OLIVIA“Why does it have to be today of all days? What the heck is going on in my life?” I bemoaned and kept Kate in suspense.She couldn't help but rack her head to find out why I was unsettled. All her efforts to get the truth from me proved abortive.And me? I was too shocked to move my lips, let alone explain to Kate the reason for my unstableness…“So, I just got a text from Adrian,” I managed to say a few words and then fell into silence again.“And? Please don't stop talking,” Kate begged.She paid attention to what I wanted to say and forgot why she had even stopped by my office.Just as I was about to conclude, Cyril angrily walked inside my office. He nearly destroyed the door with the way he slammed it.“Kate, I guess your answer is here,” I told Kate, referring to Cyril.“I want to have a word with you, and I need Kate to leave now,” Cyril slammed the desk in full rage.“I guess I have to return,” Kate mumbled and stormed out of the office. She had already witnessed everyt
OLIVIA"Ma'am, what happened between you both? I heard Cyril yell at you from my office. His voice was so loud, it got the attention of other staff. Did he do anything to hurt you?" Kate asked me after she returned to my office.I wasn’t even aware that Cyril’s voice was so loud. I got concerned about how I was going to defend myself.I sat down and rested my head on the desk. I looked pale and helpless. How do I go about telling Kate that Cyril already found out about my affair with Adrian? She won’t even believe me, even if I explain a thousand times.Ma'am, you're not saying anything, and you still haven’t answered my question. Do you need me to get you a glass of coffee? I’d gladly do that for you," Kate offered, noticing my speechlessness."Yes, please. I will need something like that," I quickly obliged. It was precisely what I required. I was just too weak to admit it.While I waited for Kate’s return, I planned on how to get out of the trauma. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking
OLIVIAWe finally arrived at Adrian's mansion after a twenty-minute ride. The distance between my office and his house was pretty far, but I wasn’t bothered a bit. That was the least of my worries.My greatest relief would be seeing Adrian alive and unhurt. I would forever cherish that moment for as long as I live.“We have arrived at our final destination. Let's go quickly and find out if Adrian is inside,” Kate urged me.She was about to leave the car when she noticed I wasn’t making any move to step outside. Instead, I was focused on my phone as though my life depended on it.I was still making an effort to reach out to Adrian. I was optimistic that he was going to answer the phone."I do hope you are not about to call Adrian right now? Because I won’t condone such an act from you. For crying out loud, can’t you see that he is not going to answer the phone even if you call a thousand times? Come on, Ma’am. Let it go. I hate to say this, but you are slowing us down,” Kate questioned
OLIVIARight before our eyes, Kate and I saw Adrian step out of the car parked in his garage. The excitement inside me wouldn't let me rush to embrace him.I stood there, looking at Adrian like a dummy. I kept wondering if I was seeing a ghost or a real human.What baffles me most was the fact that Adrian wasn’t hurt. Neither was there any sign that he got involved in some sort of fight with someone. He looked healthier than before.“Olivia, you are here at my house? What a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you at this hour,” Adrian smiled and embraced me.I was too dumbfounded to reciprocate the warm embrace, let alone respond to his greeting. I wasn’t alone—Kate was also astonished. Neither of us was able to break the silence between us.“Can we please go inside? I don’t understand why you aren’t speaking. I’m pretty sure you’ve got a lot to say about Cyril’s visit to the company. I want to believe you received the text I sent about his visit, didn’t you?” Adrian asked in
“Where are your domestic staff? I can't find them around.” I started the conversation with a joke to lighten the mood after seeing how angry Adrian had become.“I laid them off for a reason,” he responded harshly. I could tell he wasn't comfortable with the question.“I see. Must be weird living alone in this big mansion, isn’t it? Don’t tell me, I can relate,” I cracked another joke that didn’t even sound funny to me.“Enough with your dry jokes. Is that what you came here to do? Because I don't seem to understand you anymore,” Adrian groaned.“Kate's gone now, so you better start talking and quit your silly jokes. That’s not funny. I’m done tolerating your silent treatment. I need nothing but the truth from you. And please, no more jokes,” Adrian demanded, shutting the door to prevent Kate from distracting us.“Kate is right about what she said earlier.” I made the bold step to confess.“It’s too early to get mad at me because I’m not done talking,” I added quickly, calming Adrian’s
CYRILIt hurts to find out that Olivia is cheating on me with Adrian. After everything I've done for her, the bitch still had the nerve to sleep with another man while we were still married. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be running the company, let alone know how it feels to be a CEO.As I drove back to Rene’s apartment, I started imagining all the insane things I could do to hurt Olivia.I don’t see myself letting her go scot-free—especially Adrian. He has to pay for betraying the bro code. He knew Olivia was still married to me, yet he went ahead and had sex with her.Different thoughts plagued my head. I wasn't even certain of where I was heading anymore. Parts of me wanted to go see Rene and wrap myself in her arms for solace, while the rest of me wanted to visit my lawyer, Andrew, to finalize the divorce process between myself and Olivia.He was taking too long to get the necessary documents ready, and I wasn't pleased with it. I was desperate to get rid of Olivia and spend t
CYRILI stood up immediately as we exchanged pleasantries. "It's so good to see you again, sir. I must confess, your staff has been good to me so far. They made me feel so comfortable."“Of course, they will. I mean, that's why they're being paid, right?” Uncle Dante teased, and we laughed at each other's jokes.I ensured that we laughed hard because I knew the next few minutes might be hell for both of us, considering what I intended to speak about.“Now, let's get straight to business. Did you say you needed to see me urgently? What's the situation about? I ought to have a busy schedule today. Because of you, I had to make plans for another day,” Dante revealed.I cleared my throat and took another shot of liquor to keep me hyped. I figured what I wanted to say might require some sort of courage and confidence to pull through.“Before you proceed, where's your wife, and why didn't she come with you? I do hope she's doing great? She didn't quite sound too well when she called. I trie
I did receive a text from Andrew informing me to be patient and let him handle everything. At this point of time in my life, patience has become the enemy. I want everything sorted out immediately without delay. "Good day, Kelly. Is your Boss in? Of course, he is inI wish to speak to him." I asked Kelly, Lawyer Andrew's clerk at his law firm "Does my boss have an appointment with you? I already checked my schedule for today and your name wasn't on the list. Perhaps, you may need to come back some other time." Kelly interrogated me. It took her a while to respond. Her attitude towards me showed that something wasn't. "Do I need to have an appointment with your Boss before I see him? Don't you recognize me anymore? It's my Cyril, the CEO of Penhurst company. Do you remember me now? Now go inside there and tell him I wanna see him," I demanded. I couldn't stay calm anymore. She had pushed me to the wall with her irrational attitude towards me. If it was easier for her, she wo
OLIVIAAfter my discussion with Adrian at his house, I was already having second thoughts about his opinion. I hadn’t stopped imagining new possibilities either.Why do I need to come back to New York when I can actually start a life in Paris? New York had done nothing but bring me harm lately. I definitely needed a change of environment to accelerate my healing process.Since my exit from both my marriage and the company, I saw no reason to show my face in New York again.I was eager to leave everything behind, and having Adrian as my only partner was a good start—better than I had ever imagined.I had only spent a few weeks in Paris, yet I had fallen in love with the city immediately. It was the perfect place for me to start a new life.“How long will you be staying in Paris? You never mentioned that. Five days, a few weeks, or a month?” Kate asked me.“Forever, Kate. I’m finally leaving New York for good, and I ain’t coming back,” I replied with a smile on my face.She closed the l
OLIVIAI woke up in the morning with Adrian sleeping next to me in bed. It had always been my dream to see that happen.Unfortunately, my marriage with Cyril had limited me from many things I would have accomplished.It was my first day as a divorcee. It also turned out to be one of the most important days of my life.I was relieved knowing that I wasn’t married to Cyril anymore.I was also thrilled that Cyril wouldn’t be coming after me anymore, thanks to the restraining order from the judge.I wrapped my arm across Adrian’s body and kissed his forehead. “Good morning, honey. I hope you had a beautiful night?”“Of course, I did. But not as beautiful as you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” Adrian yawned and lifted his head, showering me with praises.He had already prepared himself for a moment like this.He hadn’t asked me to marry him yet, but I was already imagining us as a couple.He treated me like a queen. He treated me in a way I had never felt before.“You kno
OLIVIA“Kate, can you be kind enough to prepare a meeting for me in the conference room, scheduled for the next 30 minutes? I want to meet with the company's investors one last time,” I informed Kate as we drove back to my apartment after celebrating my victory in court.“Okay, ma'am. I will reach out to all the investors immediately,” Kate heeded my command.“Sorry, ma'am, I just thought about this now. Will Adrian be a part of the meeting? You know he just left not quite long ago. You never mentioned if he should be part of the meeting,” Kate asked me a few minutes after my previous instruction.“This shouldn't be a question, Kate. I intentionally decided not to mention Adrian's name, and you should know the reason. Well, we are all aware of how important Adrian is to me at this point. I will need him more often,” I responded as I took a U-turn back to the company.My initial plan was to go back home and rest after a terrible day in court. But at the same time, I was desperate to ge
OLIVIAA worrisome call jolted me from my slumber in the early hours of the day.It was disheartening—just when I thought I’d be able to stay home all day.The call was from my lawyer. The moment her name popped up on my screen, I bolted out of bed as if I were being chased by a beast in my sleep.Clearing my throat, I took a deep breath, summoning all the courage I needed to speak. The call was unexpected.“Hello, Olivia. Good morning. Are you there?” My lawyer’s voice called me back to reality.It had been over five minutes since I picked up, yet I still hadn’t spoken a word.“So sorry for the inconvenience, attorney. I just got out of bed, and I still feel dizzy. What's good?” I lied.I yawned and spoke softly, hoping to make my excuse more believable."That's fine. Sorry for waking you up. I just had to," she apologized."Anyways, the court hearing is this morning, and I need you to be there in an hour. I'll send you the court address immediately. We're done talking now," my lawye
OLIVIA“I get the point now. You’re surprised by my sudden visit, aren’t you? I was heading to your apartment when I saw Cyril being dragged into a police vehicle like a criminal. I had a feeling he might have come here to do something stupid. I was also surprised that he knew your new address,” Adrian explained, satisfying my curiosity.I was relieved. Initially, I had been scared that I was imagining things that weren’t real.Adrian’s presence was undoubtedly what I needed most, especially when it felt like I was going astray.He was surely going to serve as my support system. Banking on Kate would have been the wrong choice, considering how shocked she had been when Cyril became unconscious.“Thank you for coming, Adrian. I must confess, you came at the right time. That son of a bitch almost had me. Thankfully, Kate came to my rescue. She hit his head with a vase,” I told Adrian.There was no way I could explain the whole scenario without mentioning Kate’s heroics.In all uncertain
OLIVIA“The cops are here now. It has got to be them. You reached out to them, didn’t you?” Kate freaked out as she heard the siren of a car from a distance.She had every reason to believe they were driving toward my apartment.She wasn’t next to me, yet I could hear her heart pounding faster. Fear had taken the best part of her. What was left inside of her was emptiness.“Calm down, Kate. You don’t have to freak out like a suspect. The cops ain’t getting you arrested. The last time I checked, you murdered no one,” I assured Kate.It was precisely what she needed at that point."I'm scared! What if they start asking questions? I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail," Kate cried as though she had just committed murder.To completely allay her fears, I got closer to Kate and held her head. “Listen to me, Kate. You don’t have to say a word. I will do the talking once they show up.”“I am calm now. I won’t freak out no more,” Kate assured me after making a cross sign.I placed
OLIVIA“I will go through this in my spare time and get back to you. Presently, I just want to rest my head. I just got back not quite long ago,” I told the lawyer.On her way out of the house, I apologized for how I welcomed her into my home.I also explained how Cyril and Rene had been making my life miserable over the past few days.“I don't have much to say to you. Just endure. It's going to be over soon.” That was the advice I received from the lawyer before her final exit.After Selena’s exit, I went to my newly furnished apartment and started reading through the documents carefully.I had a feeling that Cyril was gonna show up, and he was the last person I expected to see.As I read through, I heard a knock on the door.I frowned because I thought it was Kate. I never wanted anyone to interrupt my leisure time.“I am coming, Kate. A moment, please. You don't have to keep banging the door like a thief,” I shouted.I dropped the documents on the sofa and went to open the door for
OLIVIAI knew this was going to be a bad idea from the start. I shouldn't have told you about it. Now, look at what just happened," I lamented bitterly.A while ago, Adrian had given me the best sex of my life, and the next minute, I was already regretting my existence. My problems kept haunting me like prey."Hey, moon pie," Adrian murmured, pulling me closer.He had the sweetest touch—one I felt deep in my bones. And I wanted more. Just one more round before he finally departed for New York City."You know I love you, right? And I would sacrifice anything for your happiness," he whispered, kissing my forehead.I had no idea what Adrian was talking about, but I nodded anyway, keeping my fingers crossed in anticipation."Don't worry about the extra sum you'll have to pay once you leave the marriage. I've got everything planned out," Adrian assured me.“Is this a joke? Please don't pull my legs. I don't think I can endure this,”I doubted Adrian almost immediately.I thought it was one
OLIVIA “Hi, Sugar.I just arrived in Paris. Can you please send me the address of your apartment or hotel? I would greatly appreciate that.”That was the first thing I saw on my phone when I woke up in the morning—a text from Adrian.The message caught me off guard. I never thought he was actually going to show up.It was too late to ignore him now that he was already in Paris. It would have been easier if he had called before visiting.A few minutes after I texted Adrian my hotel address, my phone rang.I didn't rush to answer because I assumed he was already close by.And when I finally summoned the courage to speak with him, the first thing he said was, “I am outside the hotel now. What’s your room number?”I panicked and became dumbfounded.If I hadn't known Adrian for too long, I would have believed that he finally possessed some supernatural powers that were making him appear at the destination of his choice."Are you there?I just asked you a question, Olivia," Adrian called m