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And now, that very perfume was in front of her eyes.
But the man she had shared her dream with—was offering it to another woman.
Sawyer’s eyes were locked on Olivia, who stared at the bottle with an expression of pure joy, as if she were about to faint from happiness.
Ellie’s fingers instinctively tightened around the arm of the man beside her. She didn't care who he was. All she knew was that she couldn't stand there any longer. Without another glance at Sawyer, she turned and walked away, dragging the man out of the bar with her.
She didn’t look back.
But behind her, a storm brewed.
She was unaware of the burning gaze that followed her—an intense, raging fire that could have reduced everything in its path to ashes.
Sawyer's fists clenched tightly, his jaw locked as he stared at the spot where Ellie had disappeared.
"Sawyer, this perfume is too strong," Olivia whined, scrunching her nose as she took a whiff. "And I don’t like orange scent too. Did you get the wrong bottle? No, the store must have messed up. How about we get a different one?"
She continued pouting, oblivious to the fact that Sawyer hadn't spared her a single glance.
“I don’t really like jasmine either," Olivia continued, oblivious to his simmering rage. "And this pink bottle? It looks outdated and tacky. I’m going to replace it with a blue one. Don’t you think that’ll look prettier?"
"Someone needs to glue her lips shut," Ana said in a sing-song voice, making everyone, including Sawyer, finally turn toward her. She swayed on her feet, shamelessly pointing at Olivia.
Mason didn’t waste a second. He scooped Ana into his arms and made a quick exit, Stella and Damien following closely behind. As soon as they stepped outside, Stella’s screeching laughter echoed into the night.
"Sawyer, are you even listening to me?" Olivia grabbed his arm, shaking him.
Sawyer snapped back to the moment. He turned to Olivia, and the darkness on his face was more than just fury—it was pure, seething jealousy.
The image of her kissing that man torched every cell in his brain, every nerve in his body. His entire being was on fire, raging, seething. The raw emotion was so overwhelming, so unbearable, that he couldn't even begin to describe it.
He needed to see her.
Needed to rip her out of that man's arms.
With a sharp jerk, he pulled away from Olivia. The empty box slipped from his fingers, landing on the floor with a dull thud.
"Here, wear this ring I bought for y—" Olivia offered excitedly.
Her words were cut off as Sawyer turned and walked away, not bothering to listen to the rest of Olivia's words. He didn't care what she thought. Didn't care if she felt insulted.
Outside, in the biting cold of the night, Ellie walked quickly, her hand still gripping the man’s wrist tightly as they hurried down the street. They didn't stop until they were far away from Blue Orchid Bar, the neon lights no longer visible behind them.
Finally, beneath the dim glow of a bus stop, Ellie let go of his hand and turned to face him.
"Hey," she said, finally looking at his face properly. "Thanks for your help back there. It was really—"
Her words died in her throat.
Her eyes widened in shock as she took in his face under the streetlights.
"Holy shit, you’re gorgeous!" she blurted out, her breath catching in her throat.
At first, she had thought it was just the lighting in the bar, but no—he really was that handsome. Too handsome. He looked young, maybe in his mid-twenties.
The man grinned at her reaction. "Thank you. I get that a lot," he winked, his confidence unabashed.
"A-anyway," Ellie stammered, still staring at him in disbelief, as if he couldn’t possibly be real. She pulled out a bill from her pocket and offered it to him. "Here. I promised you five hundred bucks for your help."