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He squatted down so they were eye to eye She glared at him defiantly and she could see her silence annoyed hi back and forth in front of her “I want you to beg, Olivia I deserve to hear you cry for iveness!”

He stopped and glared at her “How can you simply sit there?” he shouted when she remained silent “I have pictures of you with him, Olivia How could you betray me the way you did? How could you allow another s to ht you?”

“You don’t ownquickness She sucked in a harsh breath but refused to cry out

“Did you enjoy his touch, his hands exploring the sacred areas that belong to me? Did he kiss you and arouse you? Did he take you and use you?” Ethan asked calaze narrohen she didn’t respond “You have defiled yourself and you disgust me,” he sneered

“Then let o!”

“Why would I, Olivia darling? Your lover is dead I’ve taken ain All that remains is to cleanse you of his ain”

Olivia gri with Ethan was pointless His tactics of wiping Paul from her memory would be cruel and painful She hoped he didn’t plan to start “treatht away No o of her love for Paul She didn’t know if he was alive or dead, but he would always live in her heart She would use those ain

“Cat still got your tongue?” Ethan scoffed “What a rare, silent wo forI said Where did that wolared at entle, tiain It will be so e - so innocent, so beautiful We had such a special relationship It was perfect, but then you had to ruin everything by running away I wanted to kill you for escaping I drea the life slip from your body But then I wouldn’t have you anymore, would I? Why did you leave me?”

Olivia blinked away her sudden confusion OneNow he sounded like a wounded little boy He was insane He’d always taken drugs and she’d seen hie and violent fits Was he intoxicated now? He appeared lucid but Ethan had the ability to function under extreme influences Her first reaction was to placate him as she always had but she re free of hi She learned to stand for herself and Paul confir victiht hiht now, then no ould pass her lips She would continue to defy him every day and with every breath

“I hate what you’ve done toto Paul Justice” He pulled out a pocketknife and waved it in front of her When she flinched he set back at me You wanted to hurt me and you did, Olivia You were successful” He severed every plastic cord binding her to the chair “You rippedheart from my chest and squeezed the life out of it Don’t you know it pulsed with passion for you? Your life is otten? Of course you kne I felt, how I yearned for you, and yet you betrayed ave yourself to anotherand dirty toin another e He is dead, Olivia Ha, I see by the flicker in your eyes that his death hurts you Good He’s gone and I will crush you as well You will suffer as I have suffered these many months”

“You’ve suffered?” Olivia retorted in disbelief She couldn’t hold her tongue any longer He’d gloated over her pain and rejoiced over Paul’s death No! No, Paul couldn’t be dead Surely Ethan lied He wanted tosoPaul to deal with later Right now she had to focus on her anger Maybe she was being reckless but she wouldn’t let Ethan get aith bullying her “You haven’t suffered, Ethan You are nothing but a coho hides behind your computer You strike at people like an invisible menace and you steal from them They never realize their enemy has a face because you lock yourself away in a closet You haven’t suffered at all,” she sneered

Ethan’s hand snaked out He buried his fingers in her hair and with a painful grip he forced her to her feet “I don’t like your attitude, Olivia dearest,” he murmured placidly He seemed calm but she could see the wild look in his eyes and the sheen of perspiration on his lip He was losing control

“And I don’t like yours!” Olivia reached out and pushed him hard She was used to Paul’s wall of ained his footing Olivia could tell by the fury on his face that she’d pushed him too far but she couldn’t back do “You’re crazy, Ethan! Do you hear me, you’re crazy! And yes, I love Paul Justice! I danced for him and I sleep in the same bed with him I enjoy his kisses He touched my body and my heart in ways you’ll never reach I hate you, Ethan! I hate you!”

“I will teach you to subain she punched hiht the hit would incapacitate hiet in another strike but his bellow of rage caught her off guard And so did his fist He knocked her to the ground, then his many blows rained down

THIRTEEN