Olivia insisted on accompanying Ethan and me to finalize the divorce. She clutched his hand as
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if I might somehow seduce him back. When the
papers were signed, she visibly relaxed. As Ethan went to get the car, she approached me,
her voice venomous. “Consider your three years as Mrs. Hale a gift, courtesy of me. Sophia, remember, you’ll always be a poor nobody. Watch your back. I’ll crush you.” I grabbed her hair, yanking her head back. She yelped in pain. I leaned in, whispering in her ear, “Olivia, I have evidence that you killed someone.” She froze, her face draining of color. I continued, my voice soft, “But don’t worry. I’m not as cruel as you. I
don’t want you dead. I want you to suffer.”
- 14.
After our divorce was announced, Ethan’s “cheating husband” label stuck. He didn’t care.
As a celebrated actor, such scandals were
merely bumps in the road. Forgiveness was
easily bought. He began parading Olivia around,
using his influence to clean up her image,
landing her roles. Ethan, with his wealth and
power, easily orchestrated her comeback. We
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met again at a celebrity birthday party. I
couldn’t avoid it. As I entered the ballroom,
Olivia, arm in arm with Ethan, greeted me.
“Sophia, long time no see. I hear you’re working
on some indie film? Having trouble finding decent roles? Quite a downgrade, isn’t it?”
Olivia always played the sweet innocent around Ethan. She’d clearly forgotten my threat. She probably thought I’d been bluffing. Sarah scoffed. “Olivia, if you don’t know anything about it, don’t comment. Indie doesn’t mean low–quality. The director is an award winner. You’re just being offensive.” Olivia’s smile faltered, then returned. She leaned against Ethan, her voice syrupy. “So what if I offend
people? I have my husband. He always cleans
up my messes. With him around, I fear nothing.”
I ignored her, signed the guest book, and turned
to leave. Olivia stopped me, handing me an
invitation. “Sophia, almost forgot. Ethan and I
are getting married in October. We’d love for
you to come.” Ethan frowned, glancing at her.
To their surprise, I took the pink invitation, a
<
smile playing on my lips. “You’ve been very
discreet. I hadn’t heard a thing. Unlike my
wedding. Your husband insisted on a live
broadcast, wanted the whole world to know.
Seemed glamorous, but honestly, it was
annoying.” As Olivia’s expression soured, I
tossed the invitation in the trash on my way out.
Mr. and Mrs. Hale, I hoped they had a truly
memorable wedding.
- 15.
Apparently, Olivia had thrown a fit, forcing Ethan to agree to a live broadcast instead of their planned secret ceremony. She was so foolish. What was the point of a staged public display? Ethan had wanted to protect her, but she didn’t understand. I counted down the days to their wedding. I wanted them standing before the world, husband and wife, bound together in their shared lie, ready to fall. After the high school reunion, I’d received an anonymous video message. A former classmate, his face obscured, whispered, “Julian’s death… it wasn’t
suicide. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was
afraid of Olivia.” Julian… I hadn’t heard his
name in so long. I watched the video over and
over, finally understanding what had happened
on the rooftop that snowy day, the day I’d
planned to confess my feelings. He’d died…
because of me.
