I looked up at Lennox, my vision blurry with tears.
He was standing there, cold and still, like all this didn’t hurt him anymore. Like he’d already bled dry a long time ago. But I could feel it. I could feel his pain like it was echoing in my chest.
“You really believed she wrote that?” I whispered.
He flinched. Just slightly. But it was enough.
4/10
He believed I said those things to him?
That I could ever… ever say something like that to him?
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. I looked at him, my heart aching.
He was supposed to ask me.
He was supposed to come to me. If he really loved me like that letter said… he should have come.
I clenched my jaw, blinking fast as tears filled my eyes.
I was fourteen. I was a kid. And he decided I was a monster because of one letter?
I laughed bitterly inwardly, shaking my head. He didn’t even give me a chance. He just hated me. Hurt me. Played games with my heart.
All because of this?
I held the letter up, my hand trembling. It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
“What if she didn’t write it?” I said. “What if it was
5/10 someone else?”
Lennox scoffed. “It was her. That is her handwriting. And see what she said about the necklace,” he snapped.
I frowned, my pity and pain for him turning into anger. I wished I could just snap out of this act and tell him the truth-that this was never me-but Lennox will never believe me. Rather, I will just expose myself and spoil my plan of leaving.
Lennox is so convinced that I did this and won’t believe until I provide evidence that I didn’t say all this.
So if I wanted him to believe me… if I wanted to prove myself not guilty, I have to give proof. Proof that it wasn’t me… that I never opened that box, that it got missing. I have to gather enough evidence so that when I tell him it wasn’t me, he will have no choice but to believe it.
So instead of screaming and crying at him, telling him I didn’t write this, I composed myself and handed the envelope back to him. “I’m sorry she did this to you,” I said simply, and Lennox nodded.
Just then, the door opened and Levi stepped in. The moment he did, I used that as an opportunity to simply walk away-and none of them stopped me.
As I left the room, I began listing out my tasks.
First, prove Father’s innocence.
Second, expose Anita and her father.
Third, gather every shred of evidence that proves I didn’t write that letter.
Fourth, leave this goddamn pack.
And these goddamn men.
I walked briskly toward my room, my thoughts still tangled in the storm Lennox had left behind. I felt the urge to run back to him and scream until my lungs gave out-but I kept walking. One step after another.
Until I saw Anita.
She was waiting right outside my door, arms crossed loosely, like she just happened to be passing by-but I knew better. Her eyes lit up when she saw me, like she’d been expecting me.
“Olivia,” she said, her voice soft, like honey laced with something sharp. “Can we talk?”
I didn’t respond right away. I didn’t trust myself to speak without exploding. But she stepped forward anyway, like the silence didn’t scare her.
“I have something to tell you,” she added quickly, “something important. About tonight.”
I narrowed my eyes but said nothing. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. She followed in like she was still my friend.
She closed the door behind her, then turned to face me.
“I can help you,” she continued. “I know a way out. A real way. Safe. Clean. No one will stop you.”
I turned slowly to face her, my frown deepening. “Go on.”
Her eyes flicked to the door, then back to me.
“Tonight, there’s a route-through the east side of t1 e
8/10 border. Patrol is light. I have someone who owes me a favor. He’s bringing a truck in for supply runs. He’ll drive you out.”
“To where?”
“To Alpha Gabriel,” she said simply. “Your husband. You want to be with him, right?”
Okay, fine. Take the knife and stab me-I deserve it. I said I’d reveal something to you, and what did I do? I showed only Olivia instead.
Yup. I betrayed you like that….
Sugarlitics
Creator’s Thoughts
Olivia’s POV
(1
I scoffed. What does Anita take me for, a fool? She thinks I’ve lost my memory, so I don’t remember the kind of shitty person that she is? She really thinks I’ll believe her? Heaven knows what she’s planning, but whatever it is, it’s never going to work. (
“I don’t know you, so why should I trust you?” I said, still pretending like I was suffering from memory loss.
Anita frowned and folded her arms. “You don’t have to know me, Olivia… I’m a woman like you, and I know you’ll go into heat tomorrow night, so this is me trying to reunite you with your husband,” she said, sounding in a convincing tone.
What a terrible actress she was.
“I don’t need your help. Gabriel said he’s coming to pick me up, so I’ll wait for him,” I said and turned to walk away, but Anita grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop and look at her. My frown deepened-my patience was wearing thin.
“Alpha Gabriel isn’t coming, Olivia. The triplets are keeping you here as a captive,” she said.
I yanked my arm out of her grip.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped, my voice sharper than I meant it to be-but I didn’t care. Her touch made my skin crawl.
Anita didn’t flinch. She only softened her expression, eyes wide with fake concern, like she was trying to sell me some twisted version of compassion. She took a slow step closer.
“I know this is hard to accept,” she said in a low, urgent voice. “But you’re not safe here, Olivia. You think those triplets care about you? No! They kidnapped you, Olivia… they’re obsessed with you and kidnapped you… you have to leave.”
I stared at her, my frown deepening. This bitch is a fucking liar.
She didn’t stop.
“They’re using you. They know you’re vulnerable, they know you don’t remember anything, and they’re using that to keep you here like some pet. Gabriel isn’t coming. He was never coming. They threatened him… I heard them telling him not to come for you, or they’ll kill him.”
I said nothing.
“I’m the only one actually trying to help you,” she whispered. “If you stay here, they’ll destroy you.”
She leaned in just a little, lowering her voice even more. “They want your body. And when they’re done with you, they’ll throw you away.”
I stared at her for a long second and let silence hang in the air. My fists clenched at my sides. Anita got worse by the day.
Then I slowly smiled.
A cold, tight-lipped smile.
“Thanks for the warning,” I said. “But I’ll take my chances.”
Her frown deepened.
“You can go now, Anita,” I said, stepping back. “I don’t need your help. I don’t trust you, and I don’t like you.”
She blinked, looking caught off guard. “Olivia-‘
“Get out before I tell the Alphas what you’re trying to do.” I threatened. And with that, she turned around and left the room.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.