Page 42 of No Mane, No Gain

Chaos turned to leave, pausing at the door. “It won’t. And Tia? I expect that article to disappear by morning. If it doesn’t, our next conversation won’t be nearly this pleasant.”

As he stepped out into the cool night air, worry unraveled in his stomach. He’d been putting off this confrontation for far too long, allowing Tia’s behavior to spiral out of control. It wouldn’t be an instant fix - years of enabling couldn’t be undone in a single night. But it was a start.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from Olive:

Hey, you free to talk? There’s something we need to discuss.

Chaos’s heart sank. She must have seen the article. He quickly typed out a reply:

Yeah, want me to come over?

I’d rather meet you at your place.

As he slid into the back of his waiting car, Chaos steeled himself for another difficult conversation. But this one, at least, he looked forward to. Because at the end of it, Olive would know exactly how he felt about her.

And if he had anything to say about it, she’d never doubt her place in his life again.

TWENTY-ONE

Olive stared at her phone, her stomach churning as she read the headline for the fifth time:

“TECH TYCOON TIED DOWN: CHAOS AMATO ENGAGED TO SOCIALITE VANESSA SINCLAIR”

The article, complete with candid photos of Chaos and a stunning blonde at various events, burned into her retinas. She blinked hard, willing the words to change, but they remained stubbornly in place.

“This can’t be real,” she muttered, scrolling through the gossip piece with trembling fingers. Each word twisted the knife deeper, conjuring images of Chaos and this Vanessa woman laughing together, planning a future that didn’t include her.

Her phone buzzed again – another text from Athena.

Olive? You okay? Talk to me.

Olive took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. Was she okay? Hell no. She typed out a quick response:

Not sure. Processing. Will call you later.

She tossed her phone aside, pacing her living room. The plush carpet muffled her footsteps, but it couldn’t quiet the storm in her mind. Tia’s words from their restaurant encounter echoed in her ears:

“Chaos is just killing time with you. He’s going to marry Vanessa, you know.”

At the time, Olive had brushed it off as jealous posturing. But now? The seed of doubt Tia had planted bloomed into a full-grown jungle of insecurity.

“No,” Olive said aloud, her voice sharp in the quiet apartment. “I’m not doing this. I’m not letting some gossip rag and Tia’s mind games ruin what Chaos and I have.”

She snatched up her phone and sent out a text to Chaos:

Hey, you free to talk? There’s something we need to discuss.

His reply was instant.Yeah, want me to come over?

I’d rather meet you at your place.

She grabbed her keys and purse, determination setting her jaw as she strode to the elevator. She jabbed the button for the parking garage, her foot tapping an impatient rhythm against the floor.

The drive to Chaos’s penthouse passed in a blur of honking horns and flashing lights. Olive’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel as she rehearsed what she’d say. By the time she pulled into the private parking area, her anger had crystallized into a sharp, brittle thing.

She marched to the private elevator, punching in the code Chaos had given her weeks ago. As the car ascended, Olive’s reflection stared back at her from the mirrored walls. Her blue eyes blazed with a mix of hurt and fury, her blonde hair slightly mussed from running her hands through it in frustration.

“You’ve got this,” she told her reflection. “No matter what he says, you deserve the truth.”

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