His Dangerous Love On Ice Chapter 59: Olive's Pov

The second I stepped into the room, Hunter was flanking beside me.

He'd shown up at my apartment earlier—uninvited, somehow knowing my address even though I'd never given it to him. Probably got it from Mom. He'd insisted I come to this party with him, and I'd thrown every excuse I could think of at him. None of them were enough to dissuade someone as stubborn as Hunter.

I'd asked him why. Why he wanted me here when I was still nursing a broken heart, when the last thing I wanted was to see Cole propose to someone else.

But that was only half the truth.

I was avoiding Zane.

I didn't want to look at him. Didn't want to feel whatever it was that happened when our eyes met. And I was furious that he hadn't called, hadn't texted since that morning in his home when he'd called me weak.

So that was the bigger reason not to come.

But Hunter had looked at me with unusual seriousness and said, "You need to show Cole one last time that you're fucking incredible. Do you even know what it means to bag a woman like you? If you weren't my stepsister—"

I'd thrown a pillow at him and we'd both laughed, and somehow in that moment, I'd forgiven him for selling me out to Zane in the first place.

Now here I was, standing in a party meant for elites.

It wasn't like I'd never been to events like this. Living with Grayson meant elite parties were normal. Expected, even.

But this was different because somehow my entire life had become tangled up in this one.

"Oh, he's staring at you." Hunter's voice cut through my thoughts. "You want to go see him?"

I turned to look at him, surprised. "Shouldn't you be angry that I'm dating Zane? I thought you hated him."

He shrugged. "It's the first time I've seen you actually happy in years. Look at you. When you were with my shitty-ass best friend, he didn't treat you right. And I was too dumb and too blind to see it." He paused. "But now? I don't know. Zane makes you happy. And I really want to see you happy."

The sincerity in his voice stunned me.

"So now you think Cole sucks?"

I was trying to ignore the heated gaze I could feel burning into me from across the room.

"I cut him off in Chicago after I heard what he did to you." Hunter's expression went dark. "I never knew. About any of it. And I'm sorry."

"Thanks," I said quietly. "Now let's just watch this disaster unfold and hope it doesn't get worse."

For a brief second, I glanced back toward where I knew Zane was standing.

Our eyes connected.

My heart rate spiked. My stomach tightened. My breath caught in my ribcage like I'd forgotten how to inhale properly.

It was overwhelming, and it took everything in me to look away. To follow Hunter to our seats and pretend I was fine.

The second we sat down, my phone buzzed.

A text from Mom inviting me to a family celebration for Hunter. Explaining in detail that Grayson would be so happy to see me, that he missed me, that I should be there for Hunter. That Grand Amelia would be there too, along with my annoying cousins—the last people on earth I wanted to see.

I dropped my phone with a sigh.

"Message from Diane?" Hunter asked, though his eyes were fixed on the scene in front of us where Cole had taken the microphone.

"Yes. And I'm not going."

"I wouldn't force you on that."

He patted my shoulder and we both fell silent.

I'd been intentionally avoiding Cole's gaze, but it was impossible. He was addressing Sophia, supposedly talking to her, but his eyes kept finding me. Staring at me, then back at her, then back at me.

My heart tugged painfully.

"He's really a son of a bitch," Hunter muttered. "Why can't anyone else see how full of shit he sounds?"

"...and finally," Cole's voice rang through the room, "all my life, I've always wanted a partner. One who shows me that everything is possible. That I can achieve my dreams, my goals, break through every obstacle set before me. And Sophia did that. My shield. My rock."

He paused, his eyes scanning the room until they landed directly on me.

"I love you so much, Sophia. And today—or yesterday, or the very moment I met you—without having to spend two years of my life figuring it out, I realized you're the one for me."

The words hit like a slap.

Two years. He'd spent two years with me and never realized. But with Sophia? Instantly.

The message was clear. I'd never been enough. Never been the one. Just a tool. A stepping stone to push him forward.

I watched him walk toward Sophia.

I'd anticipated this. Expected him to propose tonight. Expected it not to hurt, not to make me feel anything except relief that I'd escaped.

But the second I saw him drop to one knee, the second those words left his mouth—words I'd once desperately wanted to hear from him—something sharp broke inside me.

"Sophia Mercer, will you do me the honor of becoming mine?"

His eyes were filled with intensity. Too real. Too convincing.

And I wondered, with a sick feeling in my stomach, if he'd ever loved me at all.

"Yes! Cole Maddox, I will marry you. God, yes!"

Sophia screamed, tears streaming down her face. The ring slipped from her trembling fingers and Cole caught it, sliding it onto her hand before she threw herself at him. Her body crashed against his, arms wrapping around him so tightly it looked like she'd never let go.

And in between the embrace, Cole's eyes found mine again.

He was hugging her. Kissing her. But he was staring at me.

Making sure I saw. Making sure I understood.

For a second, my vision went blurry. Then pitch black.

Because I was trying so hard to hold back tears. Trying not to let the image burn itself permanently into my brain.

I'd thought I was healed. Thought I'd become the girl who could walk into a room and be seen for who she really was.

And maybe I had been seen. Seen by Zane that first time I'd stared at him across that magazine photo. Seen when I'd watched him play hockey. Seen that first night in Chicago when everything changed. Seen when he'd claimed me in front of everyone at that party—

"Olive."

A voice called my name. Concerned. Scared.

"Olive!"

This time it was sharp. Urgent. Enough to snap me out of my spiral.

My eyes flew open and I turned to stare at Hunter, but I could feel it—everyone in the room was staring at me.

I chose to ignore them.

"Olive." Hunter's voice dropped to a whisper, and he wasn't even looking at me anymore. His eyes were fixed on something above us. "The screen. Look at the fucking screen."

I followed his gaze to the massive display mounted on the wall.

And I froze.

Stunned. Shocked. Unable to process what I was seeing.

Because I never believed—never in a million years believed—that something like this could happen to me.