His Dangerous Love On Ice Chapter 93: Cole's Pov

My head wouldn't stop spinning the second Sophia finally fell asleep beside me.

I had to keep going, had to keep playing this game perfectly, making her believe every lie that came out of my mouth. She was so easy to manipulate, so desperate to believe that I actually gave a fuck about her beyond what she could do for my career.

But, I had to be careful, I had seen that smart part of her and what her decisions could cause.

Crises. Chaos. Enough to end me if I don’t play my cards right.

But I was waiting for something. A message. The one I'd been checking my phone for every five fucking minutes.

I reached for my phone again, the screen lighting up my face in the dark room, and that's when I saw it.

The image.

Olive. In that goddamn car. Standing beside that vehicle that cost more than she could ever afford, looking absolutely radiant, glowing, getting everything she'd ever wanted while I was stuck here losing, and imagining the night she got fucked in front of me.

My hands tightened around the phone, my knuckles going white, because she was winning and I was losing and that wasn't how this was supposed to go.

She was glowing. Getting better. Moving on like I'd never even mattered.

And I knew there was no way she could afford that car herself. I knew how her family worked, knew her father Walter and her mother Diane, knew they had money but Olive was too stubborn, too independent to ever ask them for help. That's what I'd loved about her when we first started dating. She wouldn't ask for anything. Would just work for everything herself, never relied on anyone, never expected handouts.

That's what made her so easy to control.

But now someone else was giving her things. Zane fucking Mercer was showering her with cars and clothes and everything I should have been giving her if I'd had the money, if my career had taken off the way it was supposed to, and if I wasn’t such a fake-ass, fucking my way through Chicago to rise above other.

Then my phone buzzed again and my heart stopped when I saw it.

An email. From my private investigator..

I didn’t know what the contents were but a smile curved at the top of my lips.

I opened it immediately, barely breathing, and there they were. Pictures. Documents. Information I'd been paying thousands for over the past week

My eyes widened as I read through everything, my pulse racing faster and faster because this was it. This was the ammunition I needed. This was Zane Mercer's deepest, darkest secret laid out in front of me like a gift from god himself.

I couldn't believe what I was reading.

Slowly, so fucking slowly, a smile crept across my face, spreading wider and wider until I was grinning like a maniac in the dark.

This was one of his biggest secrets. The kind of secret that could destroy everything he'd built. The kind of secret that would make Olive hate him, make everyone see him for what he really was.

And I finally had it.

I had something that would make Olive come crawling back to me. Something that would prove to her that Zane Mercer wasn't the knight in shining armor she thought he was. He was just another manipulative bastard, just like everyone said, and now I could prove it.

God was finally working in my favor. After everything I'd suffered through, after watching Olive choose him over me, after losing endorsements and opportunities because Zane fucking Mercer existed, finally something was going my way.

I was smiling, beaming, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Cole?"

Sophia's voice cut through my thoughts and I immediately wiped the smile off my face, turning to look at her with concern instead.

"Is everything alright?" she asked sleepily, propping herself up on one elbow.

"Oh baby," I said smoothly, setting my phone face down on the nightstand. "I'm fine. Just got some news about work."

"What kind of news?" she asked, more awake now, worry creeping into her voice.

I pretended to hesitate, like I didn't want to tell her, like it was too painful to say out loud.

"It's going to break your heart," I said finally.

She sat up fully now, sheet clutched to her chest. "Tell me. Please. You can tell me anything."

I looked at her, at how eager she was to help, how desperate she was to fix whatever was wrong, and I almost felt bad for what I was about to do.

Almost.

But not quite.

"I just found out," I said slowly, letting my voice crack just enough to sound genuine, "that I lost the entire Nike endorsement deal. The one I've been working on for months. The one that was supposed to change everything for my career."

"What?" Sophia gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "No. That's not possible. How?"

I shook my head, forcing my expression into something devastated. "I don't know all the details yet, but my agent said someone higher up in the industry made some calls. Put pressure on Nike. Made them reconsider."

"Who would do that?" she demanded, and I could see the anger starting to build in her eyes.

This was too easy. This was almost boring.

"Who do you think has that kind of power?" I asked quietly. "Who do you think wouldn't want me to succeed? Who do you think sees me as competition?"

I watched as realization dawned on her face, watched as her expression shifted from confusion to shock to rage.

"My brother," she whispered. "You think Zane sabotaged your endorsement deal? That’s impossible, Zane doesn’t even notice you,”

"Yes he does notice someone who is dating his sister, and wouldn’t cause a scandal. I don't just think it, baby," I said, reaching for her hand. "I know it. My agent confirmed it this morning. Zane made calls. Used his connections. Made sure I didn't get that deal."

"That son of a bitch," Sophia hissed, and there it was. The fury I'd been cultivating. "He always does this. Always has to control everything. Always has to be on top."

"I didn't want to tell you," I said, playing the part perfectly. "I know he's your brother. I know family is complicated. But I can't keep lying to you about this now so you don’t have to hear it form anyone. But he's been sabotaging me since the beginning. Since before Olive. He sees me as a threat and he wants me gone."

Sophia's jaw clenched, her whole body going rigid with anger. "This isn't okay. This isn't family rivalry. This is sabotage. This is him destroying your career because he can."

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked, letting defeat creep into my voice. "He's Zane Mercer. He's untouchable. Nobody goes against him and wins."

"I will," Sophia said fiercely, and I had to hide my smile because this was exactly what I wanted. "I'm going to talk to my father. I'm going to make sure Zane faces consequences for this. He can't just ruin people's lives because he feels threatened."

"Sophia, baby, I don't want to cause problems between you and your family—"

"You're not causing anything," she interrupted. "Zane is. And I'm done letting him get away with it."

Perfect.

Absolutely fucking perfect.

I pulled her into my arms, letting her rage against my chest while I smiled over her head into the darkness.

"Thank you," I murmured. "Thank you for believing me. For fighting for us."

"Always," she said fiercely. "We're in this together."

Together. Right. Until I didn't need her anymore.

After Sophia finally calmed down and went back to sleep, I grabbed my phone again, careful not to wake her.

I opened my email, read through the information one more time, memorizing every detail.

Then I started typing the message I'd been crafting for weeks. The one I was finally ready to send.

The game was about to begin.

And this time, I was going to be the one in control.

It felt so fucking good to finally be in charge.