Filed to story: Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia & Ethan)
Ethan’s POV
The balcony doors shut behind me with a quiet thud as I stepped out into the cool night air. The ballroom buzzed be- hind me-clinking glasses, soft music, voices layered over voices. I felt like I needed a break right now.
I lit a cigarette, dragged in the smoke, and tapped Fin’s number.
“Where’s Olivia?” I asked without greeting.
“Still at her parents’ place,” Fin said.
I grunted. “Alright.”
I hung up, and headed back inside.
Chole was waving a glossy auction catalog at me the moment I walked back in.
“Ethan,” she cooed, latching onto my arm, “which do you think is better-this sapphire ring donated by Mrs. Donald or the blue diamond necklace from Mrs. Janet? I can’t decide which one I want you to get me.”
I wasn’t listening. My eyes had landed on the page she pointed at.
The blue diamond necklace.
A rare, ocean-deep shade. Delicate and striking.
I bought that necklace for Olivia last year on our anniversary. A one-of-a-kind set I had flown in from Europe.
Why was it listed here under Mrs. Janet’s name?
My mind immediately flashed to the empty drawers in Olivia’s locker at the villa.
I raised my phone and took a picture of the auction listing. My fingers hovered, then I hit send-to Olivia.
Blocked.
I stared at the screen.
I tried calling.
Also blocked.
My gut twisted. This didn’t seem normal to me. I had to figure this out by myself. Right now.
I stepped back from Chole. “Have fun on your own. I’m heading out.”
“What?” She grabbed my wrist. “You can’t leave now. Tonight’s important-for us.”
I looked down at her, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
Before she could answer, a hush fell over the ballroom.
My mother had stepped up on stage, elegant in emerald silk, holding a mic like it was a scepter.
“I’d like to make a special announcement before we begin the auction,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
I took a step forward.
What the hell was she doing?
She glanced at Luna Madeline-Chole’s mother-and then said it:
“We are thrilled to announce the engagement of my son, Ethan Hawthrone, to Chole Windsor.”
The crowd gasped. Clapped. Champagne glasses clinked.”
My feet turned cold.
She wasn’t done.
“As a token of celebration, we will be auctioning off the finest item in tonight’s collection, a priceless blue diamond necklace, as a gift to my future daughter-in-law-the soon-to-be Luna of Hawthrone Pack.”
My ears rang.
What?
Olivia’s POV
The ballroom erupted with applause, clinking glasses, and well-wishes. Smiles stretched across every face-except mine.
I stood at the entrance, watching the celebration unfold like a grand lie draped in velvet and glitter. The chandeliers above cast a sharp shimmer across the marble floor, and every spotlight seemed fixed on Ethan and Chole. My dress -a deep red tulle that trailed behind like spilled wine-swished with each slow, deliberate step I took forward.
The room noticed.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
“Isn’t that…?”
“Olivia? Ethan’s ex?”
“Oh God, she came. She really came.”
Some murmured that I was here to cause a scene. Others whispered that I was the one wronged. A few brave ones said aloud,” She was just dating an alpha. Not her fault he traded her out.”
I kept walking. My heels didn’t falter. My face remained neutral, my makeup sculpted into cool, ruthless elegance. I wasn’t here to scream.
Chole turned pale. Her fingers trembled on Ethan’s arm. Amelia’s poised expression cracked for the first time, just slightly. And Ethan-Ethan looked like someone had punched the air out of him. His feet shifted instinctively toward me, but Chole tugged his sleeve like a drowning girl grasping at driftwood.
“We’re engaged” Chole’s voice cracked across the ballroom. “We’re getting married! You should just let it go, Olivia.”
I stopped.
“Shut up,” Ethan muttered under his breath, yanking his arm away from her. “Not now.”
Chole’s lip trembled as if she were about to cry. I had seen that performance before. It wasn’t special anymore.
As Ethan tried to come closer again, a voice sliced through the tension.
“You’re going to embarrass Chole in front of everyone forher?” It was Felix Windsor, Chole’s brother, stepping for- ward like a guard dog.
Ethan’s jaw flexed. “Move, Felix.”
Felix didn’t.
But I didn’t need Ethan to clear the way. I was already standing in the center of the ballroom now, the silence growing heavy with each step I’d taken. Eyes from every elite pack in the region were on me.
