Contents
Olivia — Chapter 34
Overview
Overwhelmed after the ceremony and photos, Olivia escapes the reception, self-harms on the beach, and wades into the freezing sea, flirting with drowning. In flashback, she reveals a recent abortion and Steven’s abandonment. Her mother supported the procedure, but Olivia’s isolation and despair deepen, sharpening tensions around Jules’s wedding.
Summary
During the long, cold ceremony and relentless photo session, Olivia struggles to smile, drawing Jules’s irritation and her mother’s concern. Prodded by relatives’ questions about university and her ex, Olivia feels suffocated and slips away from the crowd, barefoot, toward the cliffs.
On a secluded beach, after tumbling down a slope and tearing her dress, Olivia cuts her leg with a razor, seeking sensation to anchor herself. The act triggers memories of the clinic’s “procedure” and lingering bleeding, symbols of a pain she cannot express.
In flashback, Olivia recalls realizing she was pregnant mid-term, the university doctor confirming it, and her failed attempts to reach the father. Though family believe it was Callum, Olivia ties the crisis to Steven and his silence. Her mother drives her to the abortion, comforts her afterward, and rails at the absent boy, while Olivia withholds Steven’s identity.
Back in the present, Olivia enters the freezing sea in her dress, the shock briefly clearing her thoughts. Submerged, she chokes on salt water as waves pull at her, her body reflexively fighting as she wonders if she is, in fact, drowning.
Who Appears
- OliviaBridesmaid overwhelmed by the wedding; self-harms, recalls an abortion tied to Steven, and nearly drowns.
- MumOlivia’s mother; senses distress, later recalled driving Olivia to an abortion and condemning the absent father.
- JulesBride; irritated by Olivia’s inability to smile during photos, adding to familial strain.
- StevenMan linked to Olivia; his silence during her pregnancy underscores her isolation and trauma.
- CallumOlivia’s ex; used as a cover story for the pregnancy, though not the father.
- BethOlivia’s younger cousin; asks about Callum, highlighting Olivia’s changed demeanor.
- Aunt MegRelative who assumes Olivia finished university, prompting Olivia’s flight from questions.
- PhotographerPressures Olivia to smile during wedding photos, intensifying her discomfort.
- JessFriend whose mention of tampons triggered Olivia realizing she had missed her period.
- University doctorConfirms Olivia’s pregnancy and outlines options, prompting Olivia’s crisis.