The landscape blurred outside the car window, a dark green smear of trees and fields under the shadow of gathering clouds. Olivia sat rigidly in her seat, her expression set in cold defiance, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. Antonio's rejection echoed in her ears, his scathing words replaying over and over like a cruel mantra. He had made his feelings perfectly clear: he did not love her, never would, and his heart twisted as it was, belonged to Rachel.
But Olivia was done begging for scraps of affection that would never come. If Antonio wanted to play kingmaker with Rachel, then she would make sure he never found a throne stable enough to seat her.
As the car pulled up to the grand estate of Alpha Grant, Olivia straightened her shoulders and set her face into a mask of calm authority. Antonio might see her as a pawn in his personal chess game, but she was determined to remind everyone that she was the queen of this board, and she wasn't going anywhere.