Chapter 3
After the party broke up, Ryan caught up with me outside. "Charlie, for real. Are you actually getting married?"
I nodded calmly. "Yes"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You don't have to lie to me. I know you better than that. You and Alex never got past that thing between you. The truth is, he..."
"It's not a 'thing,' Ryan," I interrupted. "It's a person.
"And I'm really getting married this time. This isn't a game or a tactic to make him jealous."
Ryan looked devastated.
"Charlie! Look at what Alex has turned into. How can you..."
"You know better than anyone," I said. "He's been out there living it up."
"No! All this time, he surrounds himself with your clones, and for each and every one, it's the same damn story," Ryan insisted. "He looks at them and says..."
He paused. "She looks like her, but she's not her."
I said helplessly, "Ryan, you saw it yourself. He still hates me."
*****
Halfway home, Alexander's car screeched to a halt.
He turned to Olivia. "Get out."
Her face went rigid. She forced a brittle laugh. "You act all tough, but the second you hear she's getting married, you completely lose your mind?"
His eyes grew dangerous. "Remember your place, Olivia. I could end your career with a single phone call."
Faced with a choice between her career and her pride, Olivia chose her career.
She thought she was special to Alexander.
No other woman had ever sat in his passenger seat. No one else had ever been publicly called his girlfriend.
Other women were dumped the second they even mentioned my name.
Olivia didn't buy the legend that I was his unforgettable love.
She didn't think it was love Alexander felt for me. It was hate.
His love had curdled into a deep resentment.
Marrying Alexander was every girl's dream.
Now that Olivia had her hand on the doorknob, she would force it open.
Olivia posted something online.
It was a sneaky shot from the party.
The private room was dimly lit, so she only managed to capture my back in the photo.
The caption read: [Heard his "one true love" is back in town. Guess that makes me yesterday's news.]
A minute later, she deleted it.
But Olivia was a superstar, one Alexander himself had created. Her every move made headlines.
And this time, my name was trending.
Her fans were rabid. [One true love? She's the one who dumped him, and now she can't stand to see Olivia happy, so she comes crawling back.]
[OMG, so she's a homewrecker?]
[She's worse than a homewrecker. She's a killer. She was responsible for the death of a mutual friend of hers and Alexander's.]
[Not many people know the real story because Charlotte's family is powerful. She's untouchable. You do the math.]
[Olivia, are you being threatened? If you are, just post a single period on your next update.]
Sure enough, Olivia's next post was a single period. It was also deleted in seconds.
She had lit a match and walked away.
When she showed up at my door to "apologize," she was already crying, dabbing at her eyes with feigned innocence.
"I'm so sorry, Charlie! They were just lines from a script I was reading! I had no idea my fans would take it so seriously and attack you online! I swear, I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
She was sobbing dramatically.
I shot back coldly, "You want to make me suffer, but you don't want to piss off my family. You can't have it both ways, Olivia."
"Charlie, I know it's true," she sobbed. "You and Alex had a past. So I understand why you're targeting me. But please, just leave him out of it."
Before I could respond, Olivia suddenly stumbled forward, her forehead cracking against the sharp corner of the coffee table.
That was the exact moment Alexander walked in.
He rushed forward and swept her unconscious body into his arms. Blood was already welling from the gash, staining the shoulder of his jacket a deep crimson.
"Charlotte, I already cleared your name from trending," he said. "Don't push it."
"Who do you think started this online attack?" I shot back, furious.
Alexander sneered, "Tell me where they were wrong. Was it you ghosting me? Or you getting someone killed? Which one?"
The words knifed the air. Nothing came out of me.
Without another glance, he turned and carried Olivia out the door, racing toward the hospital.