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Olivia’s voice was filled with venom. "That gold-digger bitch. She’s using my man’s money to pay for that old bastard’s meds?"
The voice continued without a care. "One more thing. There’s a coincidence. She was also burned in a fire three years ago, around the same time as you. The man in the hospital took on a lot of debt to fix her up and restore her face, but then he got into a car accident. Now she’s paying off that debt and also covering the old man’s treatment."
Olivia froze, her fingers tightening around the phone. "When? When exactly was she burned? Where?"
"Same month as you," the man muttered, clearly uninterested. "Around March, and she was treated at the city hospital."
A wave of panic swept over Olivia, her face tightening as she thought to herself. ‘No,’ she let out a forced laugh, ‘it can’t be. Just a coincidence. How many people get burned every month? It’s normal.’ Her breaths came faster, and she rubbed her face with shaking hands. ‘I’ve spent hundreds of thousands to get this face. It’s done by the best plastic surgeon in the world. There’s no way that bitch is… no! I’m fine. Everything’s fine!’
Olivia stood frozen, tension gripping her as she processed what she'd heard. She didn’t even realize when Sawyer stormed out of the house until Ellie's sharp voice snapped her out of her daze.
"Put me down, SNS!" Ellie growled, struggling against his grip and slapping his back in protest. But the infuriating man remained completely unfazed. He didn’t even flinch, as if her hits were nothing more than an annoying tap. Without breaking stride, he carried her toward his car like she weighed nothing.
He came to an abrupt halt when Olivia suddenly stepped in front of him.
Sawyer's gaze locked onto Olivia, then flicked to Ellie, still slung over his shoulder. Realizing how bad this looked, he lowered Ellie to her feet—but didn’t release her arm.
"What are you doing, Sawyer?" Olivia questioned.
"It's nothing." Sawyer shot Ellie an annoyed glare before looking back at Olivia. "She was just getting on my nerves."
Olivia's eyes flickered to his hand wrapped around Ellie’s wrist.
Sawyer caught the look and immediately let go, as if Ellie had suddenly turned radioactive.
Ellie, who had caught the entire exchange, narrowed her eyes.
‘Wife’s slave,’ she thought begrudgingly. ‘Look how fast he let go of me the moment his lover looked at him.’
"What are you doing here?" Sawyer asked, his brows furrowing.
Olivia looked taken aback, almost as if she hadn't expected the question. Then, with a casual little laugh, she masked her surprise, schooling her features into something more serious before turning to Ellie.
"She invited me here."
"What?!" Ellie’s eyes widened in shock. "What are you talking about? When did I invite you?"
Olivia's expression turned innocent, almost hurt. "Ellie, why are you lying? Didn’t you call and ask me to come here because you wanted to talk about…" She hesitated, casting a glance at Sawyer before muttering, "…about him?"
"You liar!" Ellie snapped, her patience snapping with it.
Olivia’s mouth dropped open in mock surprise. "I can’t believe you’re accusing me of being a liar! How else would I have known where to find you? How would I have gotten here if you didn’t call me?"
Ellie glared at her. This girl was really starting to get on her nerves. Not only was she a pretentious bitch, but she was also a bold-faced liar.
But before Ellie could retort, Sawyer turned to her, his face dark with an upset glare.
His silence was damning.
He believed Olivia.
Ellie could see it in the way his jaw clenched, in the scowl forming on his face.
"Ellie, don’t involve Olivia into this," he scolded, his voice filled with irritation. "If you have something to be upset about, talk to me directly."
"I didn’t call her here!" Ellie insisted, her hands flying to her waist as she stared at him in disbelief. "You don’t believe me?"
Sawyer’s expression was blank. Cold.