Filed to story: Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia & Ethan)
Just ahead, coming around the bend. Silver compact. My eyes narrowed. That car… I recognized it.
Without thinking, I swerved in front of it and slammed the brakes. The other driver jerked the wheel and honked in panic. I was out of my car in seconds, already stomping to the driver’s side.
“Ava!” I barked.
The window rolled down, and sure enough, there she was, wide-eyed and nervous as hell.
“Ethan?” she stammered, trying to stay calm. “What-what are you doing in the middle of the road?”
“Where is she?”
“Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ava said smoothly, but I saw her hand tremble near the steering wheel.
I didn’t wait. I marched around the car, yanked the passenger door open, and got in. She tried to lock it, but I was faster.
“What are you doing? Get out!” she snapped, voice rising now.
I pulled the door shut. “Not until you tell me where Olivia is.”
“I told you. I don’t know”
“Drive” I ordered, eyes locked on hers. “I’m not leaving until you do”
“Ethan, this is insane”
“Drive, Ava. Or I will.”
Ava gritted her teeth, but started the engine again. We rolled forward slowly down the narrow road. Her fingers were clenched around the wheel, knuckles white.
Then her phone buzzed on the dashboard.
My hand darted before she could react. I snatched it up.
“Hey!” she shouted. “That’s private!”
“Not tonight, it isn’t.”
I unlocked her phone easily, opened WhatsApp, and scroned to her most recent chat.
It was Olivia.
Her last message had a pin.
“I am at Spaghetti Bistro,” I read out loud, jaw tight. I scrolled further. My eyes scanned the chat rapidly, and then-
Alexander.
The name popped up over and over. Ava had been updating
Olivia. But what made my blood boil was Ava’s comment just a few hours ago:
“He totally has feelings for you!!!”
I stared at the line for a long moment, a bitter taste forming on my tongue.
“She’s with him,” I said quietly, voice low and dangerous. “That bastard took her.”
Ava flinched.
I opened Google Maps and punched in the address. “Drive there.
Now!”
“I’m not doing this,” Ava said shakily. “She left because she was scared of you. What are you even trying to prove?”
“I said drive, Ava.” My voice was steel now.
She didn’t move.
I leaned in slowly, my eyes burning into her. “If you don’t drive me, I will just drag you out and take the wheel myself.”
“You’re insane.”
“Yeah?” I tossed her phone back in her lap. “And you’re a lousy friend if you keep helping her run when all I want is to fix things.”
“She doesn’t want you anymore, Ethan,” Ava snapped, eyes glossy. “You humiliated her, you cheated on her, you hurt her.”
“She’s still my Luna,” I growled. “My wife. That hasn’t changed.”
“You think threatening me is going to fix that?”
“No,” I said coldly. “But it might buy me time.”
Ava’s jaw clenched as she turned onto the main road again, the bistro’s pin now blinking on the dashboard screen. Her silence said everything.
She wasn’t scared for herself. She was scared for Olivia.
Good.
Let her be scared.
Because if Alexander really thought he could steal my Luna, he had another thing coming.
Olivia’s POV
Although Alexander and I were supposed to be waiting for our food at the burger joint, he ended up bringing me to a small, cozy pasta place tucked between a pharmacy and a bookstore.
“I know you wanted a burger,” he said while holding the door open, “but you looked like you’d pass out if I didn’t feed you right now!”
“I understand,” I muttered as I walked-limped-through the door.
The warm scent of basil, butter, and garlic hit me, and I realized just how hungry I was. He helped me settle into the cushioned booth by the window and flagged the waiter down. As we waited, I sent a quick message to Ava:”Dropped by this pasta place. You around? Come over if you’re free. Ordered your fav with extra meat”
Alexander glanced at me, his eyes flicking to my phone.
“Texting your lawyer?”
“What?” I said, surprised. “No… It’s Ava. She was around, so, I thought she could come by.”
“Sure it’s for Ava?” he asked, raising a brow. “Because from what I’ve seen, you just inhaled an appetizer portion meant for two.”
“Oh! I was just hungry.” I said, a little embarrassed.
