Chapter 317

Olivia

“So, Miss, you say someone pushed you from behind?” the portly police officer asked me, jotting notes onto a tiny notepad.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice more shaky than I would’ve liked. “But I didn’t see his face, only a hood. He was quick, and by the time we had a chance to look, he vanished.”

The police took down the rest of our statements, then proceeded to comb the area. Two other officers climbed the monument, their flashlights cutting through the growing darkness. I hoped beyond hope that they would come back down with the hooded man in handcuffs, discovering that it was all a freak incident caused by a crazy person.

But it was all for nothing. After an exhaustive search, the police came back to us empty-handed. No signs of the hooded man, and no witnesses to the incident either.

“We’ve swept the area,” one officer reported, holstering his flashlight. “There’s no trace of anyone matching the description you’ve given. And sadly, none of the tourists saw anything unusual, either.”

“Are you serious?” Nathan clenched his jaw, his hand tightening around mine. “My Luna could have seriously been hurt!”

“I understand your concerns, Sir,” the officer replied, his tone measured and even. “Unfortunately, sometimes in cities, crazy people try to do horrible things for no reason. It’s just a fact of life.”

Nathan’s eyes met mine, and though neither of us said a word, I knew we were both wrestling with the grim reality laid out by the officer. It was true; urban life came with its own set of hazards, but knowing that didn’t make the experience any less unsettling.

“Would you like us to escort you back to your hotel?” another officer offered, sensing our unease.

Nathan looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded. “Yes, thank you. That would make us feel safer.”

The drive back to the hotel was a blur. I sat in the backseat of the police car, sandwiched between Nathan and an officer. My gaze stayed fixed on the passing cityscape, but my thoughts were a swirling mess of fear, relief, and lingering doubts.

Finally, we arrived at the hotel. The officers waited until we were safely inside the lobby before leaving us with a final piece of advice. “Take care and be vigilant. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, don’t hesitate to call us.”

“Thank you, officers,” Nathan said, shaking their hands. “We really appreciate your help tonight.”

…

The moment we stepped into the hotel room, Nathan shut the door behind us and threw the deadbolt into place. His eyes were stormy, filled with a mixture of concern and frustration, much different from the calm and collected Alpha he had been in front of the police.

“We should go home, Olivia,” he said, his voice firm and filled with worry. “Come on. Let’s pack. If we hurry, we can be home by nine.”

I sighed, my own worries buzzing at the back of my mind. “Nathan, I get it. I was scared too, but that doesn’t mean we have to pack up and leave. Plus, it’s rush hour. The traffic will be a hellscape.”

“But it’s not safe here,” he urged. “You heard what the officer said: no traces, and nobody saw anything. That means this person was good, maybe too good. It could be someone after us. Did you think about that?”

I met his gaze, the heaviness of the moment settling between us. “Yes, I did. But we can’t let one person ruin what little time we have to be ourselves. We need this, Nathan. We need to remember why we fight so hard every day.”

His eyes flickered with regret, his shoulders dropping a little. “I know, I know we do. But what if—”

“The twins are fine,” I interrupted, sensing his next line of thought. “They’re with Angela. She’d call us in a heartbeat if anything was wrong. We can go home in the morning, but for tonight, let’s just...be.”

Nathan looked at me, his eyes searching my face as if trying to weigh the sincerity of my words. I knew what he was feeling; the invisible pull between responsibility and the fleeting moments of reprieve that life occasionally offered.

He sighed, finally breaking eye contact to stare at the floor. “Alright, we’ll stay. But I want to stay in the room tonight, just to be safe. And damn, I was really hoping to take you out for dinner, too.”

A smile broke across my face, relieving some of the tension that had gripped me since the incident. “It’s nice in here,” I said softly, crossing the space between us to wrap my arms around him. “We can spend all night in here and I’ll be happy.”

For a moment, we stood there, lost in the comforting familiarity of each other’s embrace.

Nathan pulled back slightly to look into my eyes. “You’re sure about this?” he asked, a hint of vulnerability showing through his usually confident demeanor.

I nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. One crazy guy on a monument, probably just a drug addict or someone wanting to hurt someone else, shouldn’t get in the way of our chance to spend some time alone together.”

He smiled then, a genuine smile that reached his eyes and melted away the last traces of doubt. “Okay, Olivia. We’ll stay. But let’s make the most of tonight, alright? No worrying, no fighting, just us.”

“Just us,” I echoed.

After some time spent in the pool, Nathan ordered room service—our usual comfort food of burgers and fries—and we decided to make it a movie night. There was something reassuring about the normality of it all. A night in, just the two of us, cocooned from the chaos that had seemingly followed us.

As the opening credits rolled, we settled into the plush hotel bed, the smell of fries and ketchup wafting through the room. For a moment, I almost forgot about the stranger on the monument steps, the dark cloud hanging over our lives, the uncertainties, and the disputes we’d had in the recent past.

Right now, it was just Nathan and me and our makeshift movie night.

“Remember when we used to do this back in high school?” I mused, my head resting against his shoulder. “Those crappy movies on my dad’s old laptop?”

Nathan chuckled. “And that rickety old sofa that you swore was more comfortable than it looked.”

“I still stand by that,” I defended, playfully nudging him. “That sofa was a gem.”

He grinned, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. “Just like you.”

We returned our focus to the movie, but my mind couldn’t fully engage. The intrusion on the monument had left a residue of tension that I couldn’t easily shake off. I sensed the same unease in Nathan. His arm, draped around my shoulder, felt a little taut, as if he was still on alert.

That was when we heard it. A knock on the door.

Both of us froze, our eyes meeting in a silent exchange. The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted, the unspoken fears bubbling up to the surface.

“Did you—uh, did you order something else?” I asked, my voice faltering.

“No,” Nathan said, his gaze never leaving the door. “Did you?”

I shook my head. “No. No, I didn’t.”