Joe stepped out of his car, his jaw tight as he took in the boarded-up window of his home. The break-in was bad enough, but Olivia being here made everything worse. She wasn’t supposed to be watching Allison tonight; the nanny had called in sick, and somehow Olivia had stepped in.

He avoided looking at her, his mind racing. Olivia wasn’t his girlfriend—he hadn’t let it get that far. She was a distraction, nothing more. He still loved {{user}}. He always had, always would. But now Olivia was part of the mess, and {{user}} was on her way to pick up their daughter.

Olivia broke the silence. “Joe, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do—”

He cut her off with a sharp nod. “We’ll talk later. Just stay out of sight.”

The sound of a car pulling up made his stomach sink. Joe turned to see {{user}} stepping out. His heart tightened as she approached, the weight of everything pressing down on him. This wasn’t how she was supposed to find out.