Filed to story: Watch Me Win Alpha (Olivia & Ethan)
Alexander. “And sir, did you recover any weapon-the lighter, or the knife?”
Alexander produced the lighter and offered it. “She tried to set her on fire.” He touched the flame-singe marks on the tip, then set it aside. “I caught it in my hand to stop it.”
The officer frowned. “Your fingerprints will be on it-you aren’t likely to be charged for that, but it may complicate the chain of evidence. The knife is likely more admissible.””
Another matched officer tiptoed around the charred couch and noted the gasoline trails. “Gasoline was poured across the room
-intent to destroy evidence or kill.”
Ava held the damp cloth pressed against Alexander’s shoulder.
“I screamed. I don’t know how long it took me to pull Ethan in here. He radioed the police.
The first officer nodded. He strode over to the bound Chole, staring at her slack, defeated posture. “Miss Windsor, you’re under arrest for attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, and arson. Any accomplices?”
Chole sneered, but her gaze flicked toward the door. “No… no accomplices.”
A pause. Both officers exchanged glances. Then one spoke with flat authority: “If you had help-someone in black clothes helping you then that person is also guilty and can’t claim ignorance. They were aiding and abetting.”
Chole hesitated, glancing at Alexander and me. Her eyes flicked back to a corner of the room.
The officer added: “If your accomplice is found, they won’t be able to get off the hook. You understood the plan-this was premeditated.” He clicked his cuffs.
Chole gulped.
I let out a shaky breath and kept my gaze on Alexander. He nodded at me-steady, protective. My heart pounded in a mix of fear, gratitude, and a surge of something I couldn’t name.
The police asked Ethan to step aside for a moment, offering him a bottle of water. He stared at Alexander’s bound figure, jaw clenched.
Ava stood protectively near me. “Are you okay?”
Through the haze of pain, I managed a nod. “I think so.”
The officer guided Chole out. As the door closed behind the police, Alexander sat, leaning slightly on Ava’s shoulder. Ethan, pale and silent, brushed past and knelt beside me instead. He reached for my hand, but I withdrew.
I winced again, pain flaring from my ribs.
Alexander spoke softly, pulling the lighter into his lap. “We’re safe now. The police are handling it.”
He caught my eyes and offered a slim, reassuring smile.
I nodded.
Ethan looked anguished, trying to rise to his feet and speak, but
I shook my head and closed my eyes.
Ava squeezed my shoulder. “Let them deal with Chole.”
The cop approached again. “We’ll need a full statement later, once you’re medically cleared. And one more thing-when we locate this black-clad accomplice, they’ll face charges alongside
Chole. No plea bargains.”
Ava was pacing back and forth at the far end of the room, arms crossed tightly across her chest like she was holding herself together. Her voice trembled with fury. “She’s sick. Absolutely sick. That woman needs to be locked away for good. Do you even realize what she almost did to you?” Her eyes met mine, blazing. “That was attempted murder, Olivia. No poetic tragedy, no broken heart-she wanted toendyou.”
On the other side of the room, restrained by some ghost of guilt,
Chole sat on a stretcher in handcuffs, flanked by two officers.
Even now, evenafter everything, she was arguing-loud, frantic, gasping for anyone to believe her.
“She tried to destroy my life! Olivia lied to everyone. She made
Ethan hate me! I’m the real victim! I was trying to stop her from ruining what’s mine!”
Ava snapped, “You doused her in gasoline, you lunatic! She’s lucky to be breathing!”
But I didn’t answer either of them. My throat was too dry, and my energy too thin. I simply looked away, eyes burning, limbs heavy. All I could hear was the subtle, awful scratch of the. monitors, and my own heartbeat echoing in my ears.
Ethan stood frozen a few feet from the chaos, his expression pale and drawn. He hadn’t said a word since he got here. Not one. Just watched the scene unravel like it was some slow- motion punishment. Maybe it was.
Our eyes met, and for a flicker of a second, I saw something crack in him. The horror. The grief. The shame. But it was too late now. Even if he broke apart, I had no urge to put the pieces back together.
The cops finally escorted Chole out of the room, still screaming.
Then, me and Alexander were brought into the hospital.
Alexander was wheeled into a separate ward while in my ward, Ethan stayed with me, and Ava slept outside the room on a bench.
I was left with Ethan, seated on the edge of my hospital bed, too close for comfort, too far for forgiveness.
The room settled into silence.
I shifted slightly on the bed, feeling the IV tug at my arm. “You don’t have to stay,” I said quietly. It was the first thing I’d said to him all night. My tone was flat. Dry. Like the words belonged to someone else.
Ethan didn’t flinch. His voice was rough from disuse. “I want to.
I mean there’s no one at home. And Ava’s sleeping.” He shrugged, forcing a weak smile. “You need someone to look after the small things.”
I turned my face toward him, studying his features. There was no smugness, no pleading, no anger. Just fatigue. And maybe regret as well.
But I didn’t trust regret anymore.
I stared at him for a few quiet seconds, searching for something
I couldn’t name-and didn’t find.
Then I closed my eyes.
And said nothing else.
Author’s POV
Ethan sat by Olivia’s hospital bed, unmoving. His head rested lightly beside her arm, close enough to feel the steady rise and fall of her breathing. Her hospital gown rustled faintly as she shifted slightly in her sleep, but her eyes didn’t open.
Tears had dried on his cheeks more than once tonight, only to be replaced by new ones, warmer, heavier. His forehead leaned against her arm as if by staying close, he could delay the inevitable. As if the passing hours wouldn’t steal this moment from him too.
This wasn’t the Ethan the world knew. Not the arrogant alpha, nor the poised heir to the Hawthrone family. Tonight, he was just a man who had failed. A man who’d promised to protect the woman he loved-only to be the very reason she ended up bruised and nearly burned alive.
He didn’t speak a word all night. There was no apology that could patch the wreckage between them. No grand explanation that could erase the years of betrayal, of pain he’d brought into her life. And Olivia… Olivia had already said it all in silence.
Earlier, when she told him flatly that he could leave, she didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t cry. She didn’t even look angry.
