OLIVIAI didn’t make a move to approach Rene to avoid causing a scene that would affect the company. I wouldn’t want the staff to find out about my marriage scandals.It’s most likely to headline the front pages of every media outlet before the day runs out.Quietly, I sneaked outside to reach out to Kate over the phone. She’s in a better position to explain to me what Rene was doing in my company.“Pick up the damn phone, Kate. What are you doing? You should be next to your phone should any emergency arise.” I fumed. It was just a matter of time before I lost my temper and approached Rene violently.“Hello, ma’am. Good morning to you. Where are you now? Are you anywhere close to the company? I’m sorry I missed your call. I was in the restroom. I just got back and realized you’ve been calling me for so long now,” Kate finally answered the phone just when I was close to giving up.“Damn, your greetings. I should be asking you that question. What the heck is Rene doing in my company? I
OLIVIAIt was me alone with Rene in a face-off that was most likely to shake the whole city.“So, it was you all along? I just knew that you had something to do with this,” Rene cried.“Yes, it was me. Now you found out. What are you going to do about it?” I folded my arms.“Why are you running away from me like a coward? I thought you were the smart money woman. Speaking about money, don't you think our agreement is long overdue?” She diverted the discourse to suit her purpose.I knew the next thing on her bucket list was to expose my dirty little marital secret. That was the moment I knew violence wasn't an option. To protect my integrity, I opted for peace instead.“Can we go talk about this in my office? I wouldn't want my staff prying in my affairs,” I whispered to her.The staff were starting to get nosy, too. Which equally means that my secret was on the verge of being exposed.“I didn't come here to dine with you. You should know better. You have sixty seconds to get this done
OLIVIA“So, what do you think? You haven't said anything to me. Wouldn't that be nice?” Adrian asked again after not getting a response the first time.“I honestly don’t know how I feel about this. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a rush? We should take it easy. I am still experiencing a difficult phase in life that’s taking almost an eternity for me to heal. Why do I have a feeling that talking about shopping is a bit frivolous?” I lamented.“Frivolous? What do you even mean by that? I don’t understand why you keep seeing this as a big deal. It’s just normal shopping. What’s the big deal here? You are going to love it too,” Adrian added, doing everything possible to make me come with him, yet I was proving too stubborn.“Ma’am, let’s do this. You don’t have to be worried about it. It might just turn out to be a relief from the stress you’ve been through lately. Think about it,” Kate chimed in. She made a good point, but regardless of what she said, I still didn’t see enough reason to ab
OLIVIAI called Cyril multiple times and he wasn't taking my calls. I was mad at myself for agreeing to call him, knowing that he was most likely not to respond.Despite the snub, I was excited that Adrian was there to witness everything, to avoid making it seem like I was telling a lie.“I do hope you can witness what's happening. I don't want to believe that I am seeing things that aren't real. This is the third time I am going to call him. If he refuses to take my call, I'm going to block him for good. He won't dare reach me on other social media platforms, too,” I told Adrian. I also warned him not to dare change my mind because I would never listen to him.“Take a chill pill. It's too early to conclude. Has it gotten to that extent? I don't know you to be this harsh. Perhaps, he wasn't next to his phone; hence he didn't pick up,”Adrian defended Cyril for the second time. I terminated the call to focus my attention on him.“What did you just say? Whose side are you on? Did Cyril
OLIVIAThe morning started like any other - a knock at the door raising my hopes, only to be disappointed when it was just Kate peeking in.“Good morning. Ready to start the day?” she asked with a thin smile.“No,” I replied, closing my eyes. I heard the door click shut as Kate took a seat on the bed, waiting for me to open my eyes.“We have to go soon. We need to check the restaurant for your birthday dinner,” she continued. I waved her off.“I don’t care. Wherever you pick is fine,” I said, getting out of bed.“It’s your birthday, you should be happier,” Kate said, watching as I wrapped a towel around my head.“What’s the point? It’s just another day. I have to entertain a bunch of people I don’t even know just because their money keeps this lifestyle afloat,” I scoffed.Kate sighed. “You have a meeting with Signor Dante too.”I shook my head. “Even on my birthday, I’m working. And my husband? Where is he?”Kate shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”I chuckled bitterly. “That makes t
OLIVIA“What’s going on here?” I asked as I approached the table where Cyril sat with the other woman. Kate’s voice faded away as Cyril turned to look at me, his expression shifting from relief to surprise to a mix of disgust and confusion.“Olivia... I didn’t know you’d be here,” he stammered, standing up.I looked past him and took a good look at the lady, who had lowered her gaze, trying desperately to make herself invisible. “Are you ashamed?” I said to her, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.“Liv,” Cyril said and held my arm. “What are you doing?”I ignored him and kept looking at her. Her red hair glittered in the light as she kept her eyes on the ground. I leaned forward and looked at her dress. It seemed familiar, a replica of a teal piece I had at home.“I could ask you the same thing,” I said and stood properly.I pulled my arm away from him and glanced at the other guests. Kate was giving a speech that had them clapping and chuckling at what I hoped to be appropriat
OLIVIAI spent the next few days working late for a few reasons. First, I was trying to avoid my own thoughts. The audacity of Cyril disrespecting me at my birthday dinner still gnawed at my heart. It wasn’t his philandering that bothered me most - I had grown accustomed to that. It was the way he made it clear he didn’t care about me at all.I didn’t even know he was back in New York, and he didn’t think it was necessary to tell his wife. It made sense he didn’t remember my birthday - it was just another day to him. I had learned to brace myself for disappointment, but that didn’t make it any easier.Since that dinner, I developed a method to avoid Cyril altogether. If he couldn’t be bothered with me, I was tired of getting hurt every time he did something careless. I needed to train my mind to let go of him, even if I couldn’t leave the marriage immediately - the circumstances were too complicated. But there was something I could do: work, avoid interactions with him, and try to liv
OLIVIAI hesitated, disliking the idea of packing for a trip. Still, Kate was right - it could provide a welcome escape, and I hadn’t traveled in a while.“This nephew of Signor Dante’s... what do we know about him?” I asked.“Just that his name is Adrian, and he’s set to inherit everything his uncle has,” Kate replied.I chuckled. “That’s not very descriptive.”“I’m your assistant, not a detective. If you want details on the man, I can find some for you, but wouldn’t it be better to meet him in person? Get to know what he’s like…”As Kate continued speaking, I suddenly felt a ringing in my ears.I could see her lips moving, but the words were lost to me. My palms felt sweaty, and beads of perspiration formed on my forehead. I blinked, and tears rolled down my cheeks in quick succession. I tried to say something, but no words came out. By the time Kate realized something was wrong, the last thing I saw was the clock striking midnight. Then it was pitch black.I opened my eyes and glan
OLIVIAI called Cyril multiple times and he wasn't taking my calls. I was mad at myself for agreeing to call him, knowing that he was most likely not to respond.Despite the snub, I was excited that Adrian was there to witness everything, to avoid making it seem like I was telling a lie.“I do hope you can witness what's happening. I don't want to believe that I am seeing things that aren't real. This is the third time I am going to call him. If he refuses to take my call, I'm going to block him for good. He won't dare reach me on other social media platforms, too,” I told Adrian. I also warned him not to dare change my mind because I would never listen to him.“Take a chill pill. It's too early to conclude. Has it gotten to that extent? I don't know you to be this harsh. Perhaps, he wasn't next to his phone; hence he didn't pick up,”Adrian defended Cyril for the second time. I terminated the call to focus my attention on him.“What did you just say? Whose side are you on? Did Cyril
OLIVIA“So, what do you think? You haven't said anything to me. Wouldn't that be nice?” Adrian asked again after not getting a response the first time.“I honestly don’t know how I feel about this. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a rush? We should take it easy. I am still experiencing a difficult phase in life that’s taking almost an eternity for me to heal. Why do I have a feeling that talking about shopping is a bit frivolous?” I lamented.“Frivolous? What do you even mean by that? I don’t understand why you keep seeing this as a big deal. It’s just normal shopping. What’s the big deal here? You are going to love it too,” Adrian added, doing everything possible to make me come with him, yet I was proving too stubborn.“Ma’am, let’s do this. You don’t have to be worried about it. It might just turn out to be a relief from the stress you’ve been through lately. Think about it,” Kate chimed in. She made a good point, but regardless of what she said, I still didn’t see enough reason to ab
OLIVIAIt was me alone with Rene in a face-off that was most likely to shake the whole city.“So, it was you all along? I just knew that you had something to do with this,” Rene cried.“Yes, it was me. Now you found out. What are you going to do about it?” I folded my arms.“Why are you running away from me like a coward? I thought you were the smart money woman. Speaking about money, don't you think our agreement is long overdue?” She diverted the discourse to suit her purpose.I knew the next thing on her bucket list was to expose my dirty little marital secret. That was the moment I knew violence wasn't an option. To protect my integrity, I opted for peace instead.“Can we go talk about this in my office? I wouldn't want my staff prying in my affairs,” I whispered to her.The staff were starting to get nosy, too. Which equally means that my secret was on the verge of being exposed.“I didn't come here to dine with you. You should know better. You have sixty seconds to get this done
OLIVIAI didn’t make a move to approach Rene to avoid causing a scene that would affect the company. I wouldn’t want the staff to find out about my marriage scandals.It’s most likely to headline the front pages of every media outlet before the day runs out.Quietly, I sneaked outside to reach out to Kate over the phone. She’s in a better position to explain to me what Rene was doing in my company.“Pick up the damn phone, Kate. What are you doing? You should be next to your phone should any emergency arise.” I fumed. It was just a matter of time before I lost my temper and approached Rene violently.“Hello, ma’am. Good morning to you. Where are you now? Are you anywhere close to the company? I’m sorry I missed your call. I was in the restroom. I just got back and realized you’ve been calling me for so long now,” Kate finally answered the phone just when I was close to giving up.“Damn, your greetings. I should be asking you that question. What the heck is Rene doing in my company? I
OLIVIAI got to my car with a wounded soul. I was too heartbroken to drive.The hot tears gushing down my eyes succeeded in ruining my makeup. What was left of me was my natural face that had been dented.I tried to drive out but couldn't. I find myself being laid back a couple of times already.A voice said to me, “You're not going to sit back and watch your life get destroyed, would you? Call Cyril and put an end to this madness.” I wasn't sure what voice that was or if it meant well to me.Somehow, I was forced to believe the voice as I picked up my phone to call Cyril over the phone.Twice I called, and not for once did he respond. I didn't feel bad because I knew he wasn't going to answer the phone immediately after what had happened between us in recent times.Just when I thought he was going to snub me for eternity, my phone rang. Who else would it be if not Cyril?I took a deep breath to assure myself, “Olivia, you can do this. Don't give him the slightest idea that you're dow
OLIVIA“Kate, you evil bitch. How dare you hang up the phone on me?” I fumed.“Don't bother trying to reach out to me. I am not going to respond. We need you at the company. The other staff members won't stop asking me about you. I don't know what to say to them. I don't know how long I want to keep lying to them,” That was the text I received from Kate.“The staff can't wait to see me? What exactly is going on? Are they aware of what's going on in my marriage?” I thought to myself. There was nobody around to provide the answer. I was left alone to figure out a way out.I got fed up trying to reach out to her and decided to go take my bath.I got dressed up in my favorite blue suit and skirt. I had my bodily applied make-up to brighten up my face a bit. I would rather not attend to clients looking so depressed. I styled my hair to make it appear more attractive.It wasn't my birthday, neither was I going out for a date. Yet, I spent five minutes in front of the mirror stand, trying to
OLIVIAI woke up feeling so disorganized. I haven't felt that way before. I lost touch with reality. I could barely recognize myself anymore. It's as though a different spirit possessed my body.“Where the heck am I? And why does this place look so different? Something isn't right.” I asked myself and as I rubbed my blurry eyes and yawned.It was unclear to me how I slept on the sofa and woke up on the bed alone. I stretched my hands to the other side of the bed hoping to reach out to Cyril, but he wasn't there. It was just me alone in the room.“Cyril moved out already,” I said to myself the moment I couldn't find him. It took me a while to realize that Cyril was no more. It's barely a few hours since he moved out of the house, and it feels like my whole world is crumbling.“Don't worry about him. He's not worth it. You should be happy he's gone. You don't have to worry yourself about him,” I assured myself that his departure meant nothing to me, whereas, I care the most.My phone ra
OLIVIA “Did you see what just happened between me and Cyril?” I turned towards Kate's direction to ask her. I needed her opinion to judge if I was losing my mind.“I witnessed everything that happened. I am sorry to say this to you, Cyril is mother fucking player. He wasn't remorseful for his actions,” Kate responded as she walked towards the bar to go grab a bottle of vodka. I followed her immediately.“Oh, you saw it too? I was afraid I was imagining things that weren't well. You don't have to apologize for what you just said about Cyril. Everyone knows he's a pain in the ass. I still don't know why I got married to him when there were better options out of that,” I shed more light on what Kate said. There was no point defending someone who doesn't even give a fuck about me. After everything I've witnessed lately, I certainly needed a bit of liquor to cool off. I wasn't a staunch advocate for liquor consumption. Cyril made me do it. He has succeeded in making my life a joke.
CYRIL'S POVIt wasn't enough for Olivia to punch me in the eye, she still had the guts to ask me silly questions. I was this close to going blind. The fear of spending the rest of my life behind bars is the reason I didn't retaliate against the attack on my face. Aside from going to jail, I would rather not dent my name or tarnish my image and everything I've ever worked so hard to achieve. Just a brief moment of domestic violence and I'm already headlining the front page of every newspaper and media outlet tagging me as “Cyril, the wealthy beast that turned his wife into a punching bag,” None of them wouldn't even care to find out the real truth from me because society has made everyone believe that it's wrong to hit women regardless of who threw the first punch. “Where are you heading to? And why are you not speaking to me? Are you practically snubbing me now?” Olivia continued to ask me despite the snub. She wasn't just asking me, she also had the urge to move closer to me. “