Olivia’s POV:I thought I’d feel better after getting my revenge. I do not. He refused to leave my office. He was standing there for what seemed an eternity. So, I have to leave. I rose from my chair and left my office in haste. My destination? The top floor. It’s empty now.“Where are you going?”“What is it to you?”“I’m not done talking to you.”“Well, I am!” I shouted as I made my way to the elevator, ignoring guests and hotel staff throwing suspicious glances our way.The elevator is just a few feet away. The universe is in my favor because it’s empty. Only a few steps left. Three steps, two, one. Close. Wait. It’s supposed to close! “What?” Everything in me halts to some weird frozen moment, I know it was him.Brandon is standing in the there facing me while he holds the doors wide, only feet apart and so close to escaping. My body stills. I openly stare at him in complete shock. Brain stuttering on his words and unable to react whilst in a state of disbelief.“Liv, I love you.
Olivia’s POV:“You lying son of a b*tch.” I hate him for even trying.“I’m not lying. Why do you think I have spent weeks trying to show you that things are different? I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I knew this would be the reaction if I came out and said it. I needed you to have a reason to believe me first, so I had to prove it to you. I knew you would run otherwise because you had no reason to trust me.”He moves towards me suddenly, but I recoil and sink slightly into my weak position, shifting to the corner of the lift in a half-crouched fetal position. Still so afraid of this man’s ability. He pauses, seeing my apparent fear as it envelops me, and holds still. Raising his palms a little to indicate he won’t come any closer, he has to grab the door as it starts to close again quickly. Keeping his hands locked firmly on the sides of this box-like prison.I’m no fool. I’m vulnerable and unable to hold my own against him. He proved that so many times in the past. He d
Olivia’s POV:“Liv, I love you.”I let out a painful laughter. At this point, I no longer care what people are going to say. “I’m supposed to believe you now because you decided to stop playing with my emotions? Am I supposed to swoon at your feet and forget it all because … Oh, my Lord … Brandon Pembroke actually loves me?” I spit it at him, tears clouding my vision from the sheer force of everything coming out. Voice breaking, but I don’t care. He has me stripped naked and raw in all my painful glory, and now he can suffer the consequences of that.It’s nothing but a game to him, I don’t need a book to tell me that. I repeat this to myself like a mantra and try to block out how his eyes are devouring me.“It wasn’t like that. It was … complicated.” He looks around him uncomfortably, uneasy at his lack of control of the outcomes, but I don’t care. I want him to feel awkward and uneasy. He has no clue what it’s like not to be the man moving the chess pieces. The one in control. It’s n
Olivia’s POV:The hotel’s top floor was a presidential suite. The most expensive suite in the hotel and it’s reserved for a Moroccan prince two days from today. While my faith to my hotel staff was strong---I make it a point to personally inspect premium rooms. Before he showed up in my office, it was already in my to-do lists. Maybe that’s why I chose to flee here.If he isn’t lying, if he means what he says, it explains a lot from the past few weeks about his change. I don’t understand why, though. Nothing happened that made him suddenly grow feelings for me. I left, he found me; we carried on. Nothing at all to sway how he saw me. I had to support my body from falling, I was so confused I didn’t hear the elevator open again.“You just can’t take a hint, do you?” I snarled.“I’m not good at this.” He blurts it out in an almost painful rush of words as I glance at him again. That broad set of shoulders on that powerfully large body sagging slightly, the drop of his chin as he looks
Olivia’s POV:He sounds how I feel. Like he knows that this is pointless, and the past is more than can be overcome. I just wish he could make me understand more. My instincts tell me that he’s not completely honest with me and that’s what I want to know.“So, what changed?” My voice cracks. I promised I wouldn’t but here I am.“I can’t lose you…that’s what I know, Liv.”His voice is wracked with strained emotion. I never knew a sentence could rip my heart to shreds, but that one does. Choking me with a lump in my throat, so I have to swallow hard and breathe through another sob. He impulsively reaches one hand towards me, retracts and shoves them both in his pockets as though he assumes it will make him less likely to invade my space. He shuffles on his feet uncomfortably, looking ashen, and I start to go numb as my body takes over to shield me from hurt. Tears are rolling down my face, but all that goes with them dulls. I’m so exhausted.“If that’s true, then why did you leave me th
Olivia’s POV:“Why would I do that?”“I want you. That’s all there is to it. I want to show you that you don’t have to fear me and maybe prove you can trust me.” He gets straight to the point, lifting my hand into his and slides his fingers between mine to hold me tenderly. I stare at our entwined digits, feeling his heat flow into my cold, smaller one and gaze at it, disconnected. The space around me is surreal, as though I’m dreaming. I should lie down. I’m verging on passing out at this rate.“I didn’t know what love was, maybe I did but I was in denial. What was staring me in the face.It's softening me to him a little. Aware that I’m weakening, I slide my hand away quickly to pull myself together. I’m not that feeble or stupid. I move away to get some breathing space, my body giving in from holding itself up. I exhale heavily. So many emotions are flooding me, and I’m exhausted. It’s too early for this, and I’ve had an emotional few hours prior. This all feels surreal and crazy
Olivia’s POV:I was stunned. No, shocked to the core when an expensive looking man waited for me in the private visitor’s lounge in Bedford Women’s Correctional.“Hello, Olivia.” His teeth were pearly white I swear they could’ve blinded me.“Hi…I think you have the wrong Olivia…”He chuckled. “No, I have the right Olivia. You’re Olivia Charleston, right?”Damn, even his laughter sounded costly. Who is this man? I felt like a lump was blocking my throat so I nodded like a sea lion. With my orange outfit, I might pass as one. He motioned me to take the seat adjacent to his and sat down.“My name is Harvey Brown. I’m Meredith’s lawyer and executioner.” He extended his hand and I took it but very gingerly. “I heard you’re a free woman tomorrow.”“Meredith? She’s alive?” I realize that it was an inappropriate question and ignored everything he just said. “I am so sorry…it’s just that…the last time I saw her…she was being wheeled to an ambulance. They said it’s heart attack. I…I haven’t hea
Olivia’s POV:“Okay…where am I supposed to stay?” I asked.My mother pulled out two hundred dollars and tossed it on the table carelessly as if she were giving money to a beggar. “Here, take this. Find a motel or rent a place. It's up to you.”I forced a bitter smile. “And what about Paul? What does he say about this?”Just then, Paul emerged from the bathroom. Without hesitation, he said, “Of course not. You're my sister. Of course, I'm on your side. If you want to stay here, I'll clear the room for you.”It seemed he still cared about me. I nodded with relief. “I’d like to stay for a while. I missed you guys.”But as soon as I said that, Paul’s expression froze. He stood there, looking at me, but made no move to clean the room. I stared back, puzzled. Did I say something offensive?At this time, Miles walked up to me, her voice sharp. “Olivia, have you lost your mind in prison? How can you be so inconsiderate? Can't you see how cramped the house is? Even if we clear out the room, it
Olivia’s POV:“Why would I do that?”“I want you. That’s all there is to it. I want to show you that you don’t have to fear me and maybe prove you can trust me.” He gets straight to the point, lifting my hand into his and slides his fingers between mine to hold me tenderly. I stare at our entwined digits, feeling his heat flow into my cold, smaller one and gaze at it, disconnected. The space around me is surreal, as though I’m dreaming. I should lie down. I’m verging on passing out at this rate.“I didn’t know what love was, maybe I did but I was in denial. What was staring me in the face.It's softening me to him a little. Aware that I’m weakening, I slide my hand away quickly to pull myself together. I’m not that feeble or stupid. I move away to get some breathing space, my body giving in from holding itself up. I exhale heavily. So many emotions are flooding me, and I’m exhausted. It’s too early for this, and I’ve had an emotional few hours prior. This all feels surreal and crazy
Olivia’s POV:He sounds how I feel. Like he knows that this is pointless, and the past is more than can be overcome. I just wish he could make me understand more. My instincts tell me that he’s not completely honest with me and that’s what I want to know.“So, what changed?” My voice cracks. I promised I wouldn’t but here I am.“I can’t lose you…that’s what I know, Liv.”His voice is wracked with strained emotion. I never knew a sentence could rip my heart to shreds, but that one does. Choking me with a lump in my throat, so I have to swallow hard and breathe through another sob. He impulsively reaches one hand towards me, retracts and shoves them both in his pockets as though he assumes it will make him less likely to invade my space. He shuffles on his feet uncomfortably, looking ashen, and I start to go numb as my body takes over to shield me from hurt. Tears are rolling down my face, but all that goes with them dulls. I’m so exhausted.“If that’s true, then why did you leave me th
Olivia’s POV:The hotel’s top floor was a presidential suite. The most expensive suite in the hotel and it’s reserved for a Moroccan prince two days from today. While my faith to my hotel staff was strong---I make it a point to personally inspect premium rooms. Before he showed up in my office, it was already in my to-do lists. Maybe that’s why I chose to flee here.If he isn’t lying, if he means what he says, it explains a lot from the past few weeks about his change. I don’t understand why, though. Nothing happened that made him suddenly grow feelings for me. I left, he found me; we carried on. Nothing at all to sway how he saw me. I had to support my body from falling, I was so confused I didn’t hear the elevator open again.“You just can’t take a hint, do you?” I snarled.“I’m not good at this.” He blurts it out in an almost painful rush of words as I glance at him again. That broad set of shoulders on that powerfully large body sagging slightly, the drop of his chin as he looks
Olivia’s POV:“Liv, I love you.”I let out a painful laughter. At this point, I no longer care what people are going to say. “I’m supposed to believe you now because you decided to stop playing with my emotions? Am I supposed to swoon at your feet and forget it all because … Oh, my Lord … Brandon Pembroke actually loves me?” I spit it at him, tears clouding my vision from the sheer force of everything coming out. Voice breaking, but I don’t care. He has me stripped naked and raw in all my painful glory, and now he can suffer the consequences of that.It’s nothing but a game to him, I don’t need a book to tell me that. I repeat this to myself like a mantra and try to block out how his eyes are devouring me.“It wasn’t like that. It was … complicated.” He looks around him uncomfortably, uneasy at his lack of control of the outcomes, but I don’t care. I want him to feel awkward and uneasy. He has no clue what it’s like not to be the man moving the chess pieces. The one in control. It’s n
Olivia’s POV:“You lying son of a b*tch.” I hate him for even trying.“I’m not lying. Why do you think I have spent weeks trying to show you that things are different? I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I knew this would be the reaction if I came out and said it. I needed you to have a reason to believe me first, so I had to prove it to you. I knew you would run otherwise because you had no reason to trust me.”He moves towards me suddenly, but I recoil and sink slightly into my weak position, shifting to the corner of the lift in a half-crouched fetal position. Still so afraid of this man’s ability. He pauses, seeing my apparent fear as it envelops me, and holds still. Raising his palms a little to indicate he won’t come any closer, he has to grab the door as it starts to close again quickly. Keeping his hands locked firmly on the sides of this box-like prison.I’m no fool. I’m vulnerable and unable to hold my own against him. He proved that so many times in the past. He d
Olivia’s POV:I thought I’d feel better after getting my revenge. I do not. He refused to leave my office. He was standing there for what seemed an eternity. So, I have to leave. I rose from my chair and left my office in haste. My destination? The top floor. It’s empty now.“Where are you going?”“What is it to you?”“I’m not done talking to you.”“Well, I am!” I shouted as I made my way to the elevator, ignoring guests and hotel staff throwing suspicious glances our way.The elevator is just a few feet away. The universe is in my favor because it’s empty. Only a few steps left. Three steps, two, one. Close. Wait. It’s supposed to close! “What?” Everything in me halts to some weird frozen moment, I know it was him.Brandon is standing in the there facing me while he holds the doors wide, only feet apart and so close to escaping. My body stills. I openly stare at him in complete shock. Brain stuttering on his words and unable to react whilst in a state of disbelief.“Liv, I love you.
Brandon’s POV:Two days have passed by since I left Olivia in that devastating scenario. I took the time off work because I couldn’t bear to see her. When I arrived at my office, all my stuff were gone. As if no one existed in that room. Not a speck, not a pin. It seemed brand new, repainted judging from the fresh white walls. My office walls used to be gray.“Joe?” I called for my assistant who was so punctual, he’s ten minutes early before employees clock in. His desk was empty. “Where’s Joe? What happened to my office?”A hotel employee who was passing by approached me. Her eyes gleamed with amusement. Obviously, there’s something she knows that I do not. “Hi, what are you doing here sir?”“W-what am I doing here?” I sputtered out of disbelief. “I work here! Now, I want to know where my assistant is and what happened to my office?”I looked around, assuming this was a prank but my guts tell me something is going down. I secretly hate myself for preferring to work at home than the o
Olivia’s POV:It’s almost dawn, and I’m lying on my bed. I’ve barely slept, waiting for him to return, with a million thoughts running through my brain, tormenting me into oblivion. Thankfully, his phone is here, not smashed, despite hitting a marble floor. At some point, I regained enough sense to wander over and pick his things up, like a mute zombie trying to find something to do besides stare at a closed elevator. I left them on the kitchen counter. I paced like crazy, cried myself sick with heartbreak, disappointed in myself, then ended up in here hoping to try and sleep.I’m wretched and anxious, and I keep seeing that ragged, torn look on her face as though I had just slayed her entire family with a dirty spoon right before her eyes. I keep thinking about how he ran away and after her and the excruciating pain that causes me. To ponder what is even happening anymore. He chose to leave when the choice was thrown in his lap, and his instincts took over. His actions told me loud
Olivia’s POV:My robe slides as his hand graze my collarbone and pushes it from my shoulder, exposing more than just my upper neck. I gasp, not even fazed that he’s stripping me to be nakedly on show. Urging him to keep going as his fingers slowly trail down over the curve of my breast. Igniting a sensual fire of longing between my thighs that makes me vibrate in need.“Damn it, Olivia. You’re so beautiful in every way. So fucking perfect.” He breathes against me, only parting enough to speak into my mouth, and then he captures my lips again, sucking and kissing me like he has no control.The robe slides further down my back, down my arms to my elbows as one of his hands moves behind my neck, under my hair at the back, to pull me in harder to his probing mouth. His fingers gently graze downwards across my naked skin as though tracing my spine lightly, igniting a million butterflies and goosebumps with his caress. My body missed this. I’ve been longing for this!My breath quickens, war