I looked down at Chole, my eyes cold and sharp. She looked so smug in my chair, like she owned it all.
“Why do you think you’re so special, Chole?” I asked quietly. “Is it because you were too stupid to beat me at the Sil- ver Moon Toss? Or because you managed to pick up the man I dumped? Or maybe it’s because you got the job I didn’ t want anymore?”
Her smile faded a little. I kept going, calm and slow. “We’re not the same and you don’t know me,” I said. “You and Ethan, you go well together. You can have each other.”
My voice was even, but the bite in it was clear. I saw her eyes sh with fury. She pushed herself up from the chair and bared her teeth, her wolf showing in the sharpness of her gaze.
“Shut your mouth, Olivia,” she hissed as came closer. “I’ll tear you apart myself if I have to.”
Yve stirred inside me, her own low growl echoing in my chest, but I didn’t let it out. I picked up the stack of papers I’ d been holding and threw them right in Chole’s face. She flinched back, startled.
“I’m done here,” I said simply. “Watch how you destroy the Hawthrone Group. I’ll be watching too.” I turned and walked out the door, not bothering to look back.
I could hear her behind me, her voice shaking with rage. “I won’t leave you alone, Olivia! You’re going to pay for
this!”
Let her try. I didn’t care anymore.
A few minutes after I left the office, Lily caught up to me. She looked flustered, her eyes darting nervously around the hallway. “Ms Olivia,” she said softly, holding out a small stack of things she’d pulled from the wastebasket. “I thought you’d want these back.”
My heart warmed a little. I took them from her hands and nodded. “Thank you, Lily.”
The project team walked me to the elevator. Lily stayed close, her hand brushing my elbow in quiet support.
“Be careful, okay?” I said as we waited. “If the ‘princess’ screws up the project, let Alpha Ethan know. He can’t af ford to lose billions of dors because of her.”
Lily met my eyes and gave me a faint smile. “I will. And, please don’t worry about us. You have taught us enough.”
I got a little emotional at Lily’s statement. But I didn’t want to say anything right now, and just nodded to her beauti- ful, warm remark.
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As the elevator doors opened, I turned to her. I stepped in close and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, hugging her tight. “Stay in touch,” I said softly.
Lily nodded and headed back to the office. I also left.
As I drove away from the Hawthrone building, rain started to fall. It tapped against the windshield, steady and calm. Ten days left, I thought. Just ten days. After that, I would be free,pletely.
By the time I got home, the rain was a light drizzle. I changed into something morefortable and was just about to sit down when my phone rang. It was Rose.
“Olivia. I’ve got a little something for you.”
“Oh?” I leaned back in my chair, smiling faintly. “What’s that?”
“I heard that Paul Thomas and Alexander Green from SilverFang Group are ying golf at Moonfell Club tomorrow afternoon,” she said. “It’s going to be a small group. Mr. Paul invited me along, and I told him I’d bring someone with me.”
My lips curved up. “You’re amazing, Rose,” I said. “I knew I could count on you.”
Sheughed. “You’d better thank me properlyter. But I trust you know what to do?”
“Of course,” I said, making a kissing sound over the phone. “You’re the best, Rose. Truly.”
Rose chuckled. “See you tomorrow, darling.”
I ended the call, setting my phone on the table. The thought of meeting Alexander Green, of seeing him in a ce where I could actually talk to him, made my stomach flutter in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. Not excitement, ex- actly. More like… anticipation. Or maybe hope.
It was a good feeling.
I went into the kitchen and made myself dinner – a simple pasta, with a little extra parmesan because I felt like it. I sat down at the table, fork in hand, and for the first time in a long time, I actually felt hungry. Really hungry. The rain outside, the warm lights in the kitchen, the promise of tomorrow… it all felt like a small bit offort I hadn’t had in weeks.
So I ate. Bite after bite, letting the food warm me from the inside out.
At midnight, I was in the gym. I’d been there for a while, doing some light stretches and lifting a few weights.
That’s when my phone rang.
It was Ethan. He didn’te home again. I was used to that. But why was he calling me sote?
I hesitated before picking up. “Hello?”
At first, I didn’t hear anything. Then I heard it – moans. A woman’s voice, high-pitched, breathless. Then a man’s low grunt. My stomach turned.
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205 Wouchers on
A womanughed into the phone. “Oh, Ethan,” she gasped, her voice slick with pleasure. “You’re so good… I’m get ting there, baby… I love it.”
I froze. My fingers went numb, and I couldn’t breathe. I felt something w up my throat. I bent over and vomited right there, retching until my stomach was empty. My phone slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor, the screen shattering in the fall.
I stood up slowly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. My head spun. I didn’t even bother to pick up the pieces of the phone.
Somehow, I made it back to my room. I copsed onto the bed, too exhausted to think. I thought I would be a mess that I’d cry myself to sleep.
But I didn’t.
–
I justy there, staring at the ceiling in the dark. My heart beat slow and steady, not as emotional as I thought I would be. I felt hollow, but calm.
After a while, my eyes closed, and I slept.
When I woke up, the first light of dawn was peeking through the window. I pushed myself out of bed. My body was stiff, but I was steady. I took a long shower, washing the sweat and stink ofst night off me. Then I cleaned up the gym, put away the weights, wiped everything down.
I made myself breakfast eggs and toast, nothing fancy. I needed something warm in my stomach. I didn’t think about the phone call. I didn’t think about Ethan. I didn’t think about Chole.
After I finished eating, I went out and got myself a new phone.
In the afternoon, I drove to Moonfell Golf Club.