Michael remained in his car for a while, the rage within him still refusing to simmer down. He had been in the vehicle since he left the office, and that has been a while now. He was still contemplating, whether he had been too harsh with his words, with Olivia. He hadn't even given her a chance to explain, but then again, what exactly would she have said? That it was good? That Noah was better than he was? His blood already boiled from thinking about it, if he actually had to hear Olivia say those words, then he might genuinely lose his mind. Frustrated, Michael slammed his fists repeatedly into the steering wheel until they threatened to bleed. He was visibly shaking from rage, and it only seemed to get worse as the seconds ticked by. He couldn't be with Olivia, and he couldn't even go home and be at peace. Everything just seemed to be getting worse, and it had all started when that bastard, Noah Grant, came back into town. Finally relaxing his white knuckles, Michael took a d
"Hi," Michael's smooth voice flowed from the phone's speakers as the recorded voicemail message began to play automatically. "I can't come to the phone right now but feel free to leave a message so I can—"Olivia cut the rest of the recording short with a sigh as she ended the call attempt. She had no idea how many times she had listened to the same recording over and over for the past few days. Since their disastrous talk in his office that day, Michael had seemingly gone off the grid in terms of communication. No matter how Olivia tried, she could not reach him. Her calls were always left unanswered, and her text messages had been piling up without a single response from him. Throughout that time, Olivia had been consumed by a relentless guilt that had continued to eat away at her for days. Michael's reaction that morning had been nothing short of terrifying, though in a different way than her marriage to Noah had been. Her fear had not been of the possibility Michael hurting her,
Olivia left Michael's house with a pang of hurt circling through her entire body. She had come here to apologize, but somehow things had ended up getting worse between them, and this time she didn't blame herself for it. Michael was responsible for what had just happened now, and she was genuinely mad at him now. Amelia had been staying with him all this while, and yet he never mentioned anything about that to her. She wanted to believe that he wasn't possibly cheating on her with Amelia all this while, but that was impossible to fathom even for someone as loyal as Michael. They had been lovers before, and there was no way he wouldn't be tempted once or twice when they were both staying under the same roof. The thought of Michael being with another woman sent a wave of rage coursing through Olivia's body, and her reaction to that rage was slamming her fist against the steering wheel. How dare Michael try to make her feel like she was an unfaithful woman when he had been living under
"So, how are things going over there?" Noah spoke into the phone that was held against his ear as he walked towards his closet. "Oh it has been going absolutely splendidly," a smooth feminine voice replied on the other side of the connection. "Although I did encounter a bit more difficulty at the beginning just as you said."Noah chuckled as he opened the double doors of his closet. The space within was large enough to fit an entire room inside, with multiple sections that were dedicated to one specific type of clothing. "Well then, I suppose it's a good thing you decided to listen to my advice. When it comes to playing with the strings of the human heart, I am the best pupper master you're going to find."The sheer arrogance in his voice made the person in the other end of the call to laugh, her voice a sharp sweet melody. "Having witnessed the result of your work firsthand, I must say that I have lost all doubt in your ability. How is Miss Olivia by the way?""Oh she is as beautifu
Olivia did her best to focus on the party and on her date, but time and time again her attention would slowly drift away to Michael and Amelia who was very obviously out to get Olivia. She would occasionally rub Michael's chest in the most seductive manner, and when she wasn't doing that, she was throwing herself all over him. None of that got to Olivia, what made her mad and jealous was the fact that Michael didn't show any objections towards Amelia's act, he just stood there and acted like it was nothing, if anything it seemed like he was enjoying it. Cautious, Olivia drew her attention back to the man right beside her. Noah was particularly busy with guests, but that didn't mean he wouldn't catch her zoning out if she continued to do that everytime."You don't look like you're having a good time, something on your mind?" Noah pointed out the very second he decided to focus his attention on Olivia. It didn't take him long to figure out that she wasn't enjoying the night, and a qui
With the crystal clear champagne flute in her hand, Olivia watched silently as Amelia and Michael disappeared into the crowd in the direction of the exit. The way the other woman seemed to wrap herself around Michael's arm had Olivia's head throbbing with envy and irritation. She shifted her eyes around once the two were out of sight. Fortunately no one in the crowd had noticed the little altercation that would have occurred if Olivia had not retreated the moment she did. She brought up the glass to her ruby red lips, attempting to use the rich taste of the wine to distract herself from the gut wrenching ache that wreaked havoc on her heart each time she thought of the man she loved going home to sleep in the arms of another woman. The worst part about the whole thing was the fact that Olivia could not really blame Amelia for any of this. As far as the other woman was concerned, she had merely come back to get back together with her fiance with whom she never called things off.Olivi
Lisa sat in her living room fuming about the entire situation with Noah. She had heard that their companies were holding a party tonight, and while she understood that it was none of her concern, she had expected Noah to tell her something at least, and in her fantasies had wished for him to ask her out. There had been no need to take Olivia as his date, she was already invited. "Arrghhh..." Lisa cried out before launching one of the cushion pillows across the room. She was angry, not because she had not been invited, but because she hadn't been able to finish with what he had gone to the party to do. She had arrived for Noah, to threaten him with her presence, and that had worked.When Lisa arrived at the party, she had been stopped by security just as she had expected. Her name hadn't been on the guest list, but that hadn't stopped Lisa one bit. Just like she had planned, she had begun to make a scene, claiming that she was Noah Grant's lover, and threatening to get all the securit
The ungodly hangover that had remained with Olivia throughout the morning after the party made the woman remember just why exactly she rarely drank. Fortunately for her, Noah had brought her home that night and left her to rest which contributed to her not waking up to a completely messed up day. That had been a few days ago, and since that night Olivia had yet to come in for work. After the company dinner party, Noah had decided to stay at her place for a while. The man had probably done so with the intention of furthering his relationship with her, but Olivia had a much different view of the matter. Seeing Michael that night had forced her to come to terms with the reality of what she was doing. Olivia had realized that if she continued to drag out this plan of hers for revenge, she was actually going to lose Michael to Amelia. The short time she had spent around Michael that night had been the wake-up call she needed. After the party, and with Noah insisting that he stay over for
Olivia made sure to inform Michael and Damian about Noah's intent to announce her pregnancy to his family. They were set to travel later that day, and she had already gotten her things packed. After learning of the plan, Damian had immediately gotten prepared and set off for home. To make sure that Noah didn't get suspicious of him and Olivia, he knew he still had to pretend to be the villain. It was crucial that they didn't get caught, especially when the final hearing was barely two weeks away. Two hours after his arrival, Noah and Olivia's car pulled into the driveway. Noah was the first to step out, a steady and warm smile spread across his face as he opened the door for Olivia. "Thank you." She whispered before locking arms with Noah. Just like the man beside her, Olivia was forced to put on a bright smile. She hated being here, she hated anything that had ties with the Grant family, and their family home was the epitome of everything she despised. Regardless, she kept her tru
The past week had been nothing short of hell for Olivia. The mere fact that she had to sleep and wake up beside the man who she knew for certain had killed her friend was already enough to ruin her entire day, now the police didn't seem to be taking Lisa's case seriously anymore. To them this was just a simple robbery gone wrong, and since they had no lead on who the culprit might be, there was little they could do. Olivia fought back the urge she had to scream out her lungs. She just couldn't believe what was happening, life was just unfair, and the evil ones always seemed to be winning. She was tired of it, but she knew that she couldn't let her rage get to her. The last thing she wanted was for her to tip Noah off especially now that she was so close to achieving her plan. Noah on the other hand couldn't care any less about Lisa's death. His wounds had healed considerably, and now that he didn't have to wear bandages anymore, he wanted to take things to the next level with Olivia
Noah immediately drove to see his doctor the moment he finished with Lisa. But before he left, he had instructed his men to make sure no evidence of him entering the apartment was found. They had cleaned Lisa's body well, making sure that Noah's DNA would not be found anywhere on her body, as well as cleared any security footage. Afterwards, his men had staged a robbery and had made sure that they were witnesses who would claim that Lisa had indeed died at the hands of a robber. As Noah drove back home, he prepared himself for the torrent of questions that he would definitely receive from Olivia. He would have to explain the bandages wrapped around his head, and he would also have to explain where he had been all this while. He knew for sure that she would have already received news of Lisa's death by now. And judging by the time, Noah already expected her to be home by now. After more than half an hour of driving, Noah finally arrived home. As he had expected, Olivia was home, her
Olivia felt her blood run cold the moment the police officer announced to her that Lisa was dead. At first she thought it was all some sort of prank, but the sound of ambulances in the background was enough to convince her that this might not be a joke. "W..what are you talking about? What are you saying?!" Olivia stammered as she forced her body to stop trembling. How on earth did this happen? Why? How?"I understand that you're in shock, but I'll need you to calm down ma'am. Right now we don't have the full details of the story, and we'll need your help if we're going to get to the bottom of it." The officer on the other side calmed Olivia. They had gone through Lisa's phone, and from the data collected from her device, they had enough material that suggested Olivia was her closest friend. So far it looked like a murder, and some witnesses had reported seeing a hooded man enter her apartment minutes before they heard a gunshot. The shattered glass and scattered living room suggest
Noah had thought that after his warning, Lisa would finally learn her place and stop interfering in his plans. But after receiving a call from his henchmen, informing him that Damian had recently gone to visit Lisa, Noah had finally come to the conclusion that he could no longer let Lisa stay around any longer. He had warned her more than enough times, but she had simply refused to listen to his words. Slipping a pistol and a silencer into his pocket, Noah made his way towards his car. He needed to pay Lisa a visit, and this visit was necessary in order to shut her up for good. Lisa had made it clear that she wouldn't stop being a burden to his plans, and Noah was simply sick and tired of tolerating her acts of insolence and defiance. Noah's mind wandered as he drove towards Lisa's apartment. He wondered how Olivia was going to react to the news of hearing that Lisa was dead, and if it was going to affect her pregnancy in any way. The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize her heal
Damian made it to Olivia's office after thirty minutes of being on the road. Lisa's words had given him a little bit of hope, now all that was left was for him to confirm things with Olivia. If they happened to be true, he would do all that he could to help her out. Lisa was right, he was the one gaining the most from all of this, and because of that he needed to show efforts in taking Noah down. Getting down from his car, he rushed into the main building, hoping and praying that Olivia had come to work today. He had barely finished with the receptionist when he was approached by a figure he wasn't quite familiar with. However, Michael knew exactly who Damian was, and he had recognized him the moment he laid eyes on him. "Is there something you want, Damian Grant?" Michael asked with raised brows and mild hostility. He didn't want to judge Damian because of Noah, but it had become impossible to think about the Grants without immediately assuming that they were up to something bad.
Damian could feel his anxiety growing as the days passed. His final court hearing with Noah was approaching soon, and so far he was on the losing end of the game. There was barely a month left before they got down to the final stages of the succession crisis. He had run out of ideas on what to do, and it seemed like Olivia wasn't making much progress with her plans.He got down from his bed, confused and feeling miserable. There wasn't much he could do anymore, and he hated that more than anything. If he lost, Noah was going to take everything and leave him with nothing, and he simply just couldn't sit still and let that happen. He needed to speak with Olivia, to know exactly where she was headed to with this plan of hers. Getting down from the bed, Damian entered the bathroom and immediately freshened up. He had been in town ever since Noah and Olivia got attacked, but hadn't made his presence known to anybody. He had been watching Noah and Olivia from the shadows, and the things he
Noah was the last person Olivia had expected to come to her office, and quite frankly she didn't know how she didn't see it coming. She should have expected it, Noah was never going to let her go without trying to know everything that she was up to. She was grateful for her secretary, if it weren't for her, Noah would have caught her in Michael's office, being intimate with the man."There was no need for you to come here, Noah." Olivia argued as she lifted her head up from the system that she was barely using. "I was worried, pregnant women shouldn't be in the office, Liv. You should be at home, resting—""I am fine, Noah! How many times do I need to tell you that?!" Olivia interjected sharply, annoyed and angry that Noah wouldn't just let her live her life in peace. What was up with him anyway?! "You should go back home, you're distracting me from work, and there isn't really anything for you to do here." Noah sat still, contemplating on whether or not he should confront Olivia ab
Although Noah had a feeling that Olivia was not going to work, he hadn't expected that she would be heading for Lisa's home. He had paid some of his henchmen to keep an eye on Lisa ever since the day she told him that she was pregnant. And today, they had called to tell him that Olivia just pulled up to Lisa's apartment, and had spent more than half an hour inside with Lisa as well. He had immediately prepared himself and had driven straight to Lisa's. Olivia was already gone by the time he arrived, but that didn't stop him from entering the complex, and heading straight for Lisa's home. He wanted to know what they had discussed, and he needed to know why Olivia had come here. Without knocking, he stormed in and entered the room to find Lisa on the couch, holding a half glass of champagne and watching television."You son of a bitch—" Lisa's words were drowned out by the shock of seeing Noah in her living room. Her surprise soon turned to rage, and she hurled the glass in her hand