CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 29: USELESS, HOLLOW SHELL

Oliver’s office was silent, the kind of silence that carried weight, broken only by the soft sound of hand typing on keyboard.

His brows furrowed slightly as he ran a tired hand through his hair. He has a lot of work to do, he felt really stressed out but he couldn’t abandone the work.

The door burst open without warning, crashing against the wall.

He muttered a curse under his breath as he raised his head ready to give the asshole a piece of his mind.

But to his surprise,Jianna stormed inside like a hurricane in heels. Her perfume hit the air before she did, sharp, suffocating. The secretary trailed after her, pale with panic.

"Mrs. Ashbourne, please, you can’t just..."

"Out!" Jianna’s voice cracked like a whip.

The woman flinched and fled, shutting the door behind her.

Jianna didn’t pause. She strode straight up to Oliver’s desk, her fury radiating in every step.

SLAP!

The sound exploded through the room. Oliver’s head jerked to the side from the force of her hand. For a moment, the world froze in that echo.

His jaw clenched, muscle ticking as he straightened slowly, green eyes narrowing on her.

Jianna stood tall, chest heaving, her palm still trembling from the strike. "How dare you," she hissed, every word soaked in venom. "I told you. I told everyone. That room is forbidden. Her father is forbidden. And you..." her voice sharpened, finger stabbing the air toward him, "you took her there anyway."

Oliver didn’t respond at first. His silence wasn’t submission, it was pressure, the kind that built just before a storm broke. His hand curled slowly into a fist at his side, nails biting into his palm.

Jianna’s anger rose at his lack of reaction. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done? That room was locked away for a reason. She doesn’t need him. She doesn’t need reminders of that man. I told you never to disobey me on this. Never!"

Finally, Oliver’s voice came. Low. Controlled. But underlined with steel.

"She deserves to see it."

Jianna froze, blinking at the audacity.

Oliver pushed back his chair and rose to his full height, the air in the office shifting with the weight of his presence. "It’s her father. Her blood. Her right." His eyes bore into hers, calm but edged with fire. "You don’t get to erase him just because it’s easier for you."

Her nostrils flared, but she barked a cold laugh, brittle and hollow. "Easier for me? Don’t twist this. That girl doesn’t need ghosts. She needs discipline, control, stability. Not the past. Not him."

Oliver’s hand pressed flat against his desk, his patience straining. "What she needs, Jianna, is the truth. Not your silence. Not your rules. The truth you’ve denied her for years."

Jianna’s lips curled, her anger spiking. "You think you know what’s best for her?" She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "You don’t. She is my daughter. Not yours. And if you ever defy me again, I’ll make sure you regret it. Do you understand me?"

Her words cut through the office like shards of glass.

Oliver’s anger flared up, he wasn’t going to take bullshit from her just because he consider her family. He’s the son of her husband’s friend and the only business he has with her family is Athena and Athena alone.

"You’re quick with your hands, Jianna," he drawled, his voice smooth, dangerous. "Shame you can’t raise your daughter with the same energy."

Jianna’s nostrils flared. "Don’t you dare lecture me about raising Athena. You know nothing, nothing about what it takes to keep this family and this company alive."

Oliver chuckled, low, bitter, the sound sliding under her skin. "Alive?" He leaned against his desk, eyes glinting. "Funny. You call it alive when your daughter’s been starving for a mother for years. Neglect dressed up as sacrifice, that’s what you’ve been serving her."

Her face hardened, but he kept going, twisting the knife.

"You buried her father like he never existed. You buried yourself in boardrooms and contracts. And you buried Athena in loneliness, didn’t you? Tell me, Jianna—" his smile widened, cruelly amused."does it ever get heavy, carrying that much failure on your shoulders?"

Her hand twitched at her side. Her breath came sharp, uneven. And then her lips curled into a poisonous smirk.

"Careful, Oliver," she hissed, her voice low and cutting. "People might think you care too much. Almost like you’re fucking her."

The room froze.

For a second, the only sound was Oliver’s slow inhale. His jaw clenched, and when he lifted his eyes to her again, the storm in them was no longer hidden.

He pushed off the desk and closed the distance in three strides, so fast Jianna barely had time to blink. One moment he was across from her, the next he was standing face-to-face, towering, his presence swallowing hers.

"Say that again," he said, voice like steel dragged across stone. His face was inches from hers now, his anger barely in control, his tone dipped in lethal promise. "Go ahead, Jianna. Say it one more time, and I’ll show you just how far I’ll go to protect her from you."

Jianna swallowed, but her chin jerked upward in defiance. Her mask of power wavered for only a second before she sneered, trying to hold ground. "Touch me and you’ll regret it."

Oliver leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear, every word slow, deliberate, and mocking.

"Oh, I wouldn’t touch you if my life depended on it." He straightened, his glare cutting into her like blades. "But I’ll never forgive you for the way you’ve failed her. And one day, Jianna... Athena will see you exactly for what you are. And when she does." his lips twisted in a cruel half-smile, "don’t expect her to call you mother anymore."

Oliver’s jaw was tight, his eyes dark, and for a long moment the office was silent except for the ticking clock on the wall. He didn’t move away from her, didn’t flinch, just let the venom coil in his chest until his voice came out low, rough, and merciless.

"Get out," he said.

Jianna blinked, stunned for a beat by how he was speaking to her.

But Oliver leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear, his words slicing with precision.

"Not just my office, get out of my sight. You lost the right to act like a mother the day you abandoned your daughter for a fucking boardroom. You buried yourself in paperwork while she cried herself to sleep. And now you come here, slapping me, barking orders, when the only person who should’ve protected her was you?"

He straightened, his eyes raking over her like she was something beneath him.

"You don’t deserve to speak her name, Jianna. You don’t deserve to set foot in her world. So get out before I forget you’re her mother and throw you out like the useless, hollow shell you’ve become."

The words hung in the air, thick and brutal.

Jianna’s hand trembled at her side, her lips parting like she wanted to answer but her throat locked. His voice had been too sharp, his anger too raw, every word landing exactly where it hurt most.

Her pride tried to hold, but her face betrayed her eyes glistening, jaw clenched.

She turned sharply on her heel, heels clicking across the polished floor. The sound of the door slamming behind her was loud, like a gun shot.

Oliver stood there, breathing hard, fists balled at his side, rage still burning through him. But beneath it all, there was something else, something heavier. The thought of Athena, and how much pain Jianna had caused her.