The Day I Went Silent Chapter 01
After the miscarriage, Olivia Sterling became the ideal Mrs. Vance.
She no longer chattered to Julian Vance about her daily life, no longer visited his office to bring him lunch, and no longer grew paranoid over ambiguous messages between him and his ex-wife.
She also became lenient with her stepson, letting him skip class, get into fights, stay out all night, and party at clubs every day with his biological mother.
At night, Olivia felt someone get into bed, a pair of well-defined hands reaching for her waist.
Without even opening her eyes, she mumbled, “Don’t… I’m too tired today.”
Julian’s movements paused.
He was wearing a black bathrobe. Water dripped from his hair, trailing down the smooth lines of his muscles, making him look even more aloof and ascetic.
At this moment, his face turned icy cold: “Olivia, what has gotten into you lately?”
“You don’t text me, and you don’t care about Oliver Vance.
Is this how you act as Mrs. Vance?”
Olivia could only open her eyes, her tone calm: “Didn’t you all say that a qualified Mrs. Vance should know her place and stay out of other people’s business?”
A month ago, Julian’s child with his ex-wife, Oliver, pushed her down the stairs.
She was seven months pregnant at the time. She crashed hard onto the floor, blood pooling all around her.
Listening to her agonized groans, Oliver looked at her in disgust: “You deserve the pain!
Who told you to seduce my dad!
The mistress deserves to die!”
But she wasn’t the mistress.
Later, seeing her pass out, Oliver finally panicked and called for the adults in the house.
When she woke up and opened her eyes in the hospital, she saw Julian.
Dressed in a tailored suit, he casually tugged at his tie, his tone cold: “Oliver said you fell down on your own. How could you be so careless?”
Olivia’s face was deathly pale. Enduring the severe pain, she said, “He pushed me!
Just check the security cameras and you’ll see!”
“He’s so young, why would he lie!”
Julian’s eyes were filled with impatience and disappointment.
“I know you resent Oliver being Chloe’s son, and crave having your own kid.”
“But if you want to stay in the Vance family, know your place!
Stop focusing all your energy on being jealous!”
“Enough… From now on, you don’t need to take care of Oliver.”
Her body was weak and aching after the miscarriage, but none of it compared to the dull pain radiating from her heart.
She snapped back to reality.
Julian’s expression shifted slightly: “That child…”
“There’s no need to bring it up again.
Don’t worry, I’m not angry anymore.”
Olivia interrupted, her eyes completely devoid of emotion.
Julian furrowed his brows.
Olivia was a bit younger than him and had always been clingy.
In the past, if he scolded her even slightly, her eyes would turn red, and she would ask pitifully, “Is your ex-wife Chloe the only one in your heart? Do you not love me?”
When Oliver insulted her, she would shrink into his arms and complain, “I treat him like my own child, but he still hates me.”
Julian used to find it annoying, thinking Olivia was incompetent and immature.
Yet after that brutal fall, heavy bleeding and losing their unborn baby.
Olivia wasn’t crying or making a fuss; she was perfectly calm.
This was exactly the poised and dignified demeanor he had always wanted to see, yet a faint sense of panic crept into his heart.
Julian suddenly asked, “Why?
Are you blaming me for not teaching Oliver a lesson?”
“He’s my only child, he’s young, and he thinks you tore Chloe and me apart.
It’s normal… for him to hate you.”
Olivia gave a soft chuckle: “Don’t overthink it.
I really don’t care.”
“Or do you want me to throw another screaming tantrum like I used to, disturbing your parents and getting forced to kneel at the family shrine all night?”
Julian wanted to say something else, but Olivia had already closed her eyes again: “Go to sleep, I’m tired.”
His chest tightened, a strange sense of unease settling over him.
Just then, his phone rang.
Chloe’s voice came through, thick with tears: “Julian, my apartment just lost power. Can you come stay with me?”
Julian instinctively looked at Olivia.
Olivia lay there quietly, as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
An inexplicable surge of anger flared up in his chest. He lowered his voice: “I’m a married man. Do you think it’s appropriate to call me in the middle of the night?”
“I’m sorry, Julian, I’m just so scared…”
Chloe’s crying softened his heart. He could only sigh helplessly and say to Olivia: “I’m going out for a bit.
She is Oliver’s mother, after all. I’m worried something might happen to her…”
“It’s fine.
I understand.”
She finally spoke, her attitude as indifferent as ever.
How could she not care?
Julian’s expression grew even colder, but Chloe was still crying, so he had no choice but to hurry over.
After he left, Olivia sat up and wiped the corners of her eyes.
There were no tears.
True enough. Once disappointment piles high enough, sorrow simply fades away.
Her phone screen lit up. It was a message from her master’s degree advisor.
[The University of California has approved your PhD application.
Your visa should be issued in a month.]
[I’m thrilled you’re returning for further studies, but will your husband support this?
Don’t those rich and powerful families all prefer their wives stay at home?]
Olivia weakly tugged at the corners of her lips and typed a reply.
[It’s fine. I won’t have a husband soon anyway.]