OLIVIA “Olivia, please stop what you're doing because it doesn't make any sense. Don't get so hard on Kate. None of this was her fault and you know that. She was just trying to be helpful. It's you who's being unreasonable here. You always act like you know it all when you're not even close to perfection.” Just when I thought I'd heard it all, Adrian blasted me without holding back because of Kate. “I'm being unreasonable?You dare open your gutter-infested mouth and say that to me?” I pointed to myself. I was close to shedding uncontrollable tears. I was hurt by Adrian's utterances. I decided not to retaliate because he would be gone soon.“That's not the point. You got it wrong.,” he wanted to explain after realizing his mistakes. I didn't let that happen, knowing that he meant everything he said. “No, it's fine. You weren't under duress when you said that.”“You still haven't answered my question, though. Don't act like I've forgotten so soon because I haven't. What the heck are
OLIVIA “Ma'am, I apologize for telling Adrian about it and I want to assure you that he was the only person I told. I can't possibly lie to you. You just gotta believe me,” Kate confessed. “And you expect me to believe that? If you are so sure about this, why did It take you ages to respond? Were you processing the lies you were going to say to me?” I sparked outrageously. Regardless of how honest she sounded, her body language suggests otherwise. It made it difficult to understand her.It's been nearly a decade working with Kate, and not for once has she been found wanting. If she stopped working for me today, I don't think I would ever find someone like her again. She makes the job of a personal assistant look so easy. But today, she stunned me. I saw a different side of her that hadn't been witnessed before. It makes me wonder if I've been working with her clone over the past few years.“I couldn't respond immediately because I was stunned. I didn't know what to say to you. You
OLIVIA I was shocked to see Kate stepping out of the hospital with Adrian. Wasn't sure if that's what I wanted for myself.While I demonstrated my frustrations at Adrian, I was equally disappointed in Kate for believing that she had learned her lesson.As they got closer to me, I rehearsed the abusive words I was going to hurl at Adrian when he eventually approached me.“What is he doing here?” I asked Kate immediately they showed up.“Don't worry, I got this,” Adrian interrupted Kate the moment she wanted to speak.“Before you get pissed off, this has got nothing to do with Kate. It was all my idea," Adrian hurriedly vindicated Kate, knowing I was going to berate her for going against my orders. “Who cares? I wasn't talking to you. The last I checked, you aren't my assistant. So back off!” I ignored Adrian and made him look stupid.“Over to you, Kate.Why's Adrian here? Do you ever learn from your mistake?” I blasted Kate just when she thought Adrian had vindicated her.“I tried t
OLIVIA “Okay? Please tell me already. I am not loving the suspense,” I pleaded with Escobar. “Can you guess? Do you have the slightest idea what I want to say to you?” Doctor Escobar teased me with the question.“Now you need to stop, doctor. How do you expect me to guess In this critical condition? Please tell me. I've lost my sense of reasoning right now,” I begged him. “Fine! I will speak up already. I can see that you're losing it already,” he finally agreed to spill. He wasn't far from the truth. I was already losing it inside of me. If he hadn't agreed to spill, I would walk straight into Cyril's ward to find out what the problem was. “So, we got good news for you.” He smiled without hitting the nail on the head. “There we go again. What about the bad news?” I facepalm. The last time he elaborated on some good news, he still had to find a way to attach bad news to it. I don't expect things to turn out differently this time. “Don't worry, no bad news this time. Isn't tha
OLIVIA I stepped outside to join Adrian and Kate. As I walked towards them, I felt my heart bleeding inside of me. I lost a part of me that can never be regained anymore. I just wanted the ground to swallow me up and end my mysteries. I lost my confidence. I hurriedly diverted into an isolated corner a few miles away from them. I couldn't summon the courage to go explain to them what happened, especially Adrian. He won't hesitate to remind me that I deserve a better man like him. Slowly, I peeped at them and noticed they weren't looking in my direction. I read their lips. They weren't speaking to each other either. The situation must have been so overwhelming that they could not even utter a word. “Olivia, you can do this. Don't subject yourself to suffering.” I assured myself with words of encouragement. I had no idea what I was talking about, but I was hoping it would be helpful. I needed all the motivation I could get. I sighed and did a cross sign before stepping outside. I
OLIVIA “Why are you so bothered about me now? I thought you asked me to leave and never return. That I would gladly do,” he said and made attempts to walk out on me. “Adrian? Don't you dare walk away from me?” I stopped him and went to meet him."So what now? Do you want to start another fight with me? Are you being paid to be a nerd? Aren't you tired of throwing tantrums? Grow up already and stop acting like a child,” he made a travesty of me. His taunts punctured my head and got on my last nerves.“I'm afraid, this child won't let you leave until you tell her what she wants to hear,” I pulled him back. I took out my phone and started dialing a number.“What the fuck are you doing? I just hope it's not what I'm thinking right now?” Adrian tried snatching the phone away from me, but I was quicker than him. I quickly edged backward to prevent him from snatching the phone away from me. Finally, the person I called answered the phone. I had to put the conversation on the speaker to g
OLIVIA Adrian dwelled extensively. He appears to have made a brilliant suggestion. Adrian might as well turn out to be useful eventually. I shouldn't have written him off too early.“Hold on a second, let me think about this,” I placed my hands below my jawline to deliberate on what he had just told me. “Stay right here you two.I'll be back,” I implored them and went away. They kept asking where I was going. I ignored them. I was only focused on arriving at Doctor Escobar's office. I needed his help to fetch Rene's home address from Cyril. It would be very risky going to Cyril's ward alone since he thinks I'm his assistant.Luckily for me, I met Doctor Escobar at the reception.“Olivia, what are you still doing here?” He quizzed me. He was shocked to still see me hanging around the hospital. He thought I had left already. “I need your help,” I pleaded with him while struggling to breathe. "You might want to calm down and speak to me. Why don't we discuss this in my office?” He pr
OLIVIA As we drove to Rene's apartment, I thought of ways to convince her to come help Cyril restore his memory. It was a massive risk I was willing to take.If I had another chance to decide, I wouldn't have opted to go this far just to get Cyril back on his feet again. He doesn't deserve me, and I'm certain that he would have abandoned me in the hospital if I was In his situation. I saw how he neglected me back then in this hospital as though I never existed. I still haven't gotten over the trauma. It wasn't enough for him to neglect me; he still had the guts to choose Cyril over me.Thinking about the unfortunate incident only increased my hate for him. “Are you okay, Olivia? If you need someone to talk to, I'm here.” Adrian volunteered. He exhibited the benevolent traits that got me laid. “Why would you ask such a baseless question? Don't I look okay to you? Are you insinuating that I'm lost? If I need someone to speak to, it's not you. The last time I leaned on your shoulder,
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
ADRIANIt’s been over an hour since Olivia left with the cops to aid their investigation, and she still hasn’t returned.They’d assured me it wouldn’t take long—that it was just a quick interrogation—but now it’s dragging on endlessly. I should’ve known they were lying.This is all my fault.I should’ve seen this coming.I tried calling Olivia. Nothing. She wasn’t picking up. I sent her texts, but no response. My heart skipped a beat. Something was wrong.To make things worse, I didn’t even know which police station they’d taken her to. I’d been so overwhelmed that I’d forgotten to ask.“What am I going to do now?” I asked aloud, my voice echoing off the empty walls. “I can’t just sit here while Olivia might be in danger.”I racked my brain, desperate for a solution, but no matter how hard I thought, nothing useful came to mind.I lost count of how many times I’d paced around the living room, anxiously waiting for Olivia to call me back.“Now this shit is getting real. This shouldn’t