LOGINChapter 205: Olive's POVI pressed the gas.Accelerating through the intersection.Too distracted to care about traffic laws or safety or anything except getting home and—Headlights.Bright.Blinding.Coming straight at me from the left.Fast.Too fast.My brain registered it half a second before my body reacted…a black Range Rover running the red light, not slowing, not stopping, aimed directly at my driver's side door like a missile locked on target.I screamed.Yanked the wheel hard to the right without thinking, pure instinct taking over.My foot hit the brake and the gas at the same time in pure panic, and suddenly I was moving backward, the car reversing at an angle I hadn't consciously chosen, tires screaming against asphalt.The Range Rover missed me.By inches.I felt the displacement of air as it shot past where I'd been half a second earlier, close enough that I could see the tinted windows, close enough that if I'd hesitated even a fraction of a moment longer I'd be dead.
Chapter 204: Olive's POVI left Zane's apartment without looking back.Neither could I look back.Or see through that door, nor think about what was happening behind it, I couldn't let myself imagine Elena still there with him, offering comfort, sliding into the space I'd just vacated with my dramatic exit and my hurt feelings and my complete inability to handle what I'd walked in on.My hands were shaking as I fumbled with my car keys.I dropped them once.Picked them up.Then dropped them again.When I finally managed to unlock the door and slide into the driver's seat, and for a moment I just sat there in the parking garage beneath his building, hands gripping the steering wheel, trying to remember how to breathe.Elena's face.Zane's hands on her waist.The way they'd looked together in that split second before he'd seen me—intimate, familiar, like they'd done this before, like seventeen years hadn't passed, like I was the interruption instead of the girlfriend who had every right
Chapter 203: Olive's POVThe manipulation. The performance.Elena had always been good at this—at making herself the victim, at twisting situations until everyone around her felt guilty for whatever pain she claimed to be experiencing.I’d never known that until I watched the video in the military, of her accepting to a crime I never committed."You don't get to show up here and act like you're owed explanations," I said quietly."I don't—" She stopped, eyes widening. "Are you serious right now? We were best friends, Zane. We grew up together. We were—we were everything to each other. And you just left. You just vanished. And now you're standing here acting like I'm some stranger who—""You are a stranger," I interrupted. "It's been seventeen years. People change. You're not the person I knew. I'm not the person you knew. Whatever we were to each other ended a long time ago.""That's not true," she said, and now she was moving closer again, closing the distance I'd put between us. "Yo
Chapter 202: Zane's POVMy father's voice came through the phone with that particular brand of satisfaction that made me want to throw the damn thing across the room."Zane," he said, quite calm for a man who had caused so many chaos "I thought you'd want to hear the good news directly from me."I didn't respond. Just stood there at the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, looking out at the Seattle skyline, phone pressed to my ear, waiting."I've been successfully released from every accusation," Williams continued, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Every single charge. Every plan you so carefully orchestrated. None of them hit me, son. Not a single one stuck."My grip tightened on the phone, but I kept my voice level. "Congratulations.""Oh, don't congratulate me yet," he said, and now there was something darker underneath that smooth tone. Something vicious. "Because now it's my turn. And I'm going to make you lose everything you've labored for, Zane. Everything you've
Chapter 201: Olive's POVI didn't know the details yet, but I could feel it—that prickling awareness that something was very, very wrong.That Elena being here had everything to do with me.With Zane.With whatever history they shared that I knew nothing about.Nina cleared her throat, breaking the tension."Excellent," she said briskly. "Now that introductions are complete, let's discuss the timeline and logistics. The campaign launches in three days, which means we have a very tight schedule. Elena will be the face of the campaign alongside The Mercer Brothers, and we'll need both of you—" she looked pointedly at me and Sophia "—to finalize the creative concepts and ensure everything aligns with the brand message and vision we've developed while we wait for the final feedback for our last candidate tomorrow."I forced myself to focus on Nina's words, to take notes in my notebook, to nod at the appropriate moments and ask questions that sounded intelligent even though my brain was sc
Chapter 200: Olive's POVBy the time I made it to the Mercer Company, it was almost three-thirty.The meeting had started at three.I was thirty minutes late.My phone had been buzzing nonstop in my pocket—texts from Jessica asking where I was, missed calls from Nina's assistant, notifications that I'd been marked absent from the mandatory meeting.I didn't care.Let them think whatever they wanted. My mother had needed me, and that was more important than any corporate bullshit.I parked and headed inside, my stomach churning with anxiety and dread and the overwhelming sense that I was walking into something I couldn't control.The conference room was on the executive floor…massive space with glass walls and expensive furniture and a view of the Seattle skyline that stretched out like the company owned the entire city.I could see them through the glass before I even opened the door.Nina at the head of the table, mid-presentation, gesturing at something on the screen behind her.The
Chapter 43: Olive's POVHe walked toward me, and I could see it—all the parts of me that came from him. The green eyes. The sharp jawline. The nose I'd always hated. Looking at him was like looking in a mirror that showed me everything I'd tried to distance myself from."I was in Chicago last week,
Chapter 35: Olive's POVThe call came twenty minutes after I left Grayson's office.I was still standing on the sidewalk like an idiot, people rushing past me with their coffee cups and briefcases, living their normal lives while mine was actively imploding. My phone buzzed in my hand and I almost
Chapter 36: Olive’s POV"Hit send and it's yours," he said, watching me carefully. "But first, I need to know something."Of course. There was always a catch."What," I said, not taking my eyes off the screen."How did you do it?"I looked up. "What?""How did you get him?" Ryan leaned forward, elb
Chapter 32: OLIVE's POVThe slap echoed through the garage and I screamed, the sting mixing with pleasure, making me clench even harder around him."You like that?" He did it again, other cheek this time. "Like it when I mark this ass? When I make sure you feel me tomorrow?""Yes—god, yes—"Another







