Ignazio was figuring out a way to go to Kansas under the pretext of work. The only job that required him to go to Kansas was related to Ayeleen. Ignazio wanted to cancel it, but his desire to meet Olivia was much stronger than his desire to avoid Ayeleen. Eventually, he agreed to go. When the event was over, Ignazio tried to avoid Ayeleen. However, she tried to detain him and asked for his help to accompany her to her friend's birthday party, which happened to be on the same day. "Who knows, you might find new talents there. Wasn't your skill before about finding talent?" Ayeleen persuaded with her sweet smile. Ignazio didn't need new talent; that wasn't his job right now. He just wanted to get out of there quickly and go to his brother's house to meet Olivia. "Come on... we rarely go out. Besides, I can't go there alone because I don't know anyone." "But I also can't not go because she's my good friend, and her daughter knows Dad." Ayeleen kept coaxing. "It won't take long, just
Olivia gazed at her reflection in front of the dressing room mirror at the boutique, rendered speechless. "Olivia, are you done?" Xaverio shouted impatiently from outside the dressing room. "X, I'm not sure about this outfit. Are there any other options?" Olivia yelled back, examining her appearance. "What's wrong with that outfit?" Xaverio inquired. "This is too..." Olivia couldn't find the words. "Come out, let me see," Xaverio commanded. Olivia took a deep breath and exhaled quickly. It's not that she didn't like the outfit Xaverio had chosen. She loved it. It was plain white with feather embellishments on the front. The problem was that the dress was too revealing, not only showing Olivia's arms and neck but also her shoulders and upper chest, supported only by very thin spaghetti straps. "Olivia..." Xaverio impatiently called her, and Olivia reluctantly opened the dressing room door to show her appearance. "Wow..." Xaverio whistled and looked at Olivia in amazement. "I can'
Ignazio sat in the chair, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Once again, he had made a mistake, unintentionally hurting Olivia once more. Why couldn't he act maturely? Nothing had happened between him and Ayeleen, Ignazio boldly swore. Yes, they had kissed that night, and Ignazio had deliberately responded to figure out his own feelings. But after that, nothing had occurred. Instead of feeling passionate, Ignazio felt repulsed by himself. Both Ayeleen and Olivia were still young. The age difference between them and Ignazio was considerable. Both were beautiful and captivating, yet Ignazio felt no attraction to Ayeleen. When he kissed Ayeleen, all that lingered in his mind was Olivia. After the incident in the parking lot, Ignazio escorted Ayeleen to her apartment out of a sense of responsibility. Subsequently, he went straight back to his parents' home, spending the remainder of the night in the room Olivia had vacated. Several surprising events unfolded in the days that followe
Olivia woke up with a throbbing headache. She opened her eyes and immediately closed them again because the harsh light made her eyes hurt. "Where am I?" she wondered to herself. Olivia tried to adjust her vision and slowly sat up. Her head throbbed strongly, and suddenly she felt nauseous. She got out of bed and headed to find the bathroom. Fortunately, she found it before she could vomit. Nothing came out, adding to her distress. Olivia turned on the tap and splashed water on her face before sitting down on the closed toilet, folding her arms, and holding her head with both hands. "What happened?" she asked herself. Olivia looked at her clothes and remembered wearing them at the party the night before. "What happened at the party? And why am I ending up here?" Olivia stood up and returned to the room with a heavy head. She tried to remember the events of the party, and her last memory was seeing Ignazio and Ayeleen at the party. Vaguely, she remembered Ignazio carrying her as
Olivia has changed her uniform to casual attire. She glances at herself in the mirror. She's not the elegant, expensive-dressed woman from last night, nor is she the casually dressed boutique type like Ayeleen earlier this afternoon. However, she's not in shabby clothes either. Despite wearing affordable, off-the-rack clothes, Olivia is discerning in choosing fabrics and is adept at taking care of them. Olivia arrives at the location Ayeleen mentioned a while later. She takes a deep breath before pushing the thick, gold-framed glass door in front of her. The staff of the upscale restaurant looks at Olivia with a judgmental gaze, suspecting that she might have entered the wrong place with her seemingly inexpensive outfit. "I have an appointment with Ayeleen," says Olivia, somewhat annoyed by the woman's scrutinizing look, guessing she's in her early thirties. The woman nods, still with a disdainful expression, then guides Olivia to an empty private room. "Miss Ayeleen said she aske
Olivia continued to keep her distance from Ignazio, even at Rianna's pregnancy party. She deliberately avoided making eye contact with him. Olivia purposefully stayed away from family gatherings if Ignazio was there, even though, until now, such gatherings had been something she enjoyed. In the time leading up to their trip to Manhattan, Olivia tried to find an opportunity to talk to Claire without visiting her residence or encountering Ignazio. The only chance she had was at Rianna's event. After the party, Olivia asked Claire for some private time, and without much preamble, Claire invited her to talk in the Altezza office. "What's the matter, Olivia?" Mrs. Claire asked without beating around the bush. "Granny, there's something I need to tell you about Ayeleen," Olivia began the conversation. "What is it?" Mrs. Claire asked in her calm tone. "Ayeleen came to see me and said that she wants to marry Sir Ignazio." Olivia observed Claire's reaction, but as she always suspected, t
Olivia tried not to dwell on her conversation with Claire from the past. It clearly disturbed her, but she attempted to push those thoughts aside and chose to focus on her work. She continued attending her classes as usual, alternating between staying at the residence of Altezza-Adaline and Flavia-Gladwin. She made an effort to close her ears to any information about Ignazio, Gianna, or Ayeleen. However, no matter how hard she tried to avoid information, it still found its way to her. "Hanna said Gianna told her that she doesn't like her aunt," Hanna mentioned one afternoon when Olivia and her two foster siblings had arranged to meet at a mall for a meal. "Gianna said she prefers to play with Olivia rather than her aunt. She also asked me why Olivia doesn't live with her anymore. I told her I would ask Olivia when we meet." Did Gianna really say something like that? But clearly, both Hanna and Gianna were still innocent children. It wasn't possible for them to lie or play roles,
"Up until now, I'm still curious. Why did Olivia just leave your house like that?" Rayyan asked Meizar, his cousin's older brother. The youngest sibling of Ignazio. "Why are you asking me? I haven't lived at mom's house for a long time," Meizar replied curtly. "If there's anything to ask, it's your dad and Zio you should be talking to." Meizar said to Rayyan. "What do you mean?" Rayyan asked back, while his older brother and other cousins—Geremia, Luca, Zello—just sat quietly, paying attention. "People at home say your dad forced Olivia to leave our house. They don't know the reason, but your dad seemed angry when he took Olivia out." "Did Dad say anything to you, Bro?" Rayyan asked his eldest brother. "Dad often discusses things with you; did he never talk about Olivia's issues with you?" Geremia glanced at his brother for a moment before redirecting his attention elsewhere. "Even if there was, it's not my place to talk about it. It's Dad's, Ignazio's, and Olivia's business." Ge