His Dangerous Love On Ice Chapter 85: Olive's Pov

Janet stood near the edge of the patio, wearing a cream color gown, her hair perfect, her makeup flawless. She was holding some discussion with a small group of women, all of them laughing at something she'd said.

Our eyes instantly met across the space.

Her expression flickered with surprise, and then calculation, as if she was plotting something.

She excused herself from her group and began walking toward me.

My stomach instantly twisted into knots..

"Olive." Her voice was bright, and cheerful. "Darling, there you are!"

She reached me and air-kissed both my cheeks—a performance for everyone watching.

"You look lovely," she said, though her eyes were scanning every inch of me, cataloging, calculating. "That dress is quite bold for a family gathering, isn't it?"

"I think it's perfect," I said back sharply.

"Of course you do." Her smile tightened. "I heard you arrived in quite the vehicle. A gift, they say?"

"Yes."

"How generous of Mr. Mercer." The way she said his name made it sound like an accusation and of course knows him. "Though one does wonder what you did to earn such... extravagant gifts."

The implication hung in the air.

Before I could respond, Grayson appeared at my side.

"Janet, that's enough."

"I'm simply making conversation, Grayson." She laughed lightly. "Surely I'm allowed to be curious about my step niece’s sudden change in circumstances."

"Your step niece has been working hard and is in a healthy relationship. That's all you need to know."

Janet's smile became sharp "A healthy relationship. How quaint." She turned back to me. "Tell me, Olive, how does it feel to be dating a man who could buy and sell this entire family ten times over?"

"It feels like none of your business," I said quietly.

Her eyes widened, surprised by my directness.

"Well," she said after a moment, "someone's gotten bold."

"Someone's gotten tired of your implications." I replied back again sharply but still maintaining my same facade.

The patio had gone quiet. People were definitely watching now.

Janet's face flushed. "You have never spoken back to me like that since you were sixteen—"

"You've been tolerating me since I was sixteen," I corrected. "There's a difference. You've made it very clear over the years that I'm not really a part of this family. So enough with the sick pretense."

"How dare you—"

"She's right Janet. Let her be."

Everyone turned.

Grayson stood there, his expression harder than I'd ever seen it.

"Olive has been nothing but respectful to this family for years, and you have treated her abominably. That ends tonight."

"Grayson—" Janet started.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm serious, Janet. Olive is my stepdaughter. She's family. And she deserves better than this."

He turned to me, and his expression softened.

"I'm sorry, so sorry about my sister’s attitude. And you are always welcome in your home, Olive. In my life. In anywhere you want to be in. You are brilliant and kind and worthy of every good thing that comes to you. Do you understand?"

My throat felt tight. "Yes."

He pulled me into a hug, and I felt something break inside me, something that had been holding together since we started having this dispute.

"I love you," he said quietly, just for me. "You're my daughter. Not by blood, but by choice. And that matters more."

I couldn't speak. Could only nod against his shoulder as tears threatened to spill.

When he pulled back, he looked at Janet with an expression I'd never seen before.

"Anyone who has a problem with Olive has a problem with me. Is that clear?"

Janet's face was pale, her jaw tight. "Crystal clear brother."

The party slowly resumed, people returning to their conversations, but the energy had shifted.

I instantly excused myself, needing a moment to breathe. I found a quiet corner near the garden, away from the crowd, and pulled out my phone.

There was no text rom Zane, and for a second, I felt my heart clenched but I instantly pushed it down.

I was about to walk out from the garden when I saw Janet and my mother, and my mother looking quite disoriented and I knew what the talk was going to be about.

I instantly hid by a column, as they stopped just a few feet away.

Interested to hear what the new nagging Janet was about to spill.

"—ridiculous," Janet was saying, her voice low and furious. "Did you see how he defended her? Like she's some kind of saint?"

“And that is perfectly fine Janet. Olive is a responsible daughter.”

"Ooh cut the all niceness to me Diane. I know you don’t like me, never. And you are just with my brother because of his money. And maybe, needed a good father for your daughter. None of you belong here. Can't you see that? Or do you want me to point that out to you even more clearly" Janet took a sip of her wine.

"Maybe." My mother’s voice sounded shaken, that same brokenness, that same pattern that I had she have been tolerating, accepting, the accusation hanging on the air. "I love your brother…”

"Oh please. She's sleeping with Zane Mercer. And who did she get that from. Going after the big leagues.”

My hands clenched into fists, I was practically fuming now.

"Janet—I’m…"

“Hello mother, is everything okay?”

I asked the second I walked out from my hiding place, and there on her face was the look of shock… surprise.

Because I wasn’t sure I could stand another horrifying minutes watching Janet pull my mother down with her accusatory tongue filled with poison.

I watched my mother turned towards Janet for a second.

“Yes… Yes I am Peach. Let’s walk in.”

I took a deep breath, stared down at Janet who held a glass of wine in her hands like it meant something and I walked in with Diane.

******

The dinner had started. Everyone was taking their seats at the long island table, laughing and talking, plates being filled with food that smelled incredible.

I found my seat, thankfully between Hunter and Grayson, and sat down, trying to appear calm even though my heart was still racing.

Janet sat directly across from me, her expression perfectly pleasant, like she hadn't just torn my mother apart moments ago.

The dinner progressed. Toasts were made. Hunter gave a short speech thanking everyone for coming. The food was served, and it was as delicious as it looked.

And through it all, I could feel Janet watching me.

Waiting.

We were halfway through the main course when she struck.

"So, Olive," she said, her voice carrying across the table that made everyone’s attention focused on her "tell us more about this relationship with Mr. Mercer. It's all so exciting!"

The conversations around us quieted as people turned to look at me, to listen to the gossip that made their ears scratch, and I wouldn’t mind them getting swollen red.

"It's going well," I said instead.

"I'm sure it is." Her smile was sharp. "He seems very... generous. The car, the clothes. All those expensive gifts."

"They could be from me, not him you know." I cut sharply, picking on the food, appetite gone down the drain.

"You?” She huffed, repeating the word like it amused her. "Is that what we're calling it now? Lying through your teeth" She laughed lightly, and a few people chuckled along. “Enough with the fluff. I'm just curious, darling—when should we expect the next big announcement?"

My stomach dropped.

"Announcement?"

"You know." She leaned forward slightly, her eyes glittering with malice. "An engagement. A wedding. A baby on the way. That's usually how these things progress, isn't it? Especially when there's so much money involved, and since you both are moving…fast."

The table had gone completely silent.

"Janet…" Grayson's voice was a warning.

"What? I'm just asking what everyone's thinking." She looked around at the other guests, including them in her cruelty. "A young woman starts dating a young billionaire, receives expensive gifts, gets special treatment at everything..., name gets cleared up in less than two days, People are bound to wonder about the end game."

"The end game," I said slowly, the cruel reminder that all this was a game, a twisted cruel game. "is that we care about each other."

"How sweet." She took a sip of her wine. "But let's be realistic, Olive. Men like Zane Mercer don't stay with girls like you unless there's a reason. So tell me—" her smile widened, "—when are you planning to get pregnant?"

The words hung in the air like a bomb.

I felt every eye on me while my mother silently waved her head for me to remain calm.

But I felt the weight of their judgment, their assumptions, their cruelty.

And something inside me snapped.

I couldn’t keep calm anymore. Because I wasn’t the daughter who keeps calm. The type who allowed people grovel on her situation and bows her head while they laugh.

No, I wasn’t some sick girl from some pathetic love story that they have drawn.

I break, and when I break, I spit fire.

I stood up slowly, my chair scraping against the stone patio.

Not actually understanding why I stood up, but I glared at all of them, enough with their judgmental eyes.

"You want to know when I'm getting pregnant, Janet?" My voice was calm, controlled, deadly. "I'll tell you."

The entire table held its breath.

I looked directly at her, at her smug smile, at the certainty in her eyes that she'd finally broken me.

And I smiled.

"I'm pregnant."