Chapter 2

After coordinating the details of the rendezvous with Michael, I started heading back. It was then that I overheard Joshua talking to Ian Harris, one of his subordinates. They were standing by a yacht.

"Abigail's wedding gown has been delivered, Joshua. It's the one you got at the Royal Auction for ten billion dollars. I'm just worried about Olivia. What if she causes a scene and exposes our location? We might end up getting caught in one fell swoop…"

Joshua replied nonchalantly, "I love Abigail. She's the only one I'm marrying. The wedding ceremony must proceed without a hitch tomorrow. I won't allow anyone to cause any problems, not even Olivia. I'll make sure she stays quiet. By the way, make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut. If anyone lets the cat out of the bag, I'll feed him to the sharks!"

Although I'd already decided to leave, it still stung my heart deeply to hear those words. Joshua was supposed to have loved me dearly, but he was lying to me, tricking me, and even made it clear he thought I was worthless.

When I got back to my room, I packed my things. After collecting my personal documents, I looked around at the stash of weapons that filled the place. It came as a shock to me when I realized Joshua had never given me anything.

All he ever tossed my way were weapons so that I could use them to protect him.

I'd asked him for pretty clothes and jewelry before, but he said, "Even if you put on a dress and some jewelry, Olivia, you won't look like a woman anyway. Let's not waste such finery on you."

Meanwhile, Abigail came to the island with an entire truck's worth of fancy clothes and accessories. Why was it that she could wear them while I couldn't?

I dug into my closet and pulled out a red dress hidden at the bottom. I put on a pair of heels, and I even did my makeup.

Just then, Abigail came strolling into my room without permission.

"Olivia, you saw the diary, right? The one Josh loves the most is…"

Abigail trailed off. Her eyes widened when she saw how breathtakingly beautiful I looked with my makeup on. Once she came back to her senses, she frowned and scoffed.

"Here I was thinking you'd at least have some dignity and leave with your tail between your legs once you find out that Josh doesn't love you. I can't believe you actually have the nerve to try and seduce him instead, you shameless woman! I'm going to rip you to pieces!"

Abigail came at me in an attempt to scratch up my face, but she was a weakling. I was the one who slapped her in the face instead.

"How dare you hit me, Olivia? Josh will make you pay for this!" Abigail shrieked.

Crossing my arms, I looked at her as she threw a fit. "Pay for what? Your plastic surgery so that you'll finally look at least half as pretty as me?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Abigail fell to her knees and started slapping herself in the face.

"I'm the one at fault, Olivia! I insisted on marrying Josh. I don't care if you kill me afterward. Just please don't ruin the wedding!"

Puzzled, I was trying to figure out what she was up to when I felt a gust of wind. Someone was aiming a kick my way.

"Olivia! Are you ignoring what I said? How dare you bully Abigail?" Joshua roared.

Infuriated, he threw his entire weight into that kick. If it landed on me, I would certainly be severely injured.

Just who was I to him? A hunting dog he kept around to do his dirty work? A punching bag he was free to abuse once no longer needed?

I just barely managed to evade Joshua's kick, but as I was in heels, I ended up spraining my ankle. Even as I winced in pain, I looked at him.

He helped Abigail to her feet before glaring icily at me. Though his eyes gleamed a little when he saw my face, his words remained as harsh as ever.

"No matter how pretty you look all dolled up, Olivia, to me, you're nothing compared to Abigail."

Abigail took Joshua's hand, and in between choked sobs, she said, "Josh, I only revealed the secret because Olivia forced me to tell her. I'm sorry…"

Joshua held her close and said gently, "I'm not mad. It's not a big deal."

I smiled bitterly.

Just a while ago, he was commanding Ian to do whatever it took to keep the wedding ceremony a secret. But now that Abigail had revealed it to me, he said it wasn't a big deal.

She could truly do no wrong in his eyes. He doted on her in every way.

What did that make me then? Was I a complete fool?

"So, you really are going to marry her?" I questioned, my eyes fixed on Joshua.

I cared a lot about how he intended to explain himself to me. At the very least, I thought he would panic and feel some guilt. I thought he would beg me to forget about the past and give them my blessings.

However, he simply frowned and responded indifferently, "That's right. The wedding ceremony's tomorrow. I'll allow you to attend it, but you're not allowed to cause a scene. Don't force me to have you subdued, Olivia."

The last shred of hope I had in Joshua vanished for good.

He kept telling me that with how volatile the situation was, we couldn't have a wedding. It would make for an easy target.

Yet, when it came to Abigail, it didn't matter at all how risky or dangerous it could be. None of that stopped him. He even brazenly offered me the chance to attend their wedding as if he were doing charity work.

How could someone be as cruel as he was?

Holding back the tears in my eyes, I clenched my jaw and spat out bitterly, "Get out…"

Alas, Abigail wasn't satisfied with an inch. She wanted a mile.

"Josh, I don't know many people here, so I've been thinking about getting Abigail to be my bridesmaid, but I'm afraid of offending her…"

Joshua's heart melted at the sight of the woman he loved making such a timid request. He swiftly commanded me, "Olivia, since you've found out we're getting married, I'm sure you won't mind being a bridesmaid, right?"

"Get lost! Get out of my sight, both of you!" I screamed.

My anger exploded out of me. Picking up a baseball bat, I chased them out.

"Get the hell out of here!"

After slamming the door shut with a loud bang, I crumpled to the floor, my chest heaving. A tear trickled out of the corner of my eye as my despair took hold of me.

Amid my sorrow, the screen of my phone lit up with a message from Michael.