Chapter 5 - The Unraveling
Adrian dropped to his knees on the cold linoleum floor of the bathroom, the laptop sliding from his lap. The breath left his lungs in a ragged, agonizing gasp.
She wasn't running. She wasn't cutting her losses. She wasn't protecting her wealth.
She had stripped herself down to absolute poverty—surrendering her beloved design firm, her savings, her safety net, her dreams—to buy his freedom from a debt that didn't even exist.
""My God,"" Adrian choked out, burying his face in his trembling hands. ""What have I done?""
He remembered Daniel’s chilling warning from three days prior: You’re not testing Olivia’s love. You’re testing how much damage your fear can cause before she finally walks away.
Adrian rushed out of the bathroom, intending to wake her, to fall at her feet, to confess every disgusting, shameful detail of his psychological game. But as he stepped into the dim bedroom, the empty bed caught his eye.
The covers were thrown back. The room was empty.
The front door of the apartment was open an inch, cold hallway air spilling into the room.
""Olivia?"" Adrian called out in sudden terror.
He stepped into the corridor. Olivia was standing at the end of the narrow hallway near the fire escape stairs, clutching her phone to her ear. She was speaking in a quiet, frantic whisper.
""Harrison, did the wire clear?"" she asked. Adrian froze in the shadows, listening to her desperate voice. ""Tell me the note is cancelled. Tell me they can’t arrest Adrian for default.""
A pause followed as the attorney evidently spoke on the other end.
Olivia let out a ragged sob, slumping against the peeling wallpaper of the stairwell. ""Thank God. Thank God... as long as he's safe. I don't care about the design firm. I can work as a junior draftsman somewhere. Just make sure the release documents are delivered anonymously to his Lincoln Park mailbox tomorrow morning. He must never know it came from me. He would never forgive himself if he knew I sacrificed my company for his father's mistake.""
Adrian’s vision blurred with burning tears. He took a step forward, unable to bear another second of his own cowardice.
""Olivia,"" he choked out.
May you like
She jumped, spinning around, hurriedly ending the call. She tried to wipe her eyes quickly, forcing an awkward, reassuring smile onto her pale face. ""Adrian? Why are you awake? Did the refrigerator wake you up again?""
""Stop,"" Adrian whispered, his voice cracking completely. ""Please, Olivia... stop protecting me.""
