Phantom: Her Ruthless Villain (Ruthless Triad 5)

Phantom decided to let her go.

Not like back in December, for real this time. He made himself not be crazy and track her down to Uganda or anything else like that. All the small ways he’d figured out how to watch her from afar since they met…he abandoned those as well—even cancelled the Google Alert.

Eventually, hours became days and days became weeks…then months.

He even managed to fake a smile when Mike brought Eric with him to their mom’s birthday dinner in September. And the evening didn’t go terrible—even if his grandma kept on insisting, “This is my last birthday thanks to Hak-kan!” throughout the night.

His dad had already told her that Olivia and Phantom had broken up. Several times. Maybe Olivia had been right about her needing a Psych counsel.

She’d been right about a lot of things—including his grandma’s prophecy not being a thing that could come true.

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Phantom looked up from the cigarette he’d decided to sneak out in the backyard to see Eric.

“I wanted to thank you again for texting me Mike’s number even after what happened with Olivia and give you a hug before I left,” Eric said. “But now that I’m out here, it occurs to me you might not be one of those guys that does hugs. I never got a clear read of where you are on the toxic masculinity spectrum.”

Phantom simply held a hand up and let him know, “Option bro hug all day, son.”

Eric laughed as they clasped hands and clapped each other on the back.

“Well, I hope I see you again. Your grandmother assured me I would. Apparently, Mike and I will be moving in together next year? Something about the world catching a virus and us realizing what’s truly important—Mike wasn’t sure he got the translation right. But she’s a character, isn’t she?”

Phantom almost smiled. Almost. “Yeah, she’s something. You take care of yourself, Eric.”

“You too,” Eric said.

He started to leave but then turned back around. “So you’re smoking now? Olivia never mentioned that. She hates smokers.”

“Yeah, I know. I stopped when I was with her.” He didn’t cop to the rest. How he’d taken the everyday habit down to the occasional stress smoke after meeting her. Just once. And after Thanksgiving….

Well, let’s just say the first thing he did after listening to “Common People” was go down to his local bodega to pick up a fresh pack of cancer sticks. Because he’d thrown away every single backup pack he had when he moved her into his place. He’d known this was his one chance with her, and he hadn’t wanted to fuck it up.

But, of course, he didn’t tell Eric any of that psycho shit. Just said, “Old habits come back hard.”

“Who are you telling?” Eric replied. “I ate waffles and ice cream for three weeks straight after the breakup with Byron. Sugar came hard for me. I’m not sure if I should thank you for that or give you a lecture about vices that shave years off your life.”

Phantom let out a wry chuckle. “You’re welcome either way.”

Eric regarded him with a conflicted expression.

Then he said, “I know I’m Olivia’s best friend first and foremost, but I just….I just want to tell you that I meant what I said that morning. I loved you guys as a couple, and even if she is Gatsby rich, I still can’t believe she chose Garrett over you. I’m really not sure how I’m going to get through the part of the ceremony where they ask if anyone has any objections on Saturday. Also, Kentucky, ugh!”

Phantom more than stilled. He turned into a granite statue as Eric’s words screamed through his mind.

She was getting married. Not to him, like she promised. But to that douchebag.

Married.

Married.

Married.

She would become someone else’s wife. Finally prove to the world that she didn’t belong to him and never had.

“She’s getting married to him? On Saturday?” he asked Eric.

Eric grimaced and seemed to realize out loud, “You didn’t know. I thought maybe—”

Phantom cut him off right there with a shake of his head.

She’d made her decision. He wasn’t going to let it drive him crazy or back into obsession. Not again.

He dropped the cigarette into the glass of baijiu he’d been drinking.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter,” he told Eric.

Then he left out before he could ask any more questions. Or get any more answers that might shatter the block of ice he’d built around his heart.

28

OLIVIA

“Ms. Olivia, your fiancé just got here from New York. He’s downstairs waiting for you,” my father’s housekeeper called through the door.

I paused in the middle of putting on my makeup, then schooled an emotionless expression on my face to match my ice blue empire waist dress.

“Thank you, Juanita. Tell him I’ll be down in just a few moments,” I answered, as polite and reserved as my mother used to be before my father dumped her.