Chapter 123:
Olivia’s Point of View
I left my house early in the morning, and the cold breeze was slapping my face, but it didn’t extinguish the fire burning in my head.
I drove toward the club, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white; curiosity was gnawing at me: What happened to Julie after Robert kicked me out of the room? And how did her evening with Carlos end?
I struck the steering wheel with the palm of my hand in anger and whispered bitterly: "Damn it... how did the plan fail?" I had asked that girl, "Mia," to drug her so she would lose control, but my calculations vanished when she left the hall and encountered Carlos.
I felt a cold shiver running down my spine as I remembered Julie’s delirious words to Carlos: "This bitch tried to kill me twice." I gritted my teeth hard; what if she repeated this talk to Robert while she was in her full senses? Robert will look for the perpetrator, and if he reaches me...
As soon as I stepped inside the dim hallway of the club, a massive shadow blocked my path. I stopped suddenly and felt my heart leap in my chest. I said in a sharp and defensive tone: "Miles! What do you want this early in the morning?"
He didn’t back down; instead, he leaned his body toward me insolently and said in a hoarse voice: "Olivia... you promised me that you would bring her to me... the one with the green eyes, where is she?"
I felt my blood boiling; I rushed toward him and gripped his shirt collar with both hands, pulling him toward me until our breaths met, and said in a terrifying hiss: "Miles... don’t you dare utter this nonsense out loud! Do you understand?"
He grabbed my wrists and moved my hands away coldly, then a wicked smile appeared on his face: "I want that girl, Olivia... or I will go right now to Mr. Robert and tell him how you are stealing his money without him knowing."
I froze in my place, feeling as if the ground were swaying beneath me. This wretched guard knows my weak point and has me by the throat. I took a step back, trembling with rage, and said in a choked voice: "You know she is Robert’s personal assistant! If he finds out you have your eye on her, he will crush your head!"
He shrugged his shoulders with provocative indifference: "She is just a worker here... the rules only forbid us from the club girls, but she is fair game."
I couldn’t control myself; I raised my hand and struck him hard in the middle of his chest, feeling the hardness of his body under my palm: "And why didn’t you approach her yourself? Why did you force me to drug her?"
I approached him again and whispered sharply while trembling: "Now we are in real trouble... Robert will look for whoever tried to drug her, and if I fall... I will drag you down with me to hell, Miles."
A cold smile appeared on Miles’s face, and he raised his hands indifferently as if he were talking about the weather: "Listen, Olivia... drugs are allowed here, and the girls take them whenever they want."
I felt my temples throbbing violently, and I rushed toward him in a choked voice: "Yes, but Julie didn’t know, Miles! She is naive and understands nothing of these matters!"
He was unaffected by my words; instead, his tone leaned toward malice as he looked around cautiously: "You will find a solution... I know you well."
Then he leaned close to my ear until I felt his heavy breath, which disgusted me: "You will help me get her... tomorrow I will bring you something very strong, put it in her juice glass."
My jaw tensed until I felt pain in my facial muscles, and I said with an anger that made my body shake: "Have you lost your mind, Miles? After everything that happened last night, you want me to repeat it?"
He replied with a lethal coldness while adjusting his shirt collar: "Yes... and this time the plan will succeed."
"Never... I won’t risk it!" I shouted as I backed away from him, but he didn’t give me a chance; his hand clamped like pliers onto my arm, pressing it with a force that made me let out a muffled moan.
His gaze tilted to become dark and threatening: "You know very well what will happen if you refuse..." He winked mockingly, then released my arm sharply and left the hallway.
I remained in my place, my body shaking with total helplessness and rage. I picked up my bag and threw it toward the ground, then kicked it with my foot so hard that the pain extended to my leg, but it was nothing compared to the suffocation I felt in my chest.
I am now in a real trap; between Robert, who will turn the place upside down looking for the truth, and Miles, who has me by the throat.
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Robert’s Point of View
I sat before the closet, buttoning my shirt with heavy hands, while the images of last night were gnawing at my composure.
I felt a tremor in my chest I hadn’t known before; I am weak before her in a way that terrifies me.
No matter how much I try to deny it behind the walls of my coldness, my senses have become programmed to protect her, to the point that I felt I wanted to pluck out the eyes that dare to touch her shadow.
Carlos flew into a rage, and his features changed to sudden prominence; he rose from his place and stood at his full height before me, his eyes burning with an overt defiance: "I will compete with you for her, Robert... and I will show you how she will choose me in the end."
Not an eyelid flickered for me; instead, I raised my head with a coldness that provoked him more, and said dryly: "Carlos... you don’t possess a shred of a chance before her."
Carlos exploded and struck the table with his fist—a resounding strike—and cried out in a hoarse voice: "Robert! Don’t make me lose my mind more!"
His body suddenly stilled, and he leaned his torso toward me while panting, pointing his finger toward my chest: "You like her just as much as I do... so we will leave the choice to her. She is the one who will decide between us, and we will see who will lower his head in the end."
I jumped up and grabbed his shirt collar once again, but this time with a terrifying slowness, and brought my face close to his and said in a hiss dripping with threat: "I will not allow you to bet on Julie... she is not a prize, do you understand?"
Carlos didn’t blink; instead, he fixed his gaze into mine forcefully, and whispered while trying to loosen my grip: "I am not betting on her, and I don’t consider her that way... I just want you to give her the right to choose for herself, without your pressures or the walls you build around her."
I tightened my grip on his shirt until my arm tensed, and said in a low voice trembling with total possessiveness: "Don’t try to get close to her, Carlos... don’t touch her, don’t look at her; even the air she breathes, don’t you dare come near it!"
Carlos’s features suddenly relaxed, replaced by a mocking and bitter smile. He shook his head slowly while contemplating the tensed features of my face: "To this extent?"
He said, watching me with a scrutinizing look: "Icy Robert... the Robert I used to envy for his unshakable calm, even when we were in the heart of major drug smuggling operations and bullets filled the place... is losing his mind now and collapsing completely for a girl?"
I released his shirt collar with a strong push that made him stagger back, and said to him, my voice like the hiss of a snake: "If you want to remain my friend, Carlos... stay away from Julie."
I turned and left his house, feeling the blood boiling in my veins to the point that my vision became blurred. I got into the car and closed the door with a violence that shook its entire frame, then I took off driving blindly, as if I wanted to escape the thoughts gnawing at my head.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket announcing a call. I took it out with frustration, and when I glimpsed the name "Father" on the screen, my jaw muscles tensed even more.
I pressed the end call button with a finger trembling with rage, and threw the phone on the passenger seat.
I was not in a state that allowed me to hear his usual nonsense about the "expected grandson" or the cursed family legacy; for my entire body was dedicated to one feeling only... the lethal jealousy eating my insides.

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