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10 The Morning After
Last Updated:
2020-10-03 15:19:00
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Flowers for Olivia 11 A Friend of the Family
I go straight to my room to take a shower, I then put on a hoodie and a pair of skinny jeans and head to the dining room for dinner.“Olivia! How are you? I haven’t seen you all weekend, I was afraid you were going to miss tonight’s dinner too.”The voice of my cousin Mike startles me as I walk in the dining room. I find him sitting at the table giving me a big kind smile as always. I totally forgot he’d be here. Mike works for my dad, he manages some of the flower shops outside the city and he comes the last weekend of every month to give my dad a report on how business is doing. I ignore why he doesn’t just email or give the updates via phone, but this is something that’s been happening for many years now. He spends the whole weekend with us and it used to be a visit we looked forward to because Mike is such a charming man, but then he got married to Roxana, who he brings along and who is probably the most annoying woman alive, so now I hate it every time he’s here. I’m glad I missed
Last Updated : 2020-10-04Flowers for Olivia 12 Confessing the truth
Miranda’s dad and my boss, David Gleason, is getting audited soon and so he needs my help to get everything in order. The day goes by so fast I don’t even have time to eat lunch, I’m buried in an endless pile of documents we have to revise. I take a short break to call Ivan to tell him I’ll be late and that I’ll call him to let him know when to come to pick me up. Around 7 pm, David suggests we order a pizza. I’m partly relieved because I’m starving, but also worried because that means we have a long way to go. I wonder how much they pay for overtime?It’s almost 9 pm when David tells me to go home. I’ve been here for more than 12 hours straight, my neck and back are killing me. I thought this job would be a good distraction, not a prison sentence. I rush out and breathe in the cold autumn air, immensely happy to be finally free. My happiness ends as soon as I realize I forgot to call Ivan. I don’t have my cellphone with me and I definitely don’t want to go back to the office to call h
Last Updated : 2020-10-07Flowers for Olivia 13 Dinner with the family
The first thing I do when we arrive home is to check the cars parked in front. There’s the blue BMW M8. I smile relieved, I’ll get to see him today. I go in to look for Stefan, but I don’t have to look far, he is waiting for me in the hallway. “I’m glad to see you didn’t stay overtime today,” he says before giving me a sweet kiss on the lips.“Me too,
Last Updated : 2020-10-09Flowers for Olivia 14 The Mystery Game
The next day at lunch time I’m not invited to go with Nancy and the others. No surprise there, after the way I snapped at Nancy yesterday. I look for the nearest cafe and sit alone with a latte between my hands. I observe people sitting near me for a while until I remember what’s in my purse. I take out my phone and call Miranda.
Last Updated : 2020-10-11Flowers for Olivia 15 Ask Away
Stefan is waiting for me outside the crystal doors. I give him a thin smile and he takes my hand to walk with me back to his car.“Are you still angry at me?” He asks me as we drive away.“I’m not angry, just... frustrated,” I reply. “My parents keep secrets from me all the time, there’s so much about them I ignore... in many ways it’s like I’m l
Last Updated : 2020-10-12Flowers for Olivia 16 From the first time I saw you
I wake up early and full of energy. I get to the CrossFit class at 9 o’clock and Miranda is already here. I’m excited, I have missed my training the last couple of weeks, but today I finally felt good enough to come. I take my place next to Miranda. I’m sure she’s going to want to tell me all about her date last night with Barney. “Good morning,” I greet cheerfully. Miranda looks at me with a sad expression. Maybe her date didn’t go very well. “What’s wrong?”
Last Updated : 2020-10-14Flowers for Olivia 17 Keeping a good attitude
It’s almost Sunday afternoon and I haven’t seen my mom yet. She didn’t join us for breakfast and she hasn’t come out of her room all day. I hear her walking upstairs, but that’s it. I haven’t really spoken to her after she snapped at Stefan and I was hoping we could talk about what happened, but she’s clearly not interested in spending time with her daughter. It’s like I’m all alone at home. My dad went out, I bumped into him early in the morning when I was going out for a run, he was leaving with some intruders, Stefan included, so I assume they are doing something work-related. They haven’t come back yet.
Last Updated : 2020-10-16Flowers for Olivia 18 A glimpse of the past
The week goes by painfully slow. Every day seems longer than the last. I must admit I’ve learned many new skills at my job, but I haven’t seen Stefan once since last Sunday and the longing is killing me. He’s been busy with work and has spent most of his time supervising shipments. Part of me prefers it because at least that way he’s not at home as much and the less he’s there the fewer chances there are of my mom being rude to him, but it also means I don’t get to see him as much.I look incessantly at the clock on my screen, it’s Friday and I’m ready
Last Updated : 2020-10-19
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Flowers for Olivia Epilogue
I light the big Buzz Lightyear shaped candle on top of the carrot cake Agatha made. Alex loves Buzz Lightyear, so our house is full of toys and stuff from that cartoon character. He likes it so much we were afraid his first word would be Buzz, luckily it wasn’t, it was “dad”. He is even wearing a Buzz t-shirt that I bought especially for him to wear today on his 1st birthday. I step out of the kitchen and into the dining room, Alex gasp excited as he sees the candle, he is sitting on his dad’s lap. Agatha starts to sing happy birthday at the top of her lungs. Rebecca and Stefan share a mocking smile discreetly and then start to sing along. It has been hard for Rebecca to reconnect with her brother, but she wanted to be part of ba
Flowers for Olivia 54 The kidnap
At dawn, we hear a loud bang followed by multiple shots and a lot of shouting from Romano’s men. We are being attacked. Rebecca and I immediately get to the floor, I cover my baby with my trembling body. A tall man with dark hair comes into the room agitated.“They found us! We have to get out of here, come with me.” He yells at us. “Hurry!”We get up and start following him downstairs. My baby is crying loudly, but it’s barely noticeable in the midst of all the gun noise.“Let’s use the back door!” The man shouts.We go to the kitchen and thru the back door, but Gustavo’s intruders are already waiting for us. They shoot the man who was leading us and he falls to the ground. We run back inside the house and they follow us. They try to get to me, but Rebecca gets in the way. One of the intruders pistol-whips Rebecca in the head so hard she loses consciousness. He then sprints to me and tries to take my baby out of my arms. I yell and kick him in the crotch. He stumbles back and another
Flowers for Olivia 53 No limits
On June 21st, I gave birth to a healthy beautiful boy with big blue eyes. Rebecca helped me delivered it, she is an important Gynecologist with her own private practice and she took great care of us. She also hired me as her receptionist and she helps me take care of little Alex whenever I need it.I have to admit, I get sad sometimes that my baby boy is never going to meet his dad, but Rebecca always makes me look on the bright side: we are safe, safe from Romano, saf
Flowers for Olivia 52 The Escape
Luckily, Romano’s men don’t come with us to Rio, only Diogo, Agatha’s driver, and bodyguard, accompanies us to the city. We go to a big mall, buy an iced coffee and start going through the different shops. I keep on the defense, in case Agatha starts trying to persuade me to give Romano the information he needs, but she doesn’t even mention the subject, instead, she seems nervous. She constantly looks over her shoulder to check if Diogo is near us, I guess she is scared someone might attack us as they did to Stefan.
Flowers for Olivia 51 Whose side are you on?
I stay in bed until morning comes, I’m overwhelmed by emotions: the loss of my parents, the fear of losing Stefan, and the concern for my own safety. Romano’s men are still standing outside the bedroom door, they haven’t moved an inch. I don't feel safe, they can come in any second and shoot me or do whatever Romano tells them to. I’m completely vulnerable. I can’t be alone, I have to be near Agatha or the grandparents so they can intervene if Romano tries to harm me. I ask the guards to let me go see nonna Julia. They seem reluctant, but finally they agree. They walk next to me to nonna’s bedroom and stay outside the door in case I try to go out. I don’t, I stay with her the entire day. We eat there, watch TV and keep each other company. She is really sad about her grandson’s health and she appreciates having someone near since Agatha went to the hospital to visit Stefan as she has done every day for the past week. I stay with nonna until dawn and then go back to my room. My heart acc
Flowers for Olivia 50 The Proposal
A week goes by and Stefan's condition has not improved one bit. I resent Romano for not letting me go to the hospital, but at least he hasn’t come near me since the day he ordered his men to go through my belongings, he spends most of his days out of the mansion, probably in the hospital or searching for the people who did this to his son.I’m waiting for Agatha to come back from her daily visit to Stefan when I hear a loud bang on my door.“The boss wants to see you,” one of Romano’s men informs me.I step out of the room and follow the man to the library where Romano is waiting for me. My heart is pounding in my chest, what does he want? The man goes away leaving Romano and me alone. I get goosebumps thinking about the fact that Agatha is not home to defend me; I’m going to have to defend myself. I stand near the exit, in case he intends to attack me and I need to run.“I’m about to tell you something you are not going to like. I need you to stay calm and listen carefully, spare me a
Flowers for Olivia 49 The Main Suspect
The firsts rays of sunshine slip through the beige curtains, I haven’t slept at all, I feel exhausted, but I can’t stay in bed any longer. My head is going to explode with all the fears and thoughts I’m having. I jump in the shower, wishing that refreshing my body will help me clear my head too, but it doesn’t. My whole body is trembling, I can’t control my nerves. I step out of the shower and hear a lot of noise in the bedroom, I wrap my body in a towel and I peek out the bathroom door to see what’s going on.
Flowers for Olivia 48 The Attack
I still feel full from all the food that we ate last night, but that doesn’t stop nonna from serving me a big portion of scrambled eggs and potatoes. Romano is not having breakfast with us, so at least we get to have a harmonious morning. Unfortunately, my joy doesn’t last long. “Lucas is going to the docks to see the shipment off. I suggest you go with him, you know what to do.” Romano says as he walks in the room followed by a
Flowers for Olivia 47 A brother just like mine
We go downstairs to the dining room, but dinner is still not ready, for some reason, Agatha wants us to wait until midnight to eat. Instead, she takes us to the library, where the rest of the family is gathered, including Romano who is once again drinking scotch. He makes a grimace when he sees me come in and then looks the other way, ignoring my presence. Nonna Julia waves at me so I get close to her, I walk pass Romano ignoring him just as he is ignoring me.“I know we are supposed to wait until tomorrow to exchange gifts, but I’m old and I don’t like to wait. I knitted this for your baby,” Nonna Julia hands me a tiny baby blue sweater with a big yellow ribbon on top.I gulp, it’s the first piece of clothing I have for my baby.“Thank you,” I say moved.“Mamma, you shouldn’t have bothered; we don’t even know if it’s Stefano’s,” Romano exclaims right behind me.Hearing his voice so close to me makes my skin crawl.“Father!” Stefan shouts furious.“Ro, you promised you were going to be
