him push you into doing something you’ll regret with men like that. You need to divorce him.” I sniffled, pressing my lips into a thin line before the tears broke loose, warm trails sliding down my face as I shook my head. “It’s not that simple,” I admitted. “Why?” Her brows drew together as she peered at me. “You still love that…?” I let out a shaky breath and turned my face away. “I signed a prenup,” I whispered. The color drained from her face, her eyes widening. For a moment, she just stared at me like she hadn’t heard me right. Her lips parted, but no words came out. I could see her trying to process it, trying to make sense of what I’d said. The silence between us grew, sitting in the room like a weight, and it hurt more than anything she could have said. Finally, she broke it, her voice filled with disbelief. “What did you do, Olivia?” My throat tightened. The words trembled out of me. “I was naïve. I thought… I thought it was love. I thought I was proving I trusted him…that we had a future. I didn’t think it would end like this.” Lilian let out a long breath, dragging her fingers through her hair. I could tell she was holding herself back, swallowing the urge to yell at me, to say I should’ve come to her first. And she’d be right. I deserved every word she didn’t say. “What are the terms?” she asked at last, her voice tight. My fingers shook as I wiped my tears. “I can’t divorce him, not without losing everything. If I do anything that hurts his brand, if I leave, or even speak out…” My voice cracked. “I have to pay ten million dollars. He made sure I couldn’t move out either because he’d use that against me if the tabloids pick up that I moved out. And he even… he even wished me dead, Lilian. I’m trapped.” “Oh, God.” Lilian pressed her face into her palms, staying there for a long moment before looking back at me. My shoulders slumped. “I know I messed up. I didn’t talk to anyone about it, didn’t take any advice. And now? I don’t even have three hundred thousand dollars, let alone ten million. I’ve destroyed my life.” A bitter laugh escaped me as fresh tears slid down my cheeks. “I can’t even see a way out of this.” Lilian leaned over and wrapped me in a tight hug, and I clung to her. “Don’t say that,” she whispered. “You haven’t destroyed your life. You’re not stuck. You’re just… going through hell right now. But that doesn’t mean it’s over.” When she finally let me go, she studied my face, her eyes soft. “I get why you did what you did last night.” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “I regret it. I really do. You wouldn’t believe whose bed I ended up in.” A shaky laugh slipped out of me. Her brows shot up. “Who?” “Dante.” I bit my lip, bracing for her reaction. She went still, her eyes widening. “Wait… the Dante?” she asked slowly. “Dominic’s…?” “Yes.” I gave a small nod, a smile tugging at my lips. “Dominic’s best friend.” She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “You…wait…Dante? You actually slept with Dante?” I nodded again. “I was just as shocked as you are now.” She shook her head slowly as the shock wore off. “I always knew Dante had feelings for you, but you kept saying it was impossible.” She said. “That he was your boss and all.” She laughed. “But now… this?” I exhaled, leaning back on the sofa. “I wish I’d listened to Dante when he told me not to rush into marriage. Maybe things would’ve been different.” She pulled me into another tight hug. “We’ll figure it out,” she murmured. “You don’t have to do this alone or blame yourself for falling in love. It’s Dominic who should feel terrible for taking advantage of your love for him. I know some powerful people who come to Lustra, I can ask around, see what they can do. We’ll find a way to get you out of this mess.” I let out a shaky breath. “Okay.” *************** I sat on the floor, a box of my belongings beside me. I’d finally moved out of our shared room. I couldn’t bear the thought of lying next to him another second. My heart ached as I reached into the box and pulled out a photo. My gaze lingered on it, on the smiling faces of a happier version of me and Dominic. How did everything change so drastically? How could Dominic, the man who once swore he’d love me forever, turn so cold, as if he’d never loved me at all? My eyes drifted to Dante’s face in the photo, just behind us. He wasn’t smiling in any of them, almost like he’d seen this coming. But he had known about Dominic’s affairs and stayed silent. They’d both betrayed me, each in their own way. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I shifted on the floor, still clutching the photo. Could I really blame Dante for all of this? I was the one who cut him off after the wedding, the one who treated him like a stranger. All I ever wanted was to be happy, to make my marriage work. But as I stared at the photo, I saw how wrong I’d been. I wiped at my tears, my chest tightening as the truth sank in. I was trapped.