Micheal remained stunned for a good minute, unsure if he was actually staring at the sweet Amelia he used to know. He hadn't seen this part of her, and it had genuinely scared him. "I..I'll drive you home." He managed to squeeze out after a minute of awkward silence between them."No, that's no fun at all. Show me around town, let me get to know your new life." Amelia suggested, a clever scheme to find out the lady who Michael had tried to replace her with. If Michael succumbed to her request, then chances were that she would meet this lady that Michael had fallen in love with. Michael on the hand was quick to catch on to Amelia's plans, and immediately dismissed that idea. "You're exhausted, you should get some rest. We'll save the tour for another day—""I insist! It's my body, I know what's best for me." Amelia interjected sharply. Michael clenched the steering wheel, unsure how to deal with Amelia's stubbornness. He knew what she was up to, and she wasn't doing much to cover he
Olivia paused for a moment, her gaze shifting from Amelia to Michael. She arched a curious brow at him, still unsure if she had heard correctly, or if all this was some sort of prank. Nevertheless, she took Amelia's outstretched hand, a practiced smile playing on her lips as they shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Amelia. I hope you enjoy your stay here." Olivia said before turning to Michael a second time. She expected something from him, a sign perhaps, or even a shift in his nervousness. However, Michael stood still, his gaze focused on the ground instead of her eyes. She didn't push further, she merely turned towards Amelia who had a snarky smile on her face. "Enjoy your tour." She concluded before walking away from the two of them. She had completely forgotten why she needed Michael in the first place, all she could feel right now was anger and betrayal, but she didn't act on those feelings. She wouldn't act on them until she had heard what Michael had to say. "She's g
Olivia found herself staring blankly at the computer screen, the way she had for nearly the past fifteen minutes. With a shake of her head, she drew herself out of her thoughts and tried to focus on getting some work done. But no matter how she tried, the events that had happened downstairs continued to play out in her mind repeatedly. That other woman, Amelia... The way she had acted with Michael spoke of a very long term relationship. She had introduced herself as his fiance, and the hesitation she had seen on Michael's face had been nearly enough to break her heart. Michael had been something she had never thought she would meet after what she had endured with Noah. Noah had done terrible things to Olivia's mental and physical state. All the times he had treated her like she was worthless, and she had been unable to realize all the signals. But once she had, it had almost been too late. She had lost her child but she had been fortunate to come out with her life. In the years aft
Olivia's eyelids drew back just seconds before the alarm clock beside her bed released a particularly aggravating ring that was guaranteed to wake the dead. Her pale blue eyes flickered around the room for a few moments before the ringing became too much to bear. Placing a firm hand on the device, she turned off the alarm and moved the soft blankets off her body. "Sometimes I wonder why I even still keep that thing around," the woman monologued, her gaze momentarily fixated on the annoying machine. Olivia had always been a light sleeper and an early riser, which meant she did not really need the clock. But she still left the small shoebox sized object sit on the bedside table everyday. Just in case. Olivia went down the stairs and straight to her laptop where she wasted no time in pulling up her emails. There was a notification there for a new one and she pulled it up quickly. It was a message from Damian expressing his personal thanks for the invitation to the city and an affirmat
Olivia inhaled sharply as she stepped through the heavy double glass doors of the restaurant. The cool air of the street felt soothing on her skin, although it did nothing to alleviate the sting of emotion that had coursed through her body just moments earlier. Even though Olivia had come here with her own mind full of suspicions, to actually hear them being confirmed was something else though.No, not confirmed. Damian himself had sounded uncertain when he had told her what he had. But still, it was too much of a coincidence that both of them just happened to have thought of the same possibility. And considering the situation and the man involved, that possibility was already most likely the truth. Olivia took hurried steps towards her car, doing her best not to let her emotions show on her face. In all honestly, she should have known better than to have thought that an irredeemable piece of trash like Noah could possibly have any positive intentions for her. That man was devious an
Sometimes Lisa really detested the things she had to go through just to keep up this stupid farce of a friendship. Her oblivious 'friend' Olivia had gone all the way to drop her off right at her home which was the last place she needed to be. On top of that, Lisa had forced herself to wait for fifteen whole minutes to be certain that Olivia had left the area for sure before leaving her house again. As she slid into the backseat of the cab she had called, Lisa's thoughts went back to the young man she had seen just before they had left the restaurant earlier that morning. The resemblance between him and Noah was far too much to be dismissed. Not that Lisa needed any further confirmation beyond Olivia's reaction at the moment they had run into the young man. She knew that Olivia was normally a pleasant person even to strangers. But the woman had acted so coldly back then that it had to be Damian. That information was something that would surely be of interest to Noah. And that meant s
Olivia looked down at her wrist watch and sighed when she saw the short golden hand of the accessory resting pointedly on the sixth hour. Her left hand came up to rub her temple tiredly as she signed off on yet another document before adding it to the pile that was sitting on her desk to her left. She was supposed to have left her office two hours ago, and yet here she was working overtime for the umpteenth time this week. It was not as if she wanted to spend all her time here, but for Olivia, this was just a way for her to exist outside all the annoying troubles that just seemed to have come stumbling into her life lately. And all of it had started when that bastard, Noah Grant had decided to appear in her city. Her talk with Damian this morning, if it could even be called that, had definitely given her more insight on the current situation. Now that she knew what Noah was after, she was going to have to plan accordingly. Maybe she might even Lisa for help. Running into her friend
In an instant, the room was engulfed in a dead silence, quiet enough that a pin drop would probably sound like a falling piano. Michael froze completely, his mind halting to process the veritable bomb the woman in his arms had just dropped on him. But no matter how much he tried to comprehend it, the statement just never seemed to click, prompting him to ask for a repetition. Olivia sighed and moved to slide off his lap, shifting the cushions on the couch to sit beside him. Her breathing had softened also, with the moment sufficiently shattered by this point. Which meant both of them would be able to think clearly now. "I said that I think I might have to accept Noah's proposal." The disbelief on Michael's expression would have been funny, were it not for the rising confusion and indignation Olivia could very well see on the man's face. "What?! You really can't be serious Liv.... Tell me you're joking..." "I'm serious Michael," said Olivia. "I want— no, I need to do this." "W
From the corner of her eyes Lisa could see that it was Michael who Olivia had just finished speaking with. Though she still planned to ask her friend who the person was, it was nice to make quick observations. With Michael here, their plan was certain to fail. Olivia had probably told him about everything, and Lisa feared that she would not be able to fully convince anybody that Olivia's kidnapping and death would be an accident. Why would only Olivia be taken anyway?With a sigh she rolled her eyes and waited patiently for her friend to come back. "Who was that?" Lisa asked the moment Olivia was within earshot. She raised a curious brow, feigning ignorance to the fact that she already knew it was Michael."Michael, it seems he's not a fan of the restaurant." Olivia lied, a perfect excuse for her to completely avoid entering the place."I'm not feeling it anymore, I think I might have lost my appetite." Lisa replied with a nervous chuckle. "We should just go home."Olivia’s brow furr
"I know a perfect spot just around the corner, they're good, I'm sure you'll love it!" Lisa cried out just before Olivia had the chance to drive towards the route that led to one of her favorite restaurants. She had been here a couple of times before, and she hadn't heard of another restaurants around the corner."Another restaurant? I haven't heard about it—""They're new, so you wouldn't know about them. They're literally perfect, I swear." Lisa urged without letting Olivia finish with her words. Olivia let a weary smile light up her face before turning the car around. She doubted that there was any new restaurants around the area, but then again she had no reason not to believe her best friend. Lisa had no reason to lie to her, especially not about something as silly as a restaurant. "They better live up to your hype, because now I've gotten excited." Olivia remarked as she pressed down on the acceleration pedal. Lisa on the other hand kept a very convincing smile on her face, o
"You did not just ask me that question Olivia," Michael said with a shake of his head, as he pushed his way into his office.The woman followed right behind him, closing the door behind her as her smile fell a little. She knew that Michael only used her full name when he was very serious about something. "Talk to me Michael," she pleaded as she stepped closer to him. "What's wrong?""I told you before that I did not trust Lisa," Michael reminded her."She's my best friend.""And she might also be working with Noah," he countered with a voice that was deceptively calm, a sharp contrast to the turmoil present within him at the moment. "I know it sounds absurd, but remember that we can't exactly trust anyone at this point. You remember what happened with Damian, don't you?"Olivia's body slowly went still as flashes of memories streaked through her mind of the time she had been held captive all those weeks ago. Those memories were ones that she had subconsciously tried to repress, so th
After their explosive fallout yesterday, Michael was not surprised in the least when he failed to find Amelia outside her room the next morning. That was her only move whenever the two of them would have an argument; to simply shut herself away from everyone and everything until she felt otherwise. Michael did not really care though. As far as he was concerned, she could do whatever she wanted as long as it did not involve him or Olivia. Besides, Amelia was still the source of the unrelenting headache that had plagued him throughout the night until he finally found solace in sleep. Michael decided to take a couple of minutes to make a quick breakfast, making sure to leave something out for Amelia. That did not mean that he had forgiven her though. It was simply a spur of the moment decision, or at least that was what he was willing to tell himself. Traffic in the city was abhorrent, as was normal for commuters trying to get around on the middle hours of the morning. But still, Micha
After their explosive fallout yesterday, Michael was not surprised in the least when he failed to find Amelia outside her room the next morning. That was her only move whenever the two of them would have an argument; to simply shut herself away from everyone and everything until she felt otherwise. Michael did not really care though. As far as he was concerned, she could do whatever she wanted as long as it did not involve him or Olivia. Besides, Amelia was still the source of the unrelenting headache that had plagued him throughout the night until he finally found solace in sleep. Michael decided to take a couple of minutes to make a quick breakfast, making sure to leave something out for Amelia. That did not mean that he had forgiven her though. It was simply a spur of the moment decision, or at least that was what he was willing to tell himself. Traffic in the city was abhorrent, as was normal for commuters trying to get around on the middle hours of the morning. But still, Micha
Throughout his drive home, Michael continued to replay the events he had witnessed just some minutes ago. And no matter how much he tried, he still could not make much sense out of it. Amelia's actions were undoubtedly suspicious, but he just could not find a connection. First it looked as if she was heading towards the airport, then suddenly she seemingly changed her mind and drove all the way to some abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. To do what? Meet with a couple of nobodies? It just did not make sense. But still Michael could not shake the gut feeling he was having that these things were more than they seemed. It was giving him a hard time already, having to divide his attention between his thoughts and keeping his car on the road. Deciding to focus on the one that would not get him killed or seriously injured, Michael tried to shelf the numerous thoughts running wild in his head until he finally got to his house. The first thing he noticed was the absence of Amelia'
It did not get any easier to live in the same house as Michael while contemplating the plans on her mind, no matter what Amelia told herself. After their disastrous encounter in the kitchen the other day, Amelia had barely spoken to Michael. That was not just because she did not want to talk to him, although that was also a factor, but it was mainly because she took to spending most of her time locked away in her room. As mad and terribly pissed off at Michael as she was, Amelia also knew that once the heat of everything died down enough, Michael was bound to start asking her some difficult questions that she was sure she would have the guts to answer. She knew that Lisa had most probably sent this pictures, the same ones that Amelia herself had received from the woman, to Noah. Knowing the rich bastard, he would have definitely made a big deal out of it. If Michael and Olivia were still seeing each other, then she would have told him about it too. So there was no doubt on Amelia's m
Michael found Amelia in the kitchen when he came down from his room. It was still relatively early, the yellow rays of the morning sun filling the house with a light ambience. Unfortunately, that did not do much to relieve the tension that was still pressing down on the two cohabitants of the house. The man paused at the staircase for a moment, just a few steps above the floor as he leaned on the railing to think. After what had happened between him and Amelia a couple of days ago, his first thought had been that she was the one who had followed him and taken those pictures. But Michael had discarded that idea after a period of consideration. The reason was simple; such a thing just was not Amelia's style. Even though there was no doubt that the young woman had changed incredibly after her time overseas, Michael still knew a great deal about the way Amelia reasoned. The woman was not a person that would be willing to get down and dirty in order to get something. Amelia had never been
Olivia hadn't been able to sleep properly ever since Noah confronted her with images and a video of her cheating with Michael. Even though they had reconciled over the weekend, she was still very curious and paranoid about everything. How on earth did Noah get those pictures? She had tried asking him, but he wouldn't tell her no matter how much she begged. She tried taking his phone and searching through it while he was asleep, but still found nothing. Not knowing where those pictures and video had come from was slowly driving Olivia crazy even though she did her best to hide it. She pulled up into the driveway of her company, and even after being several miles away from Noah, she just couldn't help but feel his eyes staring over her shoulder. She turned around quickly, hoping to catch sight of any secret spy he might have hired, but found nothing. With frowned brows and a paranoid mind, Olivia walked into the building and headed straight for her office. She should be safe in her of