Alexander Burke ~•~I was still inside the room when I heard a knock on the door. “It’s Caroline.” I heard my sister's voice echo from the other side of the door. “Come in! The door is unlocked.” I said and sat upright on the bed. Caroline had a concerned expression registered on her face as she pushed open the door and walked to the bed. “Did you tell her about it before it was released publicly?” I shook my head, regretting my decision. “No, I wanted to tell her but it was too late,” I muttered, rubbing the bridge of my nose as if it would relieve the stress. Caroline sighed. “Do you think she has seen it? Has she reached out to you?” I shrugged. “I have no idea. I turned off my phone.” “You know you can’t shut her out forever, right? You have to talk to her about it.” Caroline advised solemnly. “It’s better you do it now.”“I think I should wait a little bit, this isn’t the right…...” Caroline cut me off before I could even complete my sentence. “There is no right time for
Olivia ~•~I couldn’t sleep the previous night and it was baffling. I wasn’t expecting the news of Alexander’s marriage to Tricia to affect me that much. I was disappointed in myself. Why was I so bothered? We weren’t together and it wasn’t meant to be any of my business. But somehow it still stung badly. It felt like a heavy punch to my guts. I didn’t know I had feelings for Alexander. Or maybe I was just upset because it was Tricia who made me finally give up on my marriage. And now, she had gotten the man. It wasn’t a competition. I couldn’t be in a competition with another woman because of a man. No, I wasn’t a teenager anymore. I was a grown adult who was responsible for two amazing children. Alexander wasn’t a prize. Oh my! I hated myself for feeling like this. Why was I so bothered? I was losing my mind. I couldn’t help but wonder what the blogs were saying about it. I didn’t care to read the comments because I had promised myself to stay clear of the comments that invo
Olivia ~•~I stood in the kitchen, staring at my phone, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Alexander claimed he’d be back in New York, first thing in the morning. And he’d stop by my house to talk to me. But all I could see were photos of him and Tricia, plastered across the internet - smiling and posing for the cameras as they arrived at the airport together.The headline screamed at their arrival, but it was the image of them at the side that made my stomach churn. I could feel the familiar sting of betrayal creeping into my chest again, twisting the knife deeper. He was supposed to be here, having a serious conversation with me, not having a photo-op with her. I let out an unbelievable scoff and dropped my phone on the counter. I wiped my eyes, angry at myself for caring too much. This wasn’t supposed to hurt like this. I had promised myself I wouldn’t let him get under my skin again. But I was angry and disappointed all over again. I needed to get past this. I needed to move
Olivia ~•~My heart raced as I walked towards the house, my palms growing sweaty with each step. Finally, I stood at the door, my hands hovering around the doorbell. I didn’t understand why I was nervous. If anyone was meant to be nervous, it was meant to be Alexander. I was the victim here. I took a deep breath and calmed myself before unlocking the door. My legs felt heavy and uncoordinated as I walked inside the house. Alexander was sitting on the couch in the living room. I took another deep breath, trying to steady my voice but it still came out shaky as I greeted Alexander. “Hey, hi.” I couldn’t even look him in the face. The only thing I could think of was how he had hurt me because of the same person. TWICE! Alexander stood up from the couch and moved closer to me. “Olivia, why are you avoiding eye contact with me?” He asked, his voice low. “Do you hate me so much that you can’t even look at me?” There was a hint of guilt and regret in his voice. I let out a wistful sig
Olivia ~•~The roar of the jet ski engine drowned out everything else as I held the handlebars tighter, speeding across the waves. Maya clung to me, her laughter echoing as we flew over the water. “Wooooo!” Maya yelled, throwing her arms up as we hit another wave, water splashing in all directions. “This is insane!” I screamed over the roar of the engine, a wide grin plastered across my face. For the first time in ages, I felt alive, like nothing could touch me. “Faster!” Maya screamed, laughing as she wrapped her arms tighter around my waist. “Show me what you’ve got, Liv.” I smiled as I leaned forward, pushing the throttle harder. We cut through the waves, our hair flying widely in the wind. We zigzagged through the open sea, occasionally dodging boats and other jet skiers. Every turn felt exhilarating like it was a moment of pure escape. “Holy crap, this is the best!” Maya shouted as she laughed uncontrollably. I couldn’t stop grinning, the adrenaline coursing through my ve
Olivia ~•~“Not today!” I muttered to myself and swiped away from her message. I traveled to Miami to forget about all the New York shenanigans. I didn’t want to entertain anything from anybody. Sandra and I weren’t friends so I didn’t owe her any conversation. If she wanted to speak to someone urgently, she should talk to whoever her new friends were. She should speak to the people who she hasn’t betrayed. Shoving the thoughts about Sandra away from my mind, I dialed my mother's number. I wanted to check up on them to see if they were good. I waited impatiently as the phone rang. My mother was barely with her phone, so sometimes she missed my calls. But I was hoping she would answer because after seeing that text from Sandra, I really wanted to speak to them to make sure everyone was okay. My mother didn’t answer the phone but that didn’t stop me from calling multiple times. The outcome was still the same and I was about to give up but I decided to try one last time. Fortunat
Olivia ~•~“What’s wrong?” I asked Maya. “The purpose of this trip was to get away from them. But I guess that is impossible.” Maya complained as she slumped down on the couch. I understood her frustration but I was also curious to hear what Sandra wanted to talk to me about. It was unusual and unexpected and I couldn’t wait to hear what it was about. “I’m not letting her ruin the evening. I’ll call her after dinner.” I said but Maya wasn’t impressed by my words. If it was up to her, my phone would have been turned off until the end of the trip. “I just hope she doesn’t cause any problems that would make this trip short,” Maya grumbled. “By the way, our ride is here.” She added before standing up from the couch and making her way to the door.I silently trailed behind her and the walk to the car was awkwardly silent. But I couldn’t continue like that throughout the night, so I had to address the issue as we settled into the car. “Maya, I can’t control what other people do. It’s
Olivia ~•~As he led me to the bar, I couldn’t help but wonder what he wanted to speak to me about. I was a stranger in Miami and I didn’t have any business with anybody there. When we reached the bar, he pulled out one of the stools for me to sit. “Please be fast, I was waiting for my food,” I said to him as I climbed the stool. He chuckled. “I couldn’t resist speaking to such a beautiful woman. But sure, I’ll be fast.” He responded and I didn’t miss his thick Russian accent. I had no idea how I missed it the first time he spoke. His charm was effortless but I wasn’t in the mood for any sort of flattery. “What do you want?” I asked, cutting straight to the point. What did a Russian man want to do with me? His expression shifted and he leaned closer to me. “I’m sorry for intruding but I would love to be your friend. Maybe you could even give me your phone number.” “I’m not from here, I only came here for a vacation.” The man nodded. “I know. Same here as well.” He said. “Forg
Riley Burke ~•~I called Mason’s phone severally but he didn’t answer. I was upset for a moment but I decided to calm down. I figured he would be busy with his family, due to everything that was happening. Or he could be asleep because the day was already dark. After tossing my phone on the bed, I decided to rest my head for a few minutes. But the next time I opened my eyes, I saw that it was morning. Sunlight streamed through the window, making me realize I hadn’t closed the curtains before I slept off the previous night. I blinked repeatedly as I tried adjusting to the brightness coming through the window. Letting out a loud yawn, I sat upright on the bed and reached out for my phone on the scattered sheets. As I picked up my phone, I glanced over the screen to see what time it was. But I realized I had gotten a lot of calls from Mason. I was deeply asleep and didn’t hear when the call came in. I contemplated returning the call but it was too early. I decided to wait for a l
Mason Craig~•~A few moments later, I heard a loud bang on my door, followed by my mother’s angry voice. “Mason Craig! Why did you choose to betray our family?” I had no idea how long I had been asleep for but I jerked back to reality after I heard those words come out from my mother’s mouth. I stood up from my bed immediately and walked to the door. My mother had a disappointed look on her face as the door swung open. “What are you talking about?” I asked, my brows etched in confusion. “So you decided to tell your little girlfriend about what we did? You decided to snitch and betray your family?” She questioned, her voice laced with disdain. My eyes were still thick with sleep and it took me a minute to process what she was talking about. “What do you mean? What girlfriend? I didn’t say anything to anybody.” I responded, my tone defensive. “Oh please!” She waved her hands violently in the air. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Follow me downstairs, your fa
Riley Burke ~•~After I was done talking to Mason, I went to meet Rowan because he asked me to meet him after my class. We were meant to go back home together. He was waiting for me in the driveway. I settled down in the front seat of the car and fastened my seatbelt. As we drove back to the house, I contemplated telling Rowan about the situation with Mason. But I wasn’t sure if I should say anything. Rowan would be so upset and probably tell my parents about it. I didn’t know if I wanted anybody to know what I knew Mason personally. It was best if I kept it away from them for a while. After an exhausting drive, we arrived at the house. “Is Belle still pissed at you?” I asked Rowan as we both stepped out of the car.He shook his head. “Yes, I messed up big time and I’m not sure she’ll forgive me easily,” Rowan admitted, running his hands through his hair. My lips parted and I blinked. “What? How did you mess up?” My curiosity got the best of me and I couldn’t resist asking him
Mason Craig~•~After Riley left, I remained in the office for a few more minutes. I needed some time to think and clear my head. I was certain that Riley didn’t believe anything I said and I had no idea how to make her see that I was being completely honest with her. Even if she eventually comes around, things will still be weird between us because of my parent’s behavior. After meeting so many shallow people, I finally found someone worth starting something with again. But it was already crumbling before it could even start. I didn’t have any other classes, so I decided to head back home. I locked the office and made my way back to my car. My uncle was a professor at the university, so he gave me a spare key. He asked me to go there whenever I needed a break from the crowd. He was one of the reasons why my father allowed me to attend Columbia University. He wanted me to go to a different country for college, but I didn’t want to go far away. Most times, I do regret my choice. I
Riley Burke ~•~I was already pissed when I saw Mason walking into the class. But his stupid text only fueled my irritation more. He still had the guts to ask if he did something wrong. Whenever I was upset and couldn’t do anything about it, my legs automatically started shaking. Liam noticed and tried his best to calm me down.I hated the fact that I was about to crash out in public. At first, I didn’t want to respond to his text. But out of annoyance, I responded to him and then blocked his number afterward.I didn’t want him to contact me anymore.After what felt like an eternity, the class was finally over. At one point, I even wanted to walk out of the class, but Liam persuaded me to stay. As everyone left the class, I wanted to rush out before Mason could get the chance to speak to me, but he was faster than me. I knew I wanted to have a conversation with him to demand answers but I wasn’t interested anymore. My daddy was going to take care of everything. “What do you want
Mason Craig ~•~After thinking about what to do for a while, I decided to tell Riley about it. I could imagine how devastated she would be if she found out about it from someone else. I didn’t want her to think I was part of it in any way. I knew telling her was me betraying my parents, but I didn’t care. The truth was going to come out eventually. I didn’t want it to look like I was enabling their behavior. At first, I wanted to call Riley and talk to her about it over the phone, but since we had a class together later in the day, I decided to leave it. I would have a conversation with her after our class. A few hours later, it was time for me to leave for school. I was already running late, so I grabbed my keys and bag before rushing down to the car. While I was on my way to school, I couldn’t stop thinking about the damage my parents had caused. They were so hungry for power and success, it wasn’t healthy. Even if they were giving me the silent treatment, I was still determ
Riley Burke ~•~As I got to school, I contemplated going back to my dorm room or going to class. I wasn’t sure I was in the right head space to see Mason. My mind was spinning with different thoughts and I was laced with anger. I couldn’t believe someone would betray me like that. I felt so stupid and used. I didn’t even know what to say to him. As I stepped out of the car, I decided to call Harper first to ask if she was in the room. I didn’t want to go to meet in an empty room, it would just fuel my frustration more. Harper didn’t answer her phone. I was guessing that was in class and couldn’t take the call. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I decided to call Amelia instead. I let out a relieved sigh when Amelia answered on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up? Are you in class?” I asked with a hint of urgency in my voice. “No, I’m in the dorm room.” She replied. “What’s going on?”I didn’t want to talk on the phone. “You’ll see me soon.” I ended the call and made my way to the dorm
Riley Burke ~•~It was finally time for me to leave for school.The driver was already waiting for me downstairs. I took one last look at my reflection in the mirror. I was satisfied with my look and my outfit for the day. I wore a pink sweatshirt and a short leather skirt with boots. I grabbed my coat and bag and then arranged my hair before heading downstairs. I only had one class, so I was kind of thrilled about it. Plus, I’ll also get to see my friends and Mason. As I walked down the stairs, I ran into my mother and Caroline discussing seriously in the living room. They were so engrossed in the conversation that they didn’t hear me walk down the stairs. “What’s going on?” My voice diverted both of their attention to me: I was able to hear some of what they were saying, so they didn’t see the need to keep it away from me. Plus, I deserved to know. I asked my father to keep me in the loop and he agreed to do so. “They finally found the people responsible for tarnishing the com
Mason Craig ~•~I could barely get any sleep the previous night because I couldn’t stop thinking about what Tristain had told me. He confirmed my fears about my parents being the ones responsible for Burke’s company’s rumors. I was highly disappointed. A part of me was also scared. Why did it have to be them? How would Riley feel if she eventually found out that my parents were the ones who were responsible? My mind was spiraling with different thoughts. I contemplated confronting my parents but they were already not speaking to me. I wondered if I should call Riley and tell her about it, but that wouldn’t be a smart move. It would be as though I was betraying my family. I hated that I was in such a position. I couldn’t even think properly. I didn’t know the right step to take. I didn’t even want my parents to know that I was friends with someone from the Burke family. I had no idea how they would react to it. Even if I wanted to keep the truth away from Riley, nothing stays h