Sylas knocked on the door of a duplex.

It wasnt long before a woman with caramel skin came to the door. She looked more than a little bit sweaty, as though she had just been in the middle of a truly intense workout.

But before she could react, the door was pushed in and something was pressed against her lips.

Her eyes went wide, but her struggle was futile as she was toyed with in ways and touched in places she hadnt experienced in too long.

Repressed lust was one thing, but being raped was another matter entirely. She had no desire to be treated this way, and her lust was easily overwhelmed by her anger, humiliation, and fear.

Wasnt she being monitored?! Where were those bastards now?!

Sylas kicked her door closed, and the despair seemed to set in for Olivia, only for the sensations to suddenly stop coming in a wave.

She was about to scream, but one hand was immediately placed firmly over her mouth and the other constricted her throat. What she thought would have been a high-pitched screech became nothing more than a stifled grunt and a bid for air.

It was only now that Olivia finally got a good look at who her assailant was. Toward Sylas appearance, there was only more confusion and even greater anger on top of that.

This bastard!

Have you calmed down now? Good.

He released Olivias mouth and throat, but before she could say anything, he spoke first.

If you dont want to be choked again, dont speak. I had to do that just now or else there would be trouble. Now, open your garage for me.

Olivias anger finally became something closer to reason. She wasnt exactly a genius, but it didnt take one to understand Sylas intentions.

Okay.

The garage was opened, and Sylas pulled the black SUV into it.

Did you really have to pinch my ass like that? Olivia asked through gritted teeth. Sylas had only taken more advantage of her just now, and she truthfully didnt know how to feel about it.

Sylas was definitely her type, at least in the looks department. But she had long since crossed him off her list because of Cassarae.

It didnt matter how long ago it was; you dont just cry over things from ten years ago that youve supposedly gotten over. Olivia wasnt a fool. If she wanted to stay friends with Cassarae, she wouldnt touch Sylas with a ten-foot pole.

I only did what was necessary. Well have to waste about another two hours now Sylas quickly filled Olivia in on the plan. The two hours they needed to kill was the time it would take for the mother-son duo to finish up at the amusement park.

Olivia scoffed. You want them to think that youve been railing me for a whole two hours? Youre overestimating your stamina, arent you?

Sylas didnt reply, moving into her kitchen and beginning to make himself something to eat.

Olivia rolled her eyes. She remembered that Cassarae said that Sylas might not show it, but he was the pettiest man in the world. Now, she was beginning to see that.

All she did was scam him out of a little bit of money; was there a need for all of this?

He had just stolen a kiss from her and felt up her ass. What more payment did he need?

She clicked her tongue, shaking her head. She was more than a little annoyed, but there wasnt much she could do about it.

A glint lit in her eyes and she went upstairs.

She put on a little show for her monitors, taking a shower, swapping out of her workout clothes, putting her hair into a bun, and slipping on her favorite set of red lingerie.

Then, seemingly remembering something, she hurried to close the curtains.

That should be enough to paint the picture, she thought to herself.

After this, she went downstairs to find that Sylas was still frying eggs. Her lip couldnt help but twitch. There had been at least 18 eggs in her fridge, and now they were all gone.

More infuriatingly, Sylas only gave her lingerie a single glance, nodded, and then went back to cooking. It was as though he was acknowledging she did a good job, but didnt care enough to say much more.

Olivia could only sit on the counter, watching him eat her food.

Does this guy have a bottomless stomach or something?

After a long while, Olivia realized that Sylas had no intention of striking up a conversation with her. So, she spoke first.

So, you dated my bestie?

Yes.

Olivia was taken aback by the casual response. She had expected Sylas to either ignore her or maybe become embarrassed. Sometimes stoic guys tended to have at least one button that she could push.

And howd that end?

It ended by mistake. It wont happen again.

Again?! Olivia almost stumbled out of her seat. How had she missed so much already? You two are back together already?

Already? Sylas raised an eyebrow.

Well, I assumed it would happen eventually. Old flames dont go out that easily.

Mm. Sylas nodded.

Olivia blinked. Sometimes she really hated men. Where were the details? Where were the sparks? Where was the tea?!

Soooo? Howd it happen?

I just told her that she would be mine.

Olivias lip twitched.

Depending on what Sylas meant by that, it could either be super romantic or super rapey. She had no idea which one it was by his tone. It could have been the happiest day of their lives, and she still felt like he would describe it exactly like this.

Then tell me something. Why did you break up with her in the first place?

I was confused about something Im not confused about anymore, Sylas replied.

He finished off the last of what was in her fridge, still feeling famished. He realized now that regular food wasnt cutting it. He needed food from sources with high Aether content now.

Standing up, he gestured with a hand. Show me how you were working up a sweat even with your stats.

He was curious. How could Olivia be sweating so much? He had come up with several ways to train, but none of them were satisfactory to him.

Although she wasnt very strong compared to him, she should already have too many stats to be satisfied with a normal at-home workout.