Chapter 6

Chloe, noticing Ethan' s pleased expression directed at Olivia, scowled.

Her eyes, fixed on Olivia, glittered with jealousy.

When Olivia placed another high bid for the Martin guitar, Chloe suddenly raised her own paddle, her voice sharp and mocking. "I' ll double that!"

A gasp went through the room. The bidding war was on, personal and vicious.

Olivia met Chloe' s challenge, her voice calm, her bids measured.

Finally, with a last, exorbitant bid, Olivia won the guitar.

The auctioneer banged the gavel. "Sold! To Mrs. Cole!"

Whispers erupted. Such a grand gesture. Clearly, a gift for her husband, a sign of their enduring love.

Ethan beamed at her, touched.

"Liv," he said, his voice thick with emotion as they waited for the guitar to be brought out. "That' s... incredibly generous. I' ll treasure it."

Before Olivia could correct him, his phone buzzed. An urgent business call.

"I have to take this," he said, already moving away. "Wait for me. I want you to give it to me properly."

Olivia watched him go.

As she turned to leave with her prize, Chloe stepped into her path, a cold smile on her face.

Chloe gave a subtle nod to two large men standing nearby.

Before Olivia could react, something hard hit the back of her head.

Darkness.

She woke up shivering, a throbbing pain in her skull.

She was in a cold, damp space, concrete walls around her. An abandoned warehouse, perhaps.

Chloe stood before her, the expensive Martin guitar in her hands.

"Did you really think you could buy his affection, Liv?" Chloe sneered. "With this... this trinket for him?"

"It wasn' t for Ethan," Olivia said, her voice weak. "It was never for him."

Chloe laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "Liar."

She lifted the guitar.

And with a sudden, violent movement, Chloe smashed the vintage Martin against the concrete floor.

Wood splintered. Strings snapped with a mournful twang.

Chloe kicked the ruined instrument, then turned and walked away, leaving Olivia tied to a chair in the cold and dark.

A rare, hot anger surged through Olivia, followed by a chilling despair. Chloe wasn' t just spoiled; she was unhinged.

Hours passed. The cold seeped into her bones.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

Ethan.

He rushed to her, his face a mixture of fury and terror, cutting her bonds.

"Liv! My God, Liv!"

She woke again in her own bed. Ethan was there, pacing.

"I am so, so sorry, Liv. Chloe... I' ve sent her to a spa retreat upstate. She needs help."

A spa retreat. That was his punishment for kidnapping and assault.

Olivia felt a weary resignation.

"It' s alright, Ethan," she said, her voice tired. "You love her. Like I loved Michael. You do what you have to do to protect that love, even when it' s irrational."

Ethan flinched as if struck.

"Stop," he said, his voice strained. "Stop talking about Michael. I don' t want to hear his name."