My headlights were still on. I jumped behind the wheel<b>, </b><b>cursed </b>again, and floored it, tires screeching as I tore out of the gravel


    lot.


    Then I saw the car.


    Just ahead,ing around the bend. Silverpact. My eyes


    narrowed. That car… I recognized it.


    Without thinking, I swerved in front of it and mmed the


    brakes. The other driver jerked the wheel and honked in panic. I


    was out of my car in seconds, already stomping to the driver’s


    side.


    17


    “Ava!” I barked.


    The window rolled down, and sure enough, there she was,


    wide–eyed and nervous as hell.


    “Ethan?” she stammered, trying to stay calm. “What–what are


    you doing in the middle of the road?”


    “Where is she?”


    “Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ava said


    smoothly, but I saw her hand tremble near the steering wheel.


    I didn’t wait. I marched around the car, yanked the passenger door open, and got in. She tried to lock it, but I was faster.


    “What are you doing? Get out!” she snapped, voice rising now.


    I pulled the door shut. “Not until you tell me where Olivia is.”


    “I told you. I don’t know”


    “Drive” I ordered, eyes locked on hers. “I’m not leaving until you


    do”


    “Ethan, this is insane”


    “Drive, Ava. Or I will.”


    Ava gritted her teeth, but started the engine again. We rolled


    forward slowly down the narrow road. Her fingers were


    clenched around the wheel, knuckles white.


    Then her phone buzzed on the dashboard.


    My hand darted before she could react. I snatched it up.


    “Hey!” she shouted. “That’s private!”


    “Not tonight, it isn’t.”


    I unlocked her phone easily, opened WhatsApp, and scroned to


    her most recent chat.


    It was Olivia<i>. </i>


    Herst message had a pin.


    “I am at Spaghetti Bistro,” I read out loud, jaw tight. I scrolled


    further. My eyes scanned the chat rapidly, and then-


    Alexander.


    The name popped up over and over. Ava had been updating


    Olivia. But what made my blood boil was Ava’sment just a


    few hours ago:


    “He totally has feelings for you!!!”


    I stared at the line for a long moment, a bitter taste forming on


    my tongue.


    “She’s with him,” I said quietly, voice low and dangerous. “That


    bastard took her.”


    Ava flinched.


    I opened Google Maps and punched in the address. “Drive there.


    Now!”


    “I’m not doing this,” Ava said shakily. “She left because she was scared of you. What are you even trying to prove?”


    “I said drive, Ava.” My voice was steel now.


    She didn’t move.


    I leaned in slowly, my eyes burning into her. “If you don’t drive me, I will just drag you out and take the wheel myself.”


    “You’re insane.”


    “Yeah?” I tossed her phone back in herp. “And you’re a lousy friend if you keep helping her run when all I want is to fix


    things.”


    “She doesn’t want you anymore, Ethan,” Ava snapped, eyes glossy. “You humiliated her, you cheated on her, you hurt her.”


    “She’s still my Luna,” I growled. “My wife. That hasn’t changed.”


    “You think threatening me is going to fix that?”


    “No,” I said coldly. “But it might buy me time.”


    Ava’s jaw clenched as she turned onto the main road again, the bistro’s pin now blinking on the dashboard screen. Her silence


    said everything.


    She wasn’t scared for herself. She was scared for Olivia.


    Good.


    Let her be scared.


    Because if Alexander really thought he could steal my Luna, he


    had another thinging.


    Olivia’s POV


    Although Alexander and I were supposed to be waiting for our


    food at the burger joint, he ended up bringing me to a small,


    cozy pasta ce tucked between a pharmacy and a bookstore.


    “I know you wanted a burger,” he said while holding the door


    open, “but you looked like you’d pass out if I didn’t feed you


    right now!”


    “I understand,” I muttered as I walked–limped–through the


    door.


    The warm scent of basil, butter, and garlic hit me, and I realized


    just <i>how </i>hungry I was. He helped me settle into the cushioned


    booth by the window and gged the waiter down. As we


    waited, I sent a quick message to Ava:“Dropped by this pasta


    ce. You around? Come over if you’re free. Ordered your fav


    with extra meat”


    Alexander nced at me, his eyes flicking to my phone.


    “Texting yourwyer?”


    “What?” I said, surprised. “No… It’s Ava. She was around, so, I


    thought she coulde by.”


    “Sure it’s for Ava?” he asked, raising a brow. “Because from what I’ve seen, you just inhaled an appetizer portion meant for two.”


    “Oh! I was just hungry.” I said, a little embarrassed.


    “Clearly.” He looked at the table, then leaned back and teased,


    “So, I’m guessing the pasta with extra meat is mine now?”