Chapter 21
Olivia's POV
I woke up with a pounding headache on Ethan’s couch, fragments of last night still blurry around the edges. The last thing I remembered clearly was Ethan dragging me away from Aiden and that punch he threw.
I was still piecing everything together when my phone blew up with messages.
I groaned, rolling over to grab my phone. Mia’s name flashed with a dozen notifications, one after the other, filling my lock screen.
Mia: ‘OMG Liv, you NEED to see this!’
Mia: ‘Call me RIGHT NOW.’
Mia: ‘More photos, bish get up, the hangover can wait.
Mia: ‘Ethan looks murderous in these pics…’
My stomach dropped and threatened to rebel. Each message felt like a weight pressing on my chest, dread spreading through me as I unlocked the screen.
Mia sent links to articles and photos – of me and Aiden, close enough to be mistaken for something intimate and ramp up the gossip.
And then there were the photos of Ethan stepping between us, his wolf barely contained, just moments before his fist connected with Aiden’s jaw.
‘ALPHA LOVE TRIANGLE; MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS?’ read one headline. Another one showed an image of Ethan’s furious expression next to the headline ‘JEALOUS MATE BREAKS UP SECRET ROMANCE.’
Those three little bubbles pop up again with Mia’s typing.
Mia: “Liv, I swear, every shit gossip site has their own take. They’re saying Ethan using you to climb ranks in the Council, others are saying you’re just stringing him along for status and money.”
Fuck, they weren’t wrong, but that wasn’t all we were. Sharing space the last few weeks to keep up our arrangement had that heart-shaped hole in my chest constricting with hope.
I locked down that confusing emotion and tossed my phone onto the couch. Of course it kept buzzing. Mia was relentless when she wanted to be.
Mia: “Olivia, I’m serious! Ethan’s PR team needs to shut this shit down.”
Just as I started to roll over to pointedly ignore my phone and the impending drama I didn’t want to deal with, I heard footsteps.
Ethan walked in, holding a cup of coffee, his gaze zeroing in on my phone lying there, still lighting up with Mia’s messages. He smirked, taking one look at my frustrated expression, and I knew he was already aware of the photos.
“We need to push back, or this will ruin everything” he said, his voice calm as if this were just another morning board meeting. Like we were just another calculated move.
I scoffed, unable to hide my annoyance. “And I suppose you have a brilliant idea?”
He took a sip from his steaming mug, his gaze never leaving mine. “We’re going to give them something better to talk about.”
I waited, arching an eyebrow, but he let the anticipation linger. Then his next words knocked the wind right out of me.
“We’ll stage something they’ll have to print. Something intimate enough to make them believe we’re still madly in love.” He said it so casually, as if kissing me for show was no big deal. Like he’d be completely unaffected by it.
My heart gave a single loud thump. This was a terrible idea. “I don’t think that’s necessary” I blurted out.
His smirk grew, but there was something softer behind it, maybe even a touch of amusement. “I do. It’s not real, Olivia. It’s just... part of the arrangement.”
I swallowed hard, aware that agreeing to this was crossing some invisible line. I needed that line to separate business from whatever this was becoming.
“Fine,” I muttered, standing to hide my own discomfort. “But let’s make it quick.”
Ethan’s eyes gleamed, and he nodded once. “Tomorrow morning, the lookout at Ridgecrest. We’ll take care of it there.”
The drive to Ridgecrest Lookout felt longer than it was. My mind buzzed with everything I’d convinced myself this wasn’t: sincere, natural, intimate.
Ridgecrest Lookout spread out with a sweeping view of the city skyline, framed by low hills and wild vegetation, the perfect ‘hidden’ place to stage an encounter with just enough openness for the paparazzi to capture it from a safe distance.
I couldn’t deny the setting felt more like a romantic escape than a strategy.
Ethan was waiting for me when I got out of the car. We just stared at each other for a moment, neither of us saying anything.
Then his hand found mine and we climbed a gentle slope to the stone bench that overlooked the city below.
His grip was warm, grounding, but the weight of his fingers interlaced with mine reminded me this was a performance, and we were here to be seen. I wondered where the paparazzi were hiding out.
“Ready?” he murmured, low enough that only I could hear. I nodded, pulling in a deep breath, and he pulled me closer. The warmth of his arm around my waist was surprisingly steadying.
Ethan dipped his head to meet my gaze, his hand cupping my face with a tenderness that almost felt genuine. The lights of the city twinkled behind him, and for a second, everything else melted away – the photos, the rumors, even Aiden’s smug face.
His lips brushed against mine softly, and instinctively, I found myself leaning in.
Heat licked up my spine and Ethan’s fingers tightened at my waist. My pulse quickened as Ethan’s tongue darted across the seam of my lips. Caught up in the moment, I opened for him and swept my tongue against his.
The growl that came from Ethan was my only warning before he lifted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist.
I threaded my fingers through his hair as our tongues danced together. I felt a sudden need to be closer to Ethan; to bare my neck to him and claw at his clothes until we were naked and rutting in the tree line.
My wolf wanted to make this Alpha chase us and earn the pleasure of taking us.
A jolt of confusion pulsed through me, and I tensed in Ethan’s arms.
He pulled back, his gaze searched mine. “That should give them enough,” he murmured, voice quiet yet certain, still close enough for me to feel the heat of his breath.
Slowly, he lowered my feet to the ground, my body still pressed up against him. But his hands lingered at my waist, thumbs tracing lazy circles against my sides.
Neither of us pulled away as we stood staring into each other’s eyes.
I blinked, breaking the spell as I glanced away, the city lights swimming into focus. And I heard it faintly coming from down the path: the furious clicking of a camera shutter.
Ethan’s hand slipped back into mine as we turned to head back to the cars, his expression unreadable.
But I couldn’t ignore the way my heart still raced. Or the fact that, for just a moment, I’d forgotten that any of this was staged.
