I hated her. And I would continue to till the day I died.

I didn't care if she fell off a cliff or drank fire. I was probably the one who pushed her or gave her the fire. The face I had seen so closely once upon a time, now served no purpose other than churning acid in my stomach.

Liliana Garza could burn in hell for all I cared.

Grabbing my hair in my hands, I shuddered against the chilly sea breeze that blew all around me. The white azalea flowers bobbed beside my head, brushing against my cheeks. They reminded me of the night Olivia and I spent by them.

Oddly, it seemed to calm me.

I heard the door creaking open behind me and I groaned. "Fuck off, Liliana, you sick sadist, or I swear to God, I will file a restraining order against you."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure I'm not that bad," a soft, honey-like voice chided, butterflies exploding in my stomach.

Olivia had found me sulking in the balcony of my room. She stepped in the sunlight, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the rays. Squinting at me, she tsk-ed loudly before sitting down next to me.

"I wasn't sure you'd want me here," she said. I knew it was a careful question disguised as a statement. She needed to know I needed her.

"We have an eerie talent for finding each other, you know that?" I laughed dryly.

Olivia's cheeks heated to a bright shade of pink, her beautiful black hair swaying in the wind and framing her smile. "I guess we do."

We sat in silence for a while. I had no idea how long we were there, listening to the gentle crashing of the waves against the beach. My heart beat was erratic with Olivia so close to me, our shoulders were touching.

It set my skin on fire but I sealed my lips shut and settled to sneaking stolen sights of her. She looked calm but I knew the turmoil in her soul. Whoever that Noah guy was, he wasn't a good ghost of her past.

Just like Liliana.

My heart gripped in terror and turned pleadingly towards Olivia. "Move in with me."

Her startled eyes blinked rapidly in my direction before I realised what I had said. I shook my head, waving to clear the air. "That came out wrong. What I meant was, you could move into this room. With me."

She must've seen the sincerity in them because she calmed down. Olivia was never someone to be nervous but she was fidgeting with her fingers. "Dan. . . you know Evelyn won't have it."

Sighing in exasperation, I slapped my hands on my thighs. I pushed myself up and took long, panicked strides to the end of the marble balcony. Olivia scrambled up to join me, her hands running a soothing pattern on my back.

"Why the fuck does she have to know?" My voice was cracking; I didn't want to cry. Not in front of Olivia. Not now. Favian's favourite poems and the gloomy sky were my companions. Not Olivia. Not now.

"Will you tell me what happened?" She asked, her body pressed against mine, her palm on my back. I could feel her breath on my bare arms and my throat tightened. It had been a while since someone had had that effect on my voice.

I took a deep breath, knowing I would throw up otherwise. Favian deserved to be spoken about someday. He wasn't my secret to keep.

Turning to face Olivia, I gripped her face in my hands. I wanted to lean over and take her lips as mine but she was vulnerable. I was vulnerable. It would be wrong to mess with our heads. Not now.

"You know I'm a racer, right?"

She nodded, gravely, her beautiful eyes trained on me. "Yes. Formula 1."

I clenched my jaw before looking out over the ocean. "My best friend and I joined the team together. His name was Favian. Favian Gonzales."

"Was?"

"Was. Favian, Joshua, and I were childhood best friends. Joshua went on to replace his father as the next chocolate mogul, but Favian and I never had parents, or a home. They were killed in a street gang incident and we had to flee with my grandfather."

I saw Olivia's eyes sparkling with unshed tears and it broke my heart. "Don't," I begged. She nodded, swiping at her eyes, encouraging me to talk. She held on tighter to my hands.

"I met Liliana when we were inducted into the team. She was the sweetest soul I'd known back then. She was calm and down-to-earth. I loved her, I loved her with my heart. We were even engaged in a matter of months.

"And then it all came crashing down on me. Harvey Baltimore, our rival racer, crashed Favian's car accidentally. It was impossible; he couldn't have known Favian's tactics. It was then I saw the many colours of Liliana." I could hear the bitterness in my words; I didn't like it. I wanted to stop but I ploughed on.

"One of them included cheating before our wedding with Harvey Baltimore. Apparently, they'd been going out for quite some time, all while I was busy being in love with her. It was how Harvey had known Favian's play strategy, ultimately killing him.

"I had found them in a very compromising situation in the palace lawns, the night before we were to be married. I hadn't uttered a single word when they didn't see me. I turned on my heel and walked away. The next day, I dressed up and stood in front of the altar for her.

"Liliana had waltzed in, like a graceful swan, as if she hadn't just been in the arms of another man. It felt like a tight slap to my face when she smiled at me. All I could see then was a darkness in her that I hadn't seen before.

"And so, in front of two hundred guests, thirty reporters and one very wrinkled officiator, I had stuck out my middle finger to my almost-wife. I had thrown the bouquet of roses out of her hands, tore open my diamond cufflinks, and stomped down the steps.

"She had come running after me, crying, but I had scratched the "Just Married" sign out of the rear of my Porsche and driven out of there faster than lightening."

Olivia didn't let me say anything more. She pulled me towards her, burying her head in my chest. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, her silent tears and gentle waves of the ocean, the only sounds wrapping us up.

I held her close to me, her warmth shooting sparks through my body. I rubbed her back gently but all I could think about was how she'd reacted to my story. She'd never judged me.

Her eyes never said Favian wasn't here because of me. That's what everyone else said, that's what the tabloids said. Everyone accused me, but Olivia? Why was she so difficult for me to understand?

And then, she surprised me again. "It was never your fault, Dan. Favian would never want you to blame yourself, right?" Her dark pupils were wide with care, no pity, no sympathy. Just plain and pure empathy.

At that moment, I knew I wasn't letting her go. I didn't care what Evelyn said, I didn't care was Liliana threatened me with. Olivia had captured me, heart and soul, and it would take the force of a thousand armies to take me away from her.

I gently brushed a loose strand of raven hair away from her beautifully bright face. Placing a finger under her chin, I tipped her face up. "Olivet," I said, my eyes holding on to hers. Her breath hitched, hearing her name.

"What did he do to you?" I asked and immediately regretted it. Olivia stiffened in response, goosebumps breaking over her skin. Her eyes lost their glaze and I could feel her walls building back up. She stepped out of my embrace and my arms felt cold, barren.

"Nothing, it was nothing," she muttered, quietly, moving further away.

I wasn't letting her leave just when we had seen each other. Not now. "Olivia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry but. . . it didn't feel like it was nothing."

Her eyes snapped up, resentment blazing in them. It tore through my chest, this uneasy feeling that she was going to toss me aside. Her mouth opened but her words were lost.

There was no longer the calm lapping of the waves. No gentle breeze in the air. There was only chaos, a clamouring of voices calling my name, a thousand cameras snapping at my balcony.

Olivia fell back, her eyes worried and cautious. She inched away from the edge and even though I hadn't wanted to accept it, I knew they were here. I would never have a normal life, a moment of peace. That was my curse, for having my best friend's blood on my hands.

The executioners had arrived. The paparazzi had cornered me. And I had no choice but to fight like I had taught myself to.