Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Bella didn't put up a fight when Zachary grabbed her. She just stood there, frozen, not even blinking, looking totally wrecked. When Zachary started to leave with her, I freaked out and jumped in their way.

"You can't take Bella away."

"As her best friend, you think it's cool for her to sit here in this freezing weather?" Zachary threw some shade at me, then brushed past and stuffed Bella into his car.

"Bella, listen to me!" A desperate voice called from behind.

I turned around to see Oliver stumbling over, banging on the car window.

"Bella, don't go with him. Get out. I know you're pissed. You can yell at me, hit me, whatever you need. Just get out, okay?" Oliver looked totally pathetic, begging like that, no dignity left.

"Get lost," Zachary snarled, shoving Oliver aside.

"Fuck," Oliver cursed, swinging a punch at Zachary.

But Oliver was drunk and slow. Before he could land a hit, Zachary decked him, sending him to the ground.

"You took my girl. I... I'm gonna kill you today."

Oliver's words were tough, but he just lay there, struggling to get up.

Zachary raised his fist for another punch, but it didn't land.

Ethan grabbed his arm and said calmly, "Beating up a drunk guy? Not exactly impressive."

I worried Ethan might start a fight with Zachary over Oliver.

"Let's go. I don't want to see him anymore," Bella suddenly said from inside the car.

Zachary bit his lip, nodded, yanked his hand free from Ethan, and got in the driver's seat.

I rushed up and pounded on the car window. "Bella, you can't go. Get out."

Bella ignored me, and Zachary floored it, speeding away.

Oliver struggled to get up and chased the car for a few steps before collapsing in the middle of the road.

His legs buckled a few times, and then he just lay flat, shouting like a madman.

"Come back, come back..."

Cars swerved around him, and some drivers even rolled down their windows to curse.

"Crazy, trying to get yourself killed."

Oliver pounded the ground with his fists.

"If he's got the guts, he should run me over."

Ethan walked over and pulled him up, but Oliver collapsed like a rag doll.

"Leave me alone," Oliver slurred drunkenly.

"I don't want to deal with you. I just don't want the hassle of burying you."

Ethan's words were harsh, but he said them calmly.

"Fuck."

After being hoisted up, Oliver muttered a curse while slumped over Ethan's shoulder.

Ethan took him back to the bar, and I followed, still worried about Bella and wondering where Zachary would take her.

Especially since Bella's phone was off when I called, making me even more uneasy.

Would Bella retaliate against Oliver in the same way? I didn't dare to think further.

I hoped not, because Bella would definitely regret it once she calmed down.

Later, Ethan called Frank to watch over Oliver, and we left.

The next morning, while I was distractedly practicing driving, Bella called me back. She said she was at the Taekwondo gym.

I made an excuse to Michael and left the driving school, heading straight to the gym.

Downstairs at the gym, I ran into Oliver.

"Is Bella upstairs?"

His bloodshot eyes looked at me with hope.

I said, "Maybe. Go up and see."

We went upstairs together and entered the gym, where we immediately saw Bella practicing with a punching bag in her Taekwondo uniform. I was surprised to see that she had cut her hair.

"Bella," I called out.

As Bella turned her head, she swung a punch. Oliver, who was walking behind her, was unfortunate enough to take the hit.

Oliver tilted his head and, after a moment, turned back, touching the side of his face that had been hit. Surprisingly, he smiled foolishly. "Good punch."

Bella ignored him, walking past him with a cold expression and coming towards me.

"Bella, why did you cut your hair?" I handed her a towel.

She took it and said coldly, "Because someone likes long hair, so I cut it short."

She was obviously referring to Oliver.

It turned out Bella had grown her hair long because Oliver liked it. And now she had cut it short for the same reason.

Oliver stood not far behind her, speaking with a commanding tone, "Even if you were bald, I'd still like you."

Bella, with her back to him, said coldly, "Then you're just being pathetic."

Oliver stared at Bella's back in silence for a long time before slowly speaking, "When people are young, they dream about the perfect partner, but when they fall in love, none of that really matters." It was the first time I had seen Oliver speak so seriously, and he made a lot of sense.

When I was a kid, I thought my dream guy would be tall, classy, and steer clear of smoking, drinking, and gambling.

But then there was Ethan-only tall, smoked like a chimney, drank, gambled, and wasn't exactly a bookworm. Still, I liked him. Oliver was right; when you like someone, all those checkboxes just disappear. Bella ignored him and went back to pounding the punching bag.

As she walked past Oliver, he grabbed her hand, but she shook him off like he was nothing.

Bella kept going at the punching bag. Out of nowhere, Oliver jumped in front of it. Bella's punch landed square on his chest.

Oliver doubled over, stumbling back into the bag.

"Are you nuts?" Bella glared at him coldly.

Oliver straightened up, rubbed the spot where she hit him, and grinned like a fool. "Come on, use me as your punching bag. Hit me all you want. If it makes you feel better, go for it. I'm ready." Without missing a beat, Bella threw another punch, then a few more. Oliver took them all.

Everyone else in the gym stopped what they were doing and gathered around to watch the show.

It took a while for Oliver to stand up straight. One side of his face was already puffing up.

But he still had that goofy smile. "Good, good punch. Keep 'em coming."

I couldn't believe Bella's heart wasn't breaking as she hit him.

The harder she hit, the more it showed how much she hated him. The more she cared, the more she hated.

"Bella, stop." I tried to get through to her.

But before I could finish, Bella spun and kicked Oliver right in his swollen face, knocking him down.

When Oliver got up from the mat, his nose was bleeding. He felt the warm blood, wiped it with his hand, smearing it all over his face.

He spat out some blood, grinned through his busted lips, and said, "Again."

Oliver could be stubborn as hell. I knew that even if Bella beat him to a pulp today, he'd still get up and face her with a smile every time. "Impressive."

Suddenly, Zachary's voice cut through the tension as he clapped and walked over.

He went straight to Bella, picked up a towel, and gently wiped her sweat.

"Don't overdo it. You're not training for the Olympics."

"Fuck."

Oliver, who had been taking the hits without fighting back, cursed and lunged at Zachary, tackling him to the ground. They started wrestling right there. Zachary was more jacked than Oliver, so Oliver didn't stand a chance.

They rolled around on the ground a few times, but Zachary eventually got the upper hand, straddling Oliver and landing punches on his face. Oliver's nose bled even more, staining the ground, his clothes, and even Zachary's clothes with blood.

Even while getting his ass kicked, Oliver kept cursing.

"Zachary, you bastard, I'll... I'll kill you someday."

The more he cursed, the harder Zachary hit. I was seriously worried Oliver was gonna get messed up bad.

"Enough," Bella shouted, and Zachary's fist froze mid-air.

Bella yanked Zachary off Oliver and said to Oliver, "If you wanna go nuts, do it somewhere else. You're not welcome here."

Then she turned to Zachary and said, "Let's go. The air here sucks."

Zachary, who had also taken a few hits, touched his swollen lip, glanced at Oliver, and nodded.

"Alright, let's bounce."

I looked at Oliver, his face a bloody mess, lying there not moving. Worried, I walked over and asked, "Oliver, you okay?" Before I could finish, Bella pulled me up and said, "He won't die."

Bella always had strong feelings of love and hate. But I couldn't believe she could hate someone she once loved so deeply overnight. Zachary walked ahead, and I held Bella back. "Bella."

Bella stopped and cut me off. "Emily, don't say anything. You're my best friend. I hope you're always on my side."

With her saying that, I didn't dare say anything more.

Everyone had their own choices in life, and the future was unpredictable. No one really knew what kind of path they'd chosen. Whether Bella chose Oliver, Zachary, or someone else, her future was uncertain. All I could do was support her unconditionally. "Of course, I'm on your side. I just want you to be happy," I said.

Bella paused for a moment and finally showed a faint smile.

"Emily, I've realized that happiness isn't up to me; it's up to fate. So, I won't dwell on it. I'll leave it to destiny."

After leaving the Taekwondo gym, they were gonna grab some food. I felt it was kinda awkward to keep tagging along, so I made an excuse to head to Skyline International Corporation. But Bella insisted on dropping me off and took me all the way to the entrance of Skyline International Corporation.

Since I was there, I figured I might as well go up and take a look.

Ethan's assistant told me there was an issue at a construction site, and Ethan had gone there personally but was expected back soon.

I hung out in the office for a bit and then noticed something on his desk.