Damion took that as confirmation. His brows lifted slightly before he settled into a knowing smirk.
So this bastard was finally getting affected?
After everything Ellie had done for him—after all the times he had pushed her away, scolded her, ignored her—now, watching her get taken by someone else was finally setting him on fire?
It had been painful to witness.
But now? Now, watching Sawyer lose his mind over the fear of her getting taken away by another man was almost poetic.
It wasn’t easy seeing a friend this pissed off and jealous, but considering how Sawyer had tormented Ellie for so long, Damion could barely hold back his laughter.
"Good luck, brother," he said smoothly. "Maybe next time, you can come to her rescue faster. This time, someone else took the chance and became Ellie’s hero."
Sawyer yanked the phone from his ear and hurled it across the room. It crashed against the wall and shattered.
Meanwhile, Damian finally lost it. His shoulders shook with laughter, eyes squeezed shut as he burst into laughter.
Still chuckling, he pulled out his phone and called his wife, Kara.
An hour later, the news had spread like wildfire.
All of Sawyer’s friends knew of Ellie, Sawyer and Jeremy’s love triangle. Mason, Ana, Triston, Stella, Jane, Raiden—all of them. And, of course, quickly a bet was placed.
How fast would Sawyer win Ellie back?
Billionaire men were infamous for snatching back their women at all costs.
Mason had taken a few months after losing Ana.
Raiden? Only a few weeks.
Damian? Well, he was a god among them all—he’d spent ten years crushing on Kara but married her within twenty four hours of her giving up on her crush.
Now, with Sawyer, the stakes were even higher.
After all, the man had repeatedly claimed he was waiting for Olivia and Ellie was just a temporary placeholder. But now that Olivia was back, he wasn’t making any moves on her. Instead, he was losing his mind over Ellie.
Some bet it would take a day. Some said a week.
A few doubted it would ever happen at all—especially now that Jeremy was in the picture and Ellie had seemingly moved on.
But Sawyer finding out about this bet?
That was a conversation for drinks later that night.
***
That evening, Ellie waited outside the event venue until nightfall.
Since Jeremy had gotten her this job, she didn’t want to leave without informing him first. She knew he was busy, so rather than interrupt him during work, she sat outside patiently, waiting for his call.
When the show finally ended, Jeremy phoned her, and they met up. As he drove her home, she told him everything—about Olivia, about her mother, about the situation that had spiraled out of control.
Jeremy’s hands tightened on the wheel, his expression darkening. "Do you want me to go over there and knock some sense into her?" he asked, already looking like he was ready to turn the car around.
Ellie shook her head. Jeremy was just a small model—picking a fight with Olivia could land him in trouble, and she didn’t want that. "It’s not worth it," she said gently.
He exhaled sharply, gripping the wheel a little tighter before finally nodding. "Fine. But if she messes with you again, I’m not letting it slide."