OLIVIA
The 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 two of us.”
I replied, walking to the bathroom. “I just want to get the day over with. Tell the driver to get ready,” I added, shutting the door behind me.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror and listened as Kate left the room. When she closed the door, I turned on the tap and let the cold water run down my palms.
“Today is just another day,” I muttered, wondering if I was trying to convince myself not to take anything that happened today seriously—a way to ward off disappointment.
It made more sense to be apathetic about whatever the day might throw my way. My days haven’t been the best lately, and I’ve grown accustomed to preparing for the worst.
“My birthday,” I whispered as I stepped into the bathtub. My birthday hadn’t mattered much to anyone but Kate in a long time. The only thing that could make it different was if Cyril remembered and actually did something. But I knew that was too much to hope for.
But I knew that was too much to hope for, so I pushed the thought away and focused on taking my bath. A few minutes later, I headed to the front door, where Kate was waiting for me.
“Where are we heading first?” I asked as she reached for the door and pulled it open.
“The meeting with—” she started, but I groaned.
“Signor Dante. That insufferable man,” I interrupted, and she chuckled.
“Yes, that. And then we’re going to the restaurant to check on preparations before heading home to get ready for dinner,” she answered, and I sighed.
“Again, I’m not going to the restaurant with you. You handle what needs to be done. I’ll come home and lie in bed until it’s time to leave. If I had my way, I’d stay home all day,” I replied, walking past her.
“I’m not letting you stay in bed, doing nothing, on a day you’re supposed to be happy,” she said.
I rolled my eyes, and she clicked her tongue. A few seconds later, the driver pulled up to the entrance, got out, and held the door open for us. Throughout the drive, Kate rambled on about meetings and work-related matters, but I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. I knew those problems could be fixed; what couldn’t be fixed was the pain I felt knowing Cyril hadn’t called to say happy birthday.
I reached into my bag and picked up my phone, hoping he had at least sent a message. I put the phone away when I saw that even the bare minimum was too much to ask. We arrived at the office, and I spent the next few hours in meetings while Kate left to make sure everything for dinner went according to plan. I was grateful the hours rolled by without a hitch and that it was finally time to go home.
*****
“We’ve got an hour to prepare for the dinner,” Kate called loudly as she walked into the bedroom.
My eyes fluttered open, and I glared at her.
“Weren’t you taught to knock?” I asked, and she shrugged.
“You have a habit of not answering the door when you don’t want to do something. I didn’t want a repeat of that,” she replied, placing a bag on the bed.
“What’s that?” I asked, getting out of bed.
“Your dress. You need to try it on. We’ve got an hour before—” she started, and I sighed.
“How many people are going to be at this… thing?” I interrupted, and she raised an eyebrow.
“This ‘thing,’” she answered, using air quotes, “is your birthday dinner. The guests include people from the office, business partners, and their plus-ones.”
“Everyone but the people I actually want to spend the day with. Peachy,” I replied dryly, walking to the bathroom.
I intended to treat it like just another function I had to attend, but nothing could have prepared me for what the evening had in store. Half an hour later, we walked into the restaurant where Kate had made the reservations. I glanced around and nodded in approval.
“I told you you’d do great with the plans,” I said, and she grinned.
“I knew you’d like it,” she replied, making her way to the front of the room to address everyone.
I scanned the faces at the tables, searching for someone familiar. To my utter surprise, there was one—the person I had hoped to speak with all day, my husband, Cyril Penhurst. My face lit up, and I started to walk toward the table. But then I realized he wasn’t alone, nor was he there for the party. He was having dinner with someone else—the red-haired woman I’d seen him with before.
My stomach turned as he picked up his fork and fed her pasta from his plate. It was one thing to be disrespected by a man who paraded around with other women while ignoring his wife at home. It was another to bring that disgraceful behavior to my birthday dinner.
“About time this nonsense stopped,” I muttered, walking toward their table.
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
OLIVIA“Why isn’t he picking up?” I said angrily, frustration mounting. Kate sighed.“That’s the first time he’s answered since I tried reaching him. Maybe you should try again?” she replied.I blinked back tears, the corners of my eyes stinging. “If I haven’t been home for days, you’d think my own husband would care enough to find me.”The truth was, I wasn’t surprised by Cyril’s indifference. His track record of obliviousness was well-established. But this went beyond just him - the entire company would know I’d been hospitalized. If Cyril couldn’t even maintain the facade of a dutiful husband, it would only fuel the rumors.“This idiot is going to cost us our deals. Why is this my reality?” I muttered, dialing his number again.When he answered, his tone was impatient. “What?”“What do you mean, ‘what’? Did you get my messages, Kate’s voicemails? Do you even know where I am, your own wife?” I responded sharply.“You’re probably at some work event or holed up reading. What does it m
OLIVIA “Oh look who the cat dragged in,” I said and walked towards him with mixed feelings. I wasn’t sure if he had come to see me or if my mind was playing tricks on me. I caught a glimpse of the blue hospital walls and white floors, inhaled the smell of disinfectant, and felt the lingering sense of loss that seemed to fill the hallways. I realized that despite my initial annoyance that he didn’t care to make an appearance, I was happy to see him. Hope flickered within me, but I restrained it, I knew better than to let one unusual appearance make such a huge difference. He stopped talking and turned around with a surprised expression. “Liv?” He said and looked around like he was in the wrong place. “What are you doing here?” He asked as his eyes rested on the bag I was clutching under my arm. “What am I doing here? What does it look like? What would anyone be doing in a hospital Cyril? At least you had the common sense to turn up,” I replied in an irritated tone and exhaled slowl
CYRIL“Does it matter? I thought you wanted me around. I'm here now, let's go home,” I held Olivia by the arm. I dodged her question, knowing that I wasn't there for her.I was aware of her calls but decided not to pick her up because I was having the best time of my life with Rene at the party. If she wasn't involved in a ghastly accident, I wouldn't have encountered Olivia. Seeing Olivia ruined my plan. I just hope she doesn't get to find out about Rene pretty soon.“No, I'm not leaving this place until you explain your reason for showing up. The last time I checked, you weren't picking up my calls, which made it difficult to know my whereabouts,” Olivia interrogated me as though she were a detective. She didn't allow me to have breathing space to process my response before tossing another question at me. She put me in a difficult situation that seemed impossible for me to come out of. My heart was beating faster like the drums of war. My feet trembled in fear. I wanted the gro
OLIVIA At that moment, my heart stopped pumping blood. I became ill. I was inclined to head back to the hospital and receive another medication. Cyril has destabilized my system. “I can explain.Please forgive me. It's not what you think,” Cyril apologized. He was edging closer to me. I quickly edged backward. I was harnessing evil thoughts in my head that may send me to jail if executed.“Give this phone to him and take me out of here. I need to go on vacation in Singapore,” I urged Kate while handing Cyril's phone to her. “Vacation?” Cyril echoed. “Why are you going on a vacation? What about the business? Are you just going to abandon everything like that?” Cyril protested. I just realized how selfish Cyril was. He only cared about himself. I noticed this awkward trait, yet I agreed to marry him because I thought he would change. I just realized that a leopard never changes its spot.I nodded my head disdainfully. Getting into an argument with Cyril would only become a wast
OLIVIA We finally arrived home after the terrific experience with Cyril at the hospital. I don't wish to experience such trauma ever again. I was adamant about getting out of the car. Kate had already stepped out of the car while I was drowning in my pool of wretchedness. She was about to go inside the house when she noticed I wasn't anywhere to be seen. She made a U-turn, heading back to the car. “What's wrong? Why aren't you out?”“Don't worry, I'm fine.” I lied. My facial expression could tell that something was eating me up. How do I explain to Kate that I was still obsessed with Cyril? The incident that occurred at the hospital was still playing in my head like a movie. No matter how hard I try to ignore it, I still find myself dwelling in the past. “And you expect me to believe that? Come on, is it about Cyril?” Kate asked me. She has worked with me to the extent that she now predicts my next move. Getting her to believe me won't be easy.“Yes, it's Cyril,” I nodded my h
ADRIAN"Stop the damn car right away! I know what I heard. Would I be joking about something like this when I know what's at stake?" Kate screamed at me.That was the moment I knew it wasn’t a joke, just like I had thought.I stayed calm to observe the situation. Suddenly, I heard Olivia screaming. "Please don’t kill me! I don’t want to die. Somebody save me! I don’t deserve any of this. I am ready to give up an outrageous fee for my freedom!"At that moment, I felt like punching myself in the face for doubting Kate when she initially revealed what she had heard."Do you believe me now? Why don't you apologize for doubting me?" Kate demanded.I snapped. "Get down. We need to go inform the cops about our discovery."As Kate and I stepped outside the vehicle, we saw a female cop approaching our direction. It was obvious that she had something important to say to us."I was about to meet you. What's your name again?" the female cop asked.I glanced at Kate, waiting for her to respond, bu
ADRIANUntil we arrived at the station, Kate and I never said a word to each other. Knowing what was at stake, we understood that this was certainly not the time to get familiar with each other. All that mattered was ensuring that Olivia was rescued from the imposters who called themselves policemen.“We are here now,” I said as we pulled into the parking lot. I was about to step out of the vehicle when Kate pulled me back. A thought seemed to have crossed her mind.“What's the matter? Do you realize we are on a rescue mission right now?” I frowned at Kate for holding us back. I also reminded her how she had blamed me for Olivia's kidnapping, thinking I could have done something to stop it.“Of course, I know what's at stake. We're about to report the case to the cops to help us find Olivia, aren't we?” Kate acknowledged. “Nonetheless, we should also remember that we are in Paris, a French-speaking country. Most of them might find it difficult to understand English,” she added.I paid
RENE“How are you going to respond to that? Have you unexpectedly lost your ability to speak? That is what I thought,” I mocked Cyril with a wicked laugh before walking away.I knew he was going to crawl back to me and beg for forgiveness.I never wanted to talk about it with him. I planned to let go, knowing that he may still be in love with Olivia.That has never been the source of contention. I knew exactly what I needed to do to persuade Cyril to file for divorce.However, my primary goal was to take over the Penhurst company.And when I found out Olivia had moved to Paris, I became the happiest woman on earth.Even though he had yet to appoint me as CEO, I knew my mission had been accomplished.Olivia's absence was a clear indication that she was no longer going to take over the company. That has always been my greatest fear.A few minutes after I faced the wall, I felt a touch on my shoulder.I recognized Cyril even without verification.I gave a silent smile. That was the mome
RENE“Hi, honey,” Cyril said as he strolled into my living room, completely uninvited.The fact that he didn’t even bother knocking made his sudden appearance all the more unnerving. I was just thankful he hadn’t shown up while my mother was here.“Hey… you’re here,” I said, forcing a smile as I leaned in to return his kiss, pretending his arrival didn’t unsettle me. The last thing I wanted was for Cyril to sense he wasn’t welcome.Despite my best efforts, though, he wasn’t buying it. Cyril wasn’t stupid. He could already tell something was off.I tried to make small talk, throwing out casual lines to deflect his attention, but he wasn’t listening. It felt like talking to a brick wall.“Hello, Cyril.” I waved a hand in front of his face. “I’m talking to you. Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?” I let my voice falter, playing the victim like a pro.He chuckled, a low, bitter sound. “Really? You’re gonna pull this now?”Before I could respond, he stood abruptly, folding h
ADRIANKate had been asking about the station Olivia was taken to for over five minutes, and I still hadn’t been able to respond. Even in a thousand years, I’d probably still be clueless.I was behaving ridiculously in front of her. For the first time in my life, I didn’t trust myself.“I’m not sure how to say this to you. To be honest, I—” I paused, suddenly at a loss for words, as though I’d forgotten how to speak.“You what?” Kate snapped, grabbing my shirt like she wanted to rip it apart.“Adrian, say something! This isn’t you. When did you become so dull? I still have no idea what’s going on. If we were living in ancient times, I’d swear you sold Olivia into slavery,” she said, throwing yet another accusation at me—one even more serious than the last.If a third party overheard this, I’d probably spend the rest of my life in prison for human trafficking.I tried to calm her down, but my words fell flat.I was speechless, hopeless, and defenseless against her rage.“I thought you
OLIVIAIt’s been over an hour since I went with the cops, and we still haven’t arrived at the station.This was becoming a major problem for me. I had a feeling that something was definitely wrong somewhere.To make matters worse, none of them paid attention to my words. To them, I didn’t even exist.The only thought crossing my mind was jumping out of the moving vehicle and escaping from what now seemed like an abduction.After a second thought, I realized how stupid the plan was. There was no guarantee I’d make it out alive after jumping outside.I kept my observations to myself while I searched for another way out.“What’s going on? Why isn’t anyone saying anything to me? And why is it taking forever to arrive at the station?” I raised the alarm after being previously ignored.“Stay focused. You’re asking too many questions. We’ll be there soon,” one of them finally responded.It ought to have sounded like a relief, but it didn’t. Instead, it made my blood pressure spike drasticall
ADRIAN“Who was that on the phone? And why are you sweating like that?” Kate asked as she stepped closer, her sharp gaze fixed on me.“Oh, I’m sweating? I honestly had no idea,” I mumbled, wiping my face and realizing she was right. My skin was damp.I hesitated, unsure how to explain. I couldn’t summon the courage to tell her that Rene had her claws in me now. Kate wouldn’t believe me anyway—not when Rene had already manipulated Cyril.“Now you’re freaking me out,” Kate snapped, her voice tense. “Why aren’t you saying anything? First, you froze when you saw me walk in, and now you’re sweating under an air conditioner? Please, make it make sense to me.”She was fuming, and I’d never seen her this angry before. Clearly, I was testing her patience.“It’s Rene,” I admitted at last, my voice low.I stepped back, putting some distance between us. I didn’t want to see the expression on her face.“Rene?” Kate repeated, her brows knitting together in confusion.“But how is that possible? How
RENE“How did it go?” my mom asked as I ended the call with Adrian.I sighed, still gripping the phone tightly. “Honestly? I don’t know. He seemed madly in love with Olivia,” I admitted, my voice laced with frustration.I wasn’t convinced we were heading in the right direction. Adrian wasn’t as easy to manipulate as Cyril had been, and it was beginning to show.It was my mom’s idea to use Olivia as bait to get Adrian, and at first, it sounded like the perfect plan. After all, we’d heard plenty about Adrian’s family’s generational wealth. We figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take our slice of it.But now, it was starting to feel like one of the worst decisions I’d ever made.“Do you think we should involve Ghost in this?” my mother suggested, watching me carefully as I paced the room. She could tell I was struggling to figure out our next move.“Ghost?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “The same Ghost who couldn’t even eliminate Olivia after multiple attempts? Come on, Mom. I’m not convi
ADRIAN“I asked you a simple question, Rene. How the fuck did you get my number, and what do you want from me? I hate repeating myself, and that’s exactly what you’re making me do right now. You’re so dumb. How did Cyril even fall in love with you?” I shouted, my voice laced with disgust.I didn’t hold back. Every shred of self-control I had left vanished.If Rene had been standing next to me, I swear, I would’ve done something I’d regret.“Take it easy, Adrian,” Rene said, her tone infuriatingly smug. “You might want to be mindful of your tone. This is a telephone conversation, after all. You can’t do anything to hurt me, and we both know it.”She let out a wicked laugh that crawled under my skin, twisting the knife she’d already planted there.Then she threatened to end the call if I kept questioning her.I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stay calm. As much as I wanted to smash my phone against the wall, I realized there was more to gain by playing along.“I want you, Adrian. I