His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 125

Sophia’s POV

When I received the email that I would be working with Olive Monroe, I felt anger surge through me so violently I thought I might shatter every object in my office.

The crystal paperweight on my desk. The imported vase from Italy. The framed awards lining my walls.

All of it felt breakable. Expendable. Insignificant compared to the rage burning in my chest.

Olive fucking Monroe.

I couldn’t believe I was going to have to work with her. Breathe the same air. Pretend to be professional while she paraded around like she belonged in the Mercer Company.

In my world.

I’d ensured somehow that I was involved in the Quantum AI project, Pulled strings. Made calls. Used connections that most people spent years cultivating.

A plan to secure this lifetime opportunity for myself. For Cole. For us.

I’d talked my father into letting me lead the creative team. Convinced him that my experience made me the obvious choice. That this campaign could elevate the Mercer brand to unprecedented levels.

But then Zane came crashing through those plans like a wrecking ball.

Taking the deal for himself. Taking the spotlight. Taking everything.

I know Zane. Know him better than anyone else in this family.

Zane would never take on a project like this. He had too much pride. Too much ego. Too many better things to do than model for some tech company’s advertising campaign.

But here we were.

And I knew exactly why he’d done it.

Her.

Everything always came back to her.

So much had happened in the last week. Cole hadn’t just lost the project-he’d been publicly humiliated, sued, dragged through the mud like common trash.

And my father. My father had been accused of fraud, embezzlement, illegal gambling was guilty of because I wasn’t stupid enough to believe my father was a saint.

that somehow I knew he

My father was never a saint. He was vindictive and cruel and had a decades-long feud with Zane that I’d never fully understood but had always been there, simmering beneath evers family dinner, every business meeting, every interaction.

The difference in how he treated us had always been so clear. So obvious.

How he pampered Antonio and me. How he praised us, supported us, gave us everything we wanted.

And how he treated Zane like the black sheep. The disappointment. The son who would never measure up no matter how successful he became.

I’d never done anything about it. Never said a word. Always thought it was normal.

Just father son rivalry. First son syndrome. The pressure of being the eldest.

But not until she came into the picture.

She ruined everything.

She made Zane reactive. Defensive. Unrecognizable.

Zane used to call me every week. Take me to lunch. Ask about my life. Act like the protective older brother who actually gave a damn about his little sister.

But ever since Olive Monroe walked into his life, I became a shadow. An afterthought. Something he tolerated when he had to but otherwise forgot existed.

And it wasn’t just about losing my brother’s attention.

It was about Cole.

Cole, who I’d been dating for months now. Cole, who was supposed to be moving on from Olive. Cole, who still looked at her like she was the only woman in the world when he thought I wasn’t watching.

Cole was still in love with her. Or had feelings for her. Or was obsessed with her. Whatever the fuck you wanted to call it.

And I was stuck in the center of it all. A third wheel in my own relationship: A pawn in whatever game Zane and Olive were playing.

Her little conniving charms. Her fake innocence. Her manipulative bullshit.

And when I heard she would be working on this project, I’d gotten angry at first. Furious, even.

But then something sparked within me.

An opportunity.

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