Tangled in Vows (Tangled & Torn #2)

41. Olivia

Chapter 41

Olivia

Anything would be better than what my mind is putting me through.

H olden is supposed to die. Holden has a hit on him.

The words spin in my head without giving me any reprieve. They have ever since he came home last week and told me about it.

I turn in bed, hating that I’m back at my apartment instead of the house I now consider home. Unfortunately, coming here was unavoidable with everything going on.

Footsteps sound in the hallway, and my brain is immediately on high alert.

I’m okay. Everything is going to be okay.

I repeat the mantra over and over until I believe it. I have to believe it.

Voices filter in through the slightly ajar door.

“Thanks so much for stopping by to check on her, Heather.” Evie’s voice is low but loud enough for me to hear. “She’s been beside herself since Holden disappeared.”

“Poor thing, I can imagine. The two of them have been so cute together. Having your other half leave you in any capacity is unimaginable.”

Evie sighs. “Yeah, she’s barely been eating or sleeping, which is why I’m so happy she finally passed out earlier.”

“That’s good.” Heather’s voice is gentle, matching Evie’s tone.

“And you’re sure you’re okay staying here while I run to the store quickly? It shouldn’t take me longer than half an hour. I want to make sure there’s food when she wakes up. They took most of the food the day they moved her into Holden’s house.”

“It’s not a problem at all. Take your time. I’m happy to be here for her.”

“You’re the best, thank you.” Evie pauses. “Oh, I forgot to mention Stormy had an accident in Olivia’s bedroom, so she’s in this guest bedroom.”

“Is Stormy with her?”

“No, I think she sensed something was wrong. I dropped her off at the neighbor’s earlier so Olivia could rest well.”

“Good idea. Animals can be very perceptive.”

“Very true,” Evie says. “Well, I better get going. I’ll be back soon.”

Retreating footsteps slowly vanish, followed by the faint sound of the front door closing.

I inhale deeply and let the breath flow through my lips. My heart is pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs, but I continue to lie here with my eyes closed. The urge to wipe my sweaty palms on the blanket is almost impossible to ignore, but I remain still.

My lids are tired from all the restless sleep in the last few weeks and the nightmares and worries even Holden couldn’t keep away.

Holden.

Please let everything be okay.

The door creaks briefly, and I imagine Heather checking to see if I’m awake. But before I can open my eyes, her footsteps retreat.

Only to return just as quickly.

The door creaks again, and I blink my eyes open, stretching my tired limbs.

Heather comes into focus at the foot of the bed, a sad smile on her face. “Hey, how are you?”

I ignore her question and sniffle. “Do you know where Holden is? Have you heard anything from him at all?”

My voice quivers. My lips tremble. The same way they do every time I imagine something terrible happened to Holden and that I’ll lose him for good this time.

The thought is paralyzing and gut-wrenching.

Heather swallows and comes closer. And then she nods.

No, no, no.

I jolt up to a sitting position. “You have? Where is he? He didn’t come home, and I . . . I got so worried. I can’t lose him, Heather.”

Tears spring to my eyes, and nausea rolls through my stomach.

This is so much worse than anything I’ve ever anticipated.

“I understand that more than I could ever tell you.” She stops several feet away and hands me her phone. “Someone sent me this video. I’ll . . . I’ll give you a moment.”

She walks away, but I keep my eyes glued to the screen where the paused video taunts me with the large circular play button in the middle.

You’ve got this. You can do this. Just press play.

I exhale loudly, trying to gather the courage I need. My hand shakes uncontrollably, but I finally push the button.

In the video, Holden is on an old, abandoned warehouse floor. He writhes around, facing the camera. There’s blood on his face, and one of his eyes is swollen. “Please, let me go. I didn’t do anything to you. I don’t even know you.”

My breaths come in shallow, ragged gasps, each catching in my throat at the pleading tone in his voice.

“This isn’t personal. It’s just a job,” a male voice behind the camera says, right before a gun enters the frame.

I scream, “Noooooooo!” just as two gunshots sound through the phone speakers. Both bullets hit Holden straight in the chest, his body spasming from the impact. I shake my head at the screen. “Come on, baby, move.” Silent tears run down my face, but Holden stays motionless on the floor with a dark puddle forming around his body.

The video abruptly ends and disappears entirely from the screen like it never existed.

“This can’t be real. Please. No.” A sob rips from my throat, but a splashing noise snaps my attention back to the present and Heather.

I squint at her and the empty water bottle she’s holding while my brain is still stuck on the awful video, replaying how Holden was shot over and over in my mind. “Heather, please tell me this isn’t real. Holden can’t be dead.”

My voice cracks with another sob, and I stare at Heather, watching her take off her glasses and her oversized black coat. Underneath, the dark clothes are plastered to her body. They almost seem wet, which makes no sense.

Her face transforms into something cold. Something ugly I don’t recognize. “My name isn’t Heather, it’s Lyndsay.”

I sniffle, although the tears have stopped. “What? What are you talking about? Your name is Lyndsay?”

“Lyndsay Kauffman.”

The words hang in the air, sharp and impossible, and my body stills. Why does the name sound familiar?

Something clicks in place, but no, that can’t be. “Veronica Kauffman’s sister?”

Veronica was one of the girls my age who lived a town over from my aunt’s. We didn’t mingle a lot with people from other towns, but sometimes, I’d spot them at the market. My thoughts are thick and heavy, a dull ache pressing at the back of my skull, trying to put the pieces together.

But absolutely nothing fits—nothing makes sense.

Lyndsay grabs her necklace and lets her chin fall to her chest, saying something I’m not sure I’m supposed to hear, but I do.

The air freezes in my lungs. “Holy shit.” My chest rises in quick pants, my entire body and brain tumbling into panic mode. “Did you just say?—”

“Shut up, you stupid bitch.” She points her finger at me. “You are a pathetic excuse for a human being, pretending to be this sweet, amazing girl. And everyone fell for it. But you never fooled me.” Her voice vibrates with anger and hatred, her face turning an unhealthy shade of red as she bares her teeth at me. “He loved me, and we were supposed to get married. But then you popped into our peaceful world—the shiny new toy that interested him just a bit too much.”

My mouth drops open at her words, and I bite my tongue.

What the actual fuck?

She sneers at me, her nostrils flaring. “The day you ran away was one of the best days of my life, and I thought we could finally be happy again. But no, he became even more obsessed with you and searched for you relentlessly. One day, he left for the city and never returned. A few weeks later, all that was left were his ashes. At least now, he can never leave me again.” She holds the necklace before her face and presses her lips against it. “Isn’t that right, baby? We’ll be together for all of eternity when I join you soon.”

Bile rises in my throat, and I’m not sure I can keep it down. Heather—Lyndsay—is talking to her necklace, to the pendant, like it’s a person. She can’t have him in there, can she?

“Felix,” I whisper his name matter-of-factly, as if this entire situation isn’t completely twisted and fucked up.

Lyndsay weeps, her shoulders shaking. “He was my everything. I’ve loved him since we were kids and knew we were destined to be with each other. And we would have been if it wasn’t for you. You ruined everything and stole my future. You took him from me. You. Took. What. Was. Mine. ”

Before I can think things through, words fly out of my mouth. “You are crazy. I didn’t take him from you. I never even wanted him. We went out on a few dates because my aunt made me. I never agreed to the arranged marriage, nor would I have gone through with it. I told him I wasn’t going to marry him, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Instead, he raped me in front of his friends. He was a monster .”

Lyndsay rears back as if I’d slapped her, shaking her head almost violently. “You’re a liar. Nothing but a big, fat liar. He was the best man I’ve ever known, and you deserve every small thing I’ve done to you over the last few years. I should have made you suffer for longer. Ruined your public image even more. Taken away everything important to you and made sure the whole world knows what a filthy whore you are. But they’ll all know soon enough how putrid you and your dead husband are on the inside.”

I shake my head, as if that simple motion could erase the truth. “You’re behind everything?”

She lets out a bitter laugh. “Of course I am. Everything. All of it. It was pure torture to wait after I got hired, but I knew I’d give myself away too easily otherwise. After about a year, I started small to see what I could get away with. First the leaked underwear pics, then drunken ones too, to damage your good-girl image. The inappropriate fan gifts. It obviously wasn’t enough, so I pretended to be you and messaged with the guy until he agreed to meet you at your apartment with a knife. I wanted to screw with your head as much as possible. Make you suffer in every way I could think of. The flowers at the photo shoot. The threats. The song. Luke’s accident.”

“Oh my God. Luke.”

“It was all me. Ev-ery-thing . It certainly comes in handy when you have people who take just about any job online, as long as you pay well enough. Holden appearing like the knight in shining armor wasn’t my plan, but I couldn’t have set it up any better myself had I tried. In the end, it was perfect because he was the ultimate price. The ultimate payback. A life for a life, and so much better than taking yours. So much more painful and long-lasting this way.”

“No,” I whisper, the word fragile as it leaves my mouth. She truly is the reason for all of the mess in my life in the last few years.

A sharp sting of betrayal crawls up my throat, but I swallow it down. This woman doesn’t deserve my pain. Although I can’t decide if I want to pull the blanket over my head and pretend this isn’t my life, or if I want to throw myself at her and give her a taste of her own medicine.

Lyndsay blinks but doesn’t take her eyes off her silver pendant. “We loved to lie in the barn with the roof open to stare at the sky. During the day, we’d make out the shapes of the clouds, and at night, we’d try to find the constellations. We’d talk about our dreams and our life together. I’d never been as happy as I was with him.”

I don’t know what comes over me, but I say, “I’m sorry for your loss, Lyndsay.”

I don’t think she hears me. At least she doesn’t react.

A second later, a small smile forms on her face. “I can’t wait to be reunited with Felix. His blood is on your hands, and now you can rot away in prison, all alone, knowing Holden is dead because of you.”