CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38

Olivia’s POV

I stared at Gabriel’s message, my heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it had been doing ever since Saturday night. The memory of his hands on my thighs, his intense eyes when he looked at me, his raw words...

*Focus, Olivia. You have bigger problems than your hormones.*

"What are you going to say?" Kira asked, leaning against the bathroom doorframe with curiosity.

I sighed, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. "I can’t see him tomorrow night."

"Why not? It’s not like you have anything else going on."

"Because tomorrow is going to be just as hellish as today was, and I’ll probably collapse the moment I get home. Besides, I can’t exactly go to Gabriel’s place as Olivia and then dress up at his place the next morning as Oliver. And even if I decide to dress up as Olivia, what if he offers to drive me to work? What if he wants to walk me to the building? Wellington & Sons doesn’t employ female lawyers, Kira. One look at me walking in there as myself and my cover is blown."

Kira’s face scrunched up in understanding. "Oh. Right. The whole double identity thing really complicates the dating situation, doesn’t it?"

"Just a little bit," I said dryly, typing out a response.

*Hey Gabriel. I’m really flattered, and I had an amazing time on Saturday too. Unfortunately, I have to work late tomorrow night and probably won’t be good company afterward. Rain check?*

I hit send before I could second-guess myself.

My phone buzzed almost immediately.

*Of course! I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking about your work schedule. How about this weekend instead? Saturday night? I promise it’ll be worth the wait.*

The confidence in that last line made my stomach flip.

*Saturday sounds perfect.*

*Can’t wait. Sweet dreams, beautiful.*

I set the phone aside and caught Kira grinning at me like she’d just won the lottery.

"What?" I demanded.

"Nothing. You’re just glowing again. It’s cute."

"I am not glowing."

"You’re totally glowing, Olivia. Don’t deny it."

I laughed, chasing her away from the bathroom.

After my bath, I quickly dried off and headed to my room. Kira was already in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

I went straight to my closet to find what to wear.

"What are you making?" I called out, pulling on jeans and a simple sweater.

"Spaghetti and sauce from a jar!" Kira called back cheerfully. "It’s gourmet compared to what we’ve been eating."

I’d just finished getting dressed when I spotted the beautiful flower by my bedside and cursed loudly, smacking my forehead with my palm.

"Shit! I forgot!"

"Forgot what?" Kira’s asked from the kitchen.

"Nothing!" I called back.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Why do I keep forgetting the Karaoke bar? It’s all Maxwell Wellington’s fault. If he hadn’t taken over my life in a stressfully horrible way, I wouldn’t be forgetting something as important as this.

"I need to check that security footage." I murmured to myself, "I need to know who this guy is."

I checked the time - 8 PM - perfect! I grabbed my jacket and hurried from the room, heading toward the door. "I’m going to run to the store real quick!"

"For what?"

"I’ll be back in an hour. I need to get something!" I called, already closing the door behind me.

I quickly hailed a cab that’ll take me straight to the Karaoke bar. Today, I’ll finally know who this mysterious stranger is and one complicated problem in my life will be solved.

*Then maybe I’ll know why my body responds to him like he was some kind of drug?* I thought to myself.

And honestly, that was the part that scared me most. The fact that I was so drawn to him, so affected by him like I’d inhaled some kind of love powder. The rational part of my brain that should be terrified, that should have called the police, screamed for help, confided in someone was actually used to encourage him further. I’d allowed him come close, allowed him touch me, fuck me, and instead of running away, I’d screamed for more.

*You’re losing your mind, Olivia. This is not normal behavior.*

The karaoke bar was a little busy when I entered. I pushed through the crowd, looking for the teenager I’d spoken with before. When I didn’t see him, I decided to ask the manager.

"Excuse me!" I called to one of the bartenders. "Is the manager here?"

"Back office!" the bartender shouted over the noise, pointing toward a door marked ’Staff Only.’

I made my way through the crowd and knocked on the office door.

"Come in!"

The manager looked up from a paperwork as I entered. "Hey, how can I help you?"

"Umm, hi. I was here Saturday night, and I requested to see the CCTV footage. A teenager told me to stop by later?"

"Oh, Peter? He told me about it. He mentioned a girl needed the footage from Saturday?"

"Yes, exactly. Did you manage to pull it up?" I asked hopefully.

His expression shifted, "Well, that’s the weird thing. I went to check the system yesterday morning, and..."

My heart started beating faster. "And?"

"The footage is gone. Not just deleted - it’s like it never existed. The whole system was wiped clean for that entire night."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "What do you mean wiped clean?"

"I mean someone hacked our security system and erased everything from Saturday night. They left no traces. Our IT guy said whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing."

The room felt like it was spinning. "That’s... that’s impossible. Who would do something like that?"

He shrugged, but his expression was still troubled. "In my fifteen years running this place, I’ve never seen anything like it. Someone really didn’t want that footage getting out. Whatever happened here Saturday night, somebody with serious tech skills wanted it buried."

I gripped the edge of his desk, trying to process what he was telling me. "Are you sure it wasn’t just a system malfunction?"

"It wasn’t." Then he leaned forward. "Look, I don’t know what kind of situation you’re mixed up in, but maybe you should let this go. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure no one could identify them."

My hands were shaking as I thanked him and left the office. The crowd in the main bar felt suffocating now, voices too loud, music too aggressive. I pushed through to the exit, desperate for fresh air.

*Who the hell was this guy?*

The thought kept repeating in my mind as I walked down the street. This guy was clearly someone with resources, with technical knowledge, with the ability to hack security systems and erase digital evidence like he was deleting a text message.

*This was someone dangerous.*

The realization hit me harder as i remembered he had sent me a message that same night. A message I couldn’t reply to no matter how had I’d tried. Was he a hacker? A nerdy tech bro? Does he track my every movement? Does he watch me through an invisible camera in his dark room? Because how the hell could this guy destroy an entire footage without any hope of restoration?

All this time, I’d been thinking of him as my mysterious stranger, seductive, maybe a little unhinged. But a man who could make security footage disappear without a trace? That wasn’t just unstable - that was genuinely terrifying.

I was so lost in my thoughts, so overwhelmed by the implications of what I’d just learned, that I didn’t notice the footsteps behind me. Didn’t realize I was being followed until it was too late.

The hand that grabbed me was strong and completely ruthless. Before I could scream, another hand clamped over my mouth, and I was being dragged backward into the narrow alley between two buildings.

My back hit the brick wall hard enough to knock the breath out of me. The hands holding me were iron-strong, pinning me against the rough surface with no possibility of escape.

"What the fuck do you think you’re doing?" The voice was low, harsh, and filled with barely controlled rage. It was whispered directly against my neck, the breath hot and angry against my skin.

*Oh God. Oh God, it’s him.*