Chapter 17

OLIVIA'S POV A soft, warm touch brushed against my forehead. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. The sensation was unfamiliar, a stark contrast to the cold, harsh reality I had been living in. My eyelids fluttered open, and through my hazy vision, I saw him. Dominic. He was leaning over me, his large, calloused hand pressed against my forehead as if checking for a fever. His face was close—too close—and for just a heartbeat, I forgot everything. I forgot the pain. I forgot the dungeon. I forgot the betrayal. It had been so long since he had touched me with anything other than indifference or anger. My heart betrayed me before my mind could stop it, leaping with joy at the idea that maybe, just maybe, he cared. But then I met his gaze. Cold. Impersonal. Detached. The warmth I had felt just seconds earlier was nothing but an illusion. He wasn't touching me out of concern. He wasn't here for me. The only thing he cared about was the child in my womb. How could I forget that again and