His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 137

Olive’s POV

“Your first real crush, maybe?” she continued, oblivious to my growing horror. “The one whose mother became such good friends with us? The one you were absolutely smitten with before… well, before everything happened?”

“Mom, how could you…” I started, but the words died in my throat.

What was I even arguing about? She’d already set it up. Judy had already agreed. The reservations were already made.

“This is for the best, Olive,” Diane said firmly, cutting off any protest before I could fully form it. “You need to move on from Zane and start building a real life. A serious life. I’m tired of watching you waste yourself on the wrong men.

Her words hit harder than they should have.

“Zane isn’t a wrong man,” I said, hating how defensive I sounded. “He could be-”

“That’s the exact same thing you said about Cole,” Diane interrupted, and her voice carried that sharp edge of a mother who’d watched her daughter make the same mistakes too many times. “Word for word, Olive. You said Cole was the best thing that ever happened to you. That he was a dream come true I watched you drive through pouring rain to get to his games. Watched you rearrange your entire schedule around his needs.”

She took a step closer, her eyes boring into mine.

“And now you’re repeating the exact same pattern with Zane,” she continued. “Making excuses. Defending him. Dying under the pretense of whatever he has to offer while ignoring all the red flags screaming at you to run.”

The words slapped through me, stabbing straight through every defense I’d carefully constructed.

And the worst part? She was right.

I had said those exact same things about Cole. Had made the same justifications, the same excuses, the same promises to myself that this time it was different, this time it was real.

Was I really just repeating the same mistake with a different man

But Zane was different.

He had to be different.

Cole had been selfish, manipulative, using me for connections and then discarding me when someone better came along.

Zane would burn the world down for me. Had already proven it by destroying his own father to save Grayson’s company.

Zane would flip tables for me. Would annihilate anyone who dared cross my path.

And that was exactly what terrified me.

Not that he wouldn’t fight for me. But that he would. That he’d go too far, destroy too much, burn everything to ashes in the name of protecting me.

Because I’d never been in a position where someone was willing to burn the world down for me.

And I had no idea how to handle that kind of intensity. That kind of devotion. That kind of dangerous, all-consuming love.

“Olive…”

My mother’s voice softened, pulling me back from my spiraling thoughts.

She walked toward me, her movements gentle despite her pregnant belly, and placed her hands on my shoulders with the kind of tenderness that made my throat tight.

“It’s okay to move on,” she said quietly. “It’s okay to find someone new. To not stay stuck in the same place, making the same choices that hurt you. I’m not asking you to marry Judy. I’m not even asking you to date him seriously.

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