(Olivia’s POV)

Five years passed like a dream. Standing on the balcony of our home, I watched my family in the garden below. Matthew was teaching Leo proper fighting stance while Aurora chased the twins around a flowering bush.

“Mama, look!” Rosemary called up, her dark curls bouncing as she waved. At four years old, she was already showing signs of my strategic mind.

Gabriel, her twin, was busy constructing an borate fort from sticks. His golden eyes—so like Matthew’s—sparkled with concentration.

“I see you, sweetheart!” I called back, my heart full.

The years had transformed us all. After the twins turned one, I finally had the strength to confront my past.

“You sure you’re feeling better, kid?” Doc asked me. “It’s really only been a few hours.”

“I feel a lot better now that I’ve eaten and gotten more sleep, I told him for the third time. “And it’s the next morning.”

“Still, only a few hours,” he muttered as he looked me over. “Maybe you should stay here for the day, where I can keep an eye on you.”

“Well, I’d love to sleep on a bed that has nkets and pillows, but I shouldn’t leave Butter alone for so long,” I said.

“Butter,” Doc grunted. “The hell kinda name is that?”

I rolled my eyes, butughed lightly. I told Doc all about Butter and how we met. I also told him about my life in Nebraska. He tried to pry, tried to ask me why I had left my husband, why I never came back here, and anything about my life before Nebraska. And I shut down at every question, refusing to answer.

I love Doc, but I don’t trust him. I can’t fully trust anyone here. Doc’s loyalty lies with the club, and the club owes me nothing. I’m an outsider here. Always have been. Doc might have cared about me, but anything I tell him, he’ll tell Karma.

I couldn’t help but wonder if my mom, the guys, Tusk never told anyone about what was happening to me at Silent Divine. By the time I met Sean, I had given up on any hope that they would ever care about me. I stopped asking about my mom, so I had no idea if they knew anything.

Clearly, they knew I was married, but is that because Daniel told them, or did they find out another way? Sean did have money. Our wedding was talked about in the city’s newspaper. There were articles about the bachelor finally settling down. If you could call it that.

Still, it seemed like Doc didn’t know much beyond the fact that I was married. I wonder if they all kept quiet about what was happening to me so that they didn’t look bad. Does that mean that not everybody knows? Annita? Camilia? Bones? Chopper? Are they all in the dark about what I was going through?

How would they act if they found out?

Part of me, a really big part, wanted to say it. I wanted to tell Doc everything. Spit it all out and tell him how his precious club brothers and my innocent mother knew all about it. About the abuse. The sexual assault. Everything I had to endure at that godforsaken ce.

But I just… couldn’t. I didn’t want to relive the past more than I already do. There was a time that I wanted to be saved, but that taught me that the only one you can ever truly count on is yourself.

Plus, I couldn’t bring myself to ruin Doc’s image of everyone. As much as I felt they deserved if I didn’t. It’s been if I just suffer in silence.

“What if I go get your cat?” Doc suddenly asked.

“What? No, suddenly, the door flung open, making me jump. Doc looked up and red at the intruder. My eyes connected with a pair of emerald gems. I frowned hard at him and looked away.

“What?” Doc asked him.

“It’s breakfast time,” Karma stated,

TH bring you a te, kid,” Doc told me as he walked towards the door.

“Nah, she cane eat with the rest of us,” Karma said, blocking his path out the door. “That thing moves, right?” He asked, pointing at my IV.

“Yeah, but-”

“Who the hell said I wanted to eat with you?” I cut Doc off. “And what about Butter? Does he have food?”

“Butter is fine and fed,” Karma said. “Havoc checked on him earlier.”

I red at Karma.

“If anything is wrong with my cat, because you let Havoc near him… I will burn this entire club to the ground,” I threatened with narrowed eyes.

“Noted,” Karma grunted. “Let’s go.”

I sighed heavily,

“Is this some twisted ploy to mess with me?” I asked. “Ie out there and everyone acts like I don’t exist? Because I have no problem with that if I actually get a meal. You won’t get a reaction out of me like you want, Karma.”

Karma held my eyes for a moment. I didn’t back down at all. I wanted him to know how serious I was, how much I didn’t care.

“Nobody is going to do that anymore,” he finally said. “Ann and Cami are waiting to see you.”

I perked up at that. Just the slightest. Mostly because they never did anything to me. In fact, they had my back the most out of everyone here. And also, I, Karma’s mom. They were the ones that would tell Mom to go easier on me, and that maybe things weren’t what they seemed.

Of course, it was their husbands that told them all to leave it be. They listened, because that’s what you do when you’re an ol‘dy. You trust and listen to orders. Club life. They were still the kindest; took me out shopping with them, spent girl–time with me when Mom was giving all her attention to Everly, and really made me feel like part of the family.fn75ec The rightful source is Find[?]ovel/fn75ec

They weren’t happy about having to ignore me when I was brought back here either. They tried to talk to me more than just that first day, and their husbands must have known because they were always close by to stop them. If they wouldn’t have though, I would have. I don’t want them to get into trouble because of me.

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