Chapter 423: Missing
Frederick’s POV
It was almost evening, and still no sign of Olivia.
She hadn’t shown up since she stormed off yesterday. At first, I thought she just needed a little time, that she’d calm down and come back on her own. She didn’t even need to apologize; just come back. But she didn’t.
My eyes drifted to the wall clock. It’s five p.m. already. Nothing. Not a single glimpse of her.
"Should I call her?" I muttered under my breath. But my pride tightened in my chest. No. She was the one who should be apologizing. She was the one who accused me of things she didn’t understand.
She had been jealous. Acting jealous.
But then... she wasn’t wrong.
I rubbed a hand over my face. Olivia had been right about my interest in Selene, even when I tried to pretend otherwise. And now that Selene and I had crossed that line—now that we’d had sex—I didn’t even know what to do with myself.
Should I follow Selene’s suggestion and act like it never happened? Go back to Olivia, fulfill the prophecy like I’m supposed to? That’s what I’d been thinking since last night. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t get Selene out of my head.
And it’s not just me.
She’s been avoiding me all day.
She hasn’t left her room once. Not a sound from behind that door. It makes me wonder—does she regret it so much that she can’t even look at me now?
And what did she mean when she said she "has a man"?
My brow furrowed deeply. Of course she would. A woman like Selene—so devastatingly beautiful—men should be lining up for her. Yet she never let them touch her. Until me. And now she dares call it a mistake.
I leaned back, staring at the ceiling, my chest tight with questions.
Finally, I grabbed my phone and dialed Olivia’s number.
"Pick up," I muttered under my breath, pacing across the room. The line rang once, twice—then cut off. The number you are trying to reach is switched off.
I froze, staring at the screen. Switched off? Olivia never switched off her phone.
My jaw tightened. Fine. If she wouldn’t answer me, I’d find out another way. I scrolled down my contacts and pressed Calvin’s name.
He answered on the second ring, his voice sharp and impatient. "What do you want, Frederick?"
I clenched my teeth, ignoring his tone. "Is Olivia home?"
There was a pause, then his voice came back annoyed and angry. "No. She’s not here."
Before I could ask anything else, he ended the call.
I lowered the phone slowly, my chest burning with frustration.
Where the hell was she?
My mind twisted with ugly thoughts. Was she with the triplets? Had she gone crawling back to them after everything?
The idea made something black coil inside me.
"Did she return to them?" I muttered to myself, pacing harder now. The thought of her with them gnawed at me like fire in my veins.
Jealousy. Pure, violent jealousy.
I scrolled again and dialed Lennox’s number. The call connected, and Lennox’s rough voice bit first. "What now?"
"Where is Olivia?" I barked. "Why are you not letting her go? Do you want her dead? You know the blood vow—if she doesn’t end up with me, she could die. Why is she with you?"
There was a beat of silence. Then Lennox’s voice snapped, angry. "She’s not here, Frederick. Don’t accuse us. We didn’t take her."
Levi cut in, calm but tense. "Olivia has been avoiding us. We don’t know where she went."
My heart thudded. She wasn’t with them. She wasn’t at home. Her phone switched off.
"Then where is she?" I demanded, but the call grew quiet. No one had an answer.
Lennox cursed and hung up the call.
My frown deepened as I stared at the phone. Were they lying? Olivia had to be either at her home or with the triplets. If she wasn’t in either place, where could she be, and why was her number switched off?
My worry increased, and instead of thinking of a way to get to Olivia, my feet carried me before I even thought about it to Selene’s room.
I pushed the door open without knocking. She sat on the bed, legs crossed, a book open in her lap. Her head lifted fast, her eyes narrowing with annoyance when she saw me.
"Don’t you knock?" she snapped, snapping the book shut.
I ignored the rudeness in her tone, closing the door behind me. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I’m fine," she said quickly, too quickly, her voice tight. "You don’t have to check on me."
Her words only made me step closer. She shifted back, pressing into the headboard, her knuckles pale around the book.
"Selene," I murmured, my voice low and full of worry, which was unlike me. I couldn’t believe I, Frederick, whom women threw themselves after, who on a normal day wouldn’t care about what Selene said, who would be happy that she saw it as a mistake so she wouldn’t bother me, was actually acting this way. "Why are you avoiding me? What are you running from?"
"I’m not running," she said sharply, but her eyes darted away. "I just... I don’t want this to happen again. What happened last night—it was a mistake. I told you."
The word mistake vexed me more. My jaw tightened as I reached for the book in her lap and tossed it aside. She gasped, glaring up at me, but the tremble in her lips betrayed her anger.
"Don’t call it that," I hissed. "You wanted me as much as I wanted you."
"I didn’t," she whispered, but her body betrayed her. Her breathing quickened, her thighs pressed tight together, her chest rose fast.
"Liar," I growled. My hand slid to her jaw, tilting her face up. She tried to push me away, her palms flat against my chest, but I caught her wrists, pinning them to the bed.
"Frederick—stop. Please."
Her words were soft, weak, and breaking under the tension. Annoyed, I crushed my mouth against hers before she could finish, the kiss rough, desperate, pulling the fight right out of her. She struggled for a moment, squirming beneath me, her muffled protests brushing against my lips.
But then her resistance stopped. Her mouth opened, letting me in. Her wrists, once straining against my grip, trembled and then stilled. A moan slipped out of her throat, betraying her.
I deepened the kiss, fury and hunger tangled together, and when I finally let her wrists go, she didn’t push me away. Her hands gripped my shirt instead, pulling me closer.
As I deepened the kiss, a thought hit me and made me feel guilty.
Olivia was still missing, and here I was, kissing Selene like she didn’t exist. What if she walked in right now? What would she see? What would she think of me?