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34 I do
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2020-11-23 01:26:49Stefan is waiting for us in the dining room, he’s casually chatting with the officiant. When they see us coming they both get up their seats.
“Are you all ready? Let’s begin,” the officiant says, ignoring the distress in my face or how anxious my parents are. He takes out a document, probably our marriage license.
I slowly walk to place myself in front of the officiant and ne
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Flowers for Olivia 35 Nothing like her
It’s been two weeks since I was forced to get married, I haven’t left Stefan’s apartment since I got here. I spend my days lying in bed or sleeping. I have barely eaten anything, I don’t feel hungry, the only thing I feel is loneliness and the weight of my disillusion. Stefan tried to talk with me the first few days, he tried to mend things between us and explain his version of the events to me hoping I would see his side, but because all he got from me were hostile stares, he gave up; now he’s giving me my space, letting me ‘process’ the situation on my own, according to his own words. He thinks that with time I will get a new pers
Last Updated : 2020-11-25Flowers for Olivia 36 Just like her
I open my eyes and the first thing I feel is an acute pain in my forehead. My vision is blurry and it takes me a few seconds to adjust it, I feel a little dizzy, once I can see clearly, I look around and I realize I’m no longer in the bathroom. This looks like a hospital room, I’m surrounded by white walls and medical instruments, there’s an IV attached to my hand. I look around and find Stefan in the corner of the room talking to a doctor. He looks upset. What happened to me?I try to get up, but the pain in my head worsens as I move. I let a weak groan out and both men turn their at
Last Updated : 2020-11-26Flowers for Olivia 37: The worst thing that ever happened to me.
The doctor was right, the bruise on my forehead goes away in just a few days. It’s been a week since the accident and I feel good as new. Now that I’m healed, I’m finally ready to stop being this sad defeated woman and the first step to do so is to take better care of myself. I’ve been eating much better this past week, but I also need to exercise and get out of the apartment once in a while. The self-imposed confinement is clearly not good for my mental and physical health. I find online a prenatal yoga class I want to check out, working out and seeing new faces is just what I need. I ask Ivan to take me to the class, he looks relieved to finally be able to get out of the apartment, watching over me must be really boring since I do nothing all day.
Last Updated : 2020-11-27Flowers for Olivia 38: The Crossroads.
I wake up and I find that all of my purchases from yesterday are already in the bedroom. I didn’t hear a sound, but given that they are neatly arranged by size it’s easy to guess it was Stefan who did this.I hear a sound coming from the dressing room, I go check and I’m surprised to find Stefan getting dressed. He usually leaves pretty early every morning for the gym, showers there, and then goes straight to work; I normally only see him in the evenings.
Last Updated : 2020-11-29Flowers for Olivia 39: One pill a day
A bathing suit is not the only thing I have to buy for our trip, I’m also going to need a dress to wear for Christmas and another one for New Year’s Eve. I definitely didn’t expect my first Holidays with Stefan to be like this, pregnant and practically traveling as a hostage; but to be honest, my marriage with Stefan is nothing like I imagined.The task of finding two cute dresses that make me feel beautiful and confident with my new baby bump turns out to be rather difficult. I’m nervous enough to meet the Corvino clan as it is, so I want to feel good about myself and wha
Last Updated : 2020-11-30Flowers for Olivia 40: I’m just pretending
Back at the apartment, I feel restless, I walk from the living room to the dining room and back, over and over again. I’m biting my nails, I can’t help it. I hid the bottle of pills inside my makeup bag, I’m still not sure what I want to do with it. That’s the reason I feel so nervous, the presence of the bottle in the apartment has me on the edge. I was going to toss the pills down the toilet, but my mom’s words kept ringing in my mind, ‘do it for your brother’, she really hit a tender spot with that sentence and now I feel torn apart, unsure of what to do. I don’t want to become a criminal just like the rest of them, but I a
Last Updated : 2020-12-02Flowers for Olivia 41: The Airport
Our flight to Rio de Janeiro leaves in an hour. Since we are taking a private jet, I was foolish enough to think we wouldn’t go through airport security, but, apparently, there was an incident last week in one of the private flights and they now are scanning everyone’s belongings so, here we are waiting in line to have our luggage checked. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to control myself, my palms are so sweaty my handbag keeps slipping from my hands. I put the pills inside an empty Ibuprofen bottle and the idea of getting caught makes me sick to my stomach. I’m so frightened I’m almost shakin
Last Updated : 2020-12-05Flowers for Olivia 42 Aunt Agatha
Stefan keeps on driving until we leave Rio de Janeiro behind us, the sun is setting as we exit, the night falls while we drive through a two-way road surrounded by what appears to be the rainforest. The trees on the side of the road are the tallest I’ve ever seen and the vegetation is so thick it’s hard to see inside the rainforest, even with the streetlights. There are few cars circulating on this road and they become fewer as we drive further. At one point, we exit the paved road and enter an almost hidden dirt track. The jeep jumps up and down due to the numerous potholes along the way, there’s no street lighting here, only more and more trees and plants.
Last Updated : 2020-12-07
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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!”
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
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.
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,”
