Why Now?

Olivia could sense that something was wrong the very moment she stopped in front of her apartment building. Something was different, the air seemed tensed, and every person around was staring at her as though she was a stranger. They knew who she was, she doubted anybody in the city was unaware of who she was. Yet, they glared at her with such an odd look on their faces.

Her eyes scanned the surrounding, searching for something that could be the reason for the sudden attention. Her eyes fell on a few things she hadn't recognized, the most notable being a brand new sports car that rested by the far end of the building. The people who lived in this apartment weren't poor, so seeing a new sports cars wasn't exactly a big deal.

Olivia only came to find out the reason why she had been getting those glares when she walked up the stairs and found Noah Grant standing in front of her door.

Her heart had almost jumped out of her body, and she felt like turning around and leaving the moment her eyes caught sight of him. However, Noah had spotted her, and he didn't give her the opportunity she needed to make her escape.

"You're finally home, I was getting a bit worried." Noah said, his voice smooth, betraying none of the darkness Olivia knew lurked beneath the surface. He pushed off the door, taking a step toward her, and she instinctively took a step back.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me—"

She paused after she figured out the answer to her second question. Her home address were probably on the files that she had submitted to Rock Enterprise when she had requested for their cooperation. Now that Noah was the owner of the company, he likely had access to that information.

"Shouldn't we get inside first? People are staring, and it wouldn't be nice if they got the wrong idea." Noah suggested before moving aside to give Olivia the space she needed.

Olivia took in a deep breath, her hand shaking out of fear and rage. She wanted to scream out, to yell at Noah and ask him out of her apartment. However, there were too many eyes and open cameras for her to act so irrationally. With a forced smile, she walked to the door, opened it gently and walked inside, almost slamming it on Noah's face.

But the man was swift, pushing in a part of his feet to prevent the door from all the way. Now, Olivia had no choice but to act like it was a mistake before eventually letting him in.

"What do you want from me, Noah?! What is your problem with me?!" She inquired, her voice filled with inquisition and anger.

Noah closed the door behind him with a soft click, his movements slow and deliberate. Olivia stood rigid, her heart pounding in her chest, every instinct telling her to run, but there was nowhere to go. Noah's presence here had already stirred a commotion, and taking this drama outside would not do anything good for their reputation.

"Come on, Olivia, don't be like that," Noah finally replied, his voice dripping with feigned concern. He took a step closer, and Olivia took an equal pace backwards. Noah smiled, before resting on the counter beside him. "I just wanted to see you, make sure you're doing okay. It's been a while, and what sort of husband would I be to not care for his wife.."

Husband? Did he really just say husband? Olivia wondered, her eyes burning with confusion and hate. "Husband?" She chuckled mockingly. "You're sick if you ever think that you're still my husband. We're divorced—"

"I never signed those papers, Olivia." Noah interjected, raising the documents he had kept hidden for Olivia to see. "We never went to court, did we? You never stayed back to finalize anything, right? And I didn't bother signing those papers, so legally you're still my wife!"

Olivia's breath caught in her throat and she felt her body stop moving as she stared at the paper in Noah's hands. He wasn't lying, it was the same paper from that day, and now she couldn't stop her body from trembling.

His words echoed continuously in her head, and the more she thought of about it, the more her body seemed to lose its functionality. How could this be happening? How had she overlooked something so crucial? Everything Noah had said was true, and the realization was slowly driving her insane.

"You… you can't be serious," Olivia stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes darted from the papers to Noah's smug expression, her mind racing. She had been so desperate to escape him, to put everything behind her, that she had left before ensuring everything was finalized. She never imagined Noah would use that against her.

"Oh, I'm very serious," Noah said, his tone cold now, the pretense of concern long gone. He casually waved the papers, letting them dangle in the air between them like a noose.

Desperately, Olivia snatched the papers from Noah's grasp and reduced it to shreds. "Nonsense! You're insane if you think you can come here and lie to my face!"

She closed in on Noah, her finger pointed at him in a threatening manner. "It doesn't matter whether you signed the papers or not, I honestly don't care! You ceased being my husband the day you left me to die in that hospital. I waited for you, but what did you do? Nothing! If you really think these papers would force me to do anything you're gravely mistaken. Now get out of my house before I do something we will both regret!"

Noah backed away, not because he was afraid, but because he didn't want to cause any scene here.

"It doesn't matter how much you try to deny it, you're still my wife, Olivia! And until we're legally divorced, I'll never leave your life!"

Olivia's hands trembled with rage the shredded pieces of paper fluttered to the floor like a flurry of dead leaves. She wanted nothing more than to squeeze the life out of Noah Grant at the moment.

But why was he doing this, why did he suddenly want her back after all these years? Was it because she was now successful? It couldn't be, Noah wasn't after her money, not when he had more than she did. So what exactly did he want? She was curious, but at the moment she wanted nothing more than for him to leave her apartment.