Chapter 2

I took a deep breath and looked up at Olivia.

She shot me a frown, her eyes a cocktail of impatience, indifference, and a clear "Can't you get a clue?" look.

Perfect. She was totally in character.

"Andrew," she started again, "can you let him finish? Stop being so unreasonable every single—"

I made my move.

Before she could say anything else that would send my blood pressure through the roof, I raised my hand and covered her mouth.

Olivia's eyes went wide, staring at me in total shock.

Her hand was still pressed against my chest, but her grip had obviously loosened. I took the chance to slip out from under her arm, twisted her wrist behind her back, and pinned her against the wall.

Tables turned. Now I was the one pinning her to the wall.

Matthew was frozen, jaw dropped. "Andrew, what the hell are you—"

"Shut up." I didn't bother to look back.

Matthew's words got stuck in his throat.

I locked eyes with Olivia and said, each word slow and deliberate, "Now, listen to me."

Olivia's pupils trembled slightly, shock flickering in her gaze. She'd clearly never been in a situation like this before. In the original story, Andrew was always at her beck and call, never daring to raise his voice, let alone pin her to a wall.

But I was not like that.

I'd battled it out with all kinds of readers in the comment section, and when it came to clapping back, I'd never lost.

"First," I said, raising a finger, "before you pinned him to the wall and demanded an explanation, did you bother to ask if I cared to listen?"

Olivia's brows furrowed. She looked like she wanted to say something, but with my hand still over her mouth, all she could do was let out some muffled sounds.

"Second," I continued, "it's the middle of the night, just you and him alone, and you expect me to believe it was a coincidence? Olivia, do you take me for a kid?"

She let out a muffled protest from behind my hand.

"Third," I leaned in, lowering my voice, "I don't care what you two had before, but right now, I'm your so-called fiancé. If you want to sneak around with another guy, maybe you should call off our engagement first."

Olivia stopped struggling. She stared at me, her eyes going from shocked to something I couldn't quite read.

I released her mouth but kept hold of her wrist.

"You..." she started, her voice rough. "You never acted like this before."

"Yeah," I admitted without hesitation. "I used to be an idiot."

Olivia and Matthew were both stunned.

I turned to Matthew and gave him a once-over.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, soft and refined, every inch the gentleman. But wasn't he supposed to be a wolf in sheep's clothing? Never mind, he looked like a gentleman.

The book described him as cool and pure, but seeing that pathetic, about-to-speak-but-holding-back expression on his face right now made me want to roll my eyes so hard.

"Matthew, right?" I flashed him a grin. "Did you say you bumped into each other by chance?"

Matthew's face stiffened for a second, then he pulled himself together. "Yeah, Andrew, you gotta believe me—"

"Alright," I cut him off. "If it was a coincidence, then you can leave now."

"What?" he blurted out, clearly caught off guard.

"Go on," I said, jerking my chin toward the alley exit. "Didn't you happen to pass by? Keep moving. Why are you still hanging around?"

Matthew's expression changed, and he shot a look at Olivia.

Olivia frowned, saying nothing.

I grinned again. "What, can't bring yourself to leave? Or maybe you weren't passing by. You came here to see her, didn't you?"

Matthew's lips moved, but he didn't say a word. He turned and left.

The alley went quiet.

Olivia was still pinned against the wall, her hair all over the place, breathing hard. She looked at me, and there was something in her eyes I'd never seen in the book.

"Andrew," she whispered, "what the hell has gotten into you?"