Olivia ~•~I felt terrible having to ruin Arthur’s wedding. I wasn’t in the right headspace to go back to the station, so I asked David to go ahead alone. Then I booked a ride to take the kids back to my house. “Mama! Why did you bring those policemen to take Daddy?” Riley asked as we stepped out of the car. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my breath as I rummaged through my bag to find the key to the front door. I didn’t know what to say to Riley, so I just kept quiet, hoping she would forget about the question. But just as we stepped into the house and I closed the door behind me, Rowan spoke up. “Mama, you ignored Riley’s question.” He narrowed his eyes on me. Jason also chimed into the conversation. “Why did they take my daddy?” I thought about everything else but I forgot to think about how the kids would react after arresting Alexander in front of all the guests. They didn’t deserve to see him like that and I should’ve taken them somewhere else first before arresti
Alexander Burke ~•~I spent the night in jail. I had never spent a night in jail before but it happened for something I didn’t even do. After listening to all the voice recordings, I knew damn well that my father was involved in Robert Keating's death. No wonder he didn’t put up a fight when the officers took me away. He knew he was guilty, so he had to stay calm to find a way to find a way to make everything go away. I had no part in it but I was the one paying the price. Just because I took over the family business. I didn’t blame Olivia for her actions but I was still disappointed that she didn’t come to me first before doing anything. I was disappointed that she would embarrass me in front of the kids and Arthur’s guests. I was disappointed that she ruined Arthur’s wedding. At least, I now knew the reason behind her actions. But I still had a bigger question that my father refused to give me the answer to. What was Olivia’s father trying to reveal? What shady business was
Alexander Burke ~•~I was released on bail since they didn’t have concrete evidence that it was me who committed the crimes. However, that didn’t mean the case was closed. There was an ongoing investigation and the police didn’t fail to remind me that they would be conducting another arrest whenever they finished their investigation. Arthur was the one who picked me up and drove me back home. I felt a little bit relieved but I was still restless. As soon as I stepped foot into the house, the first person I saw was Tricia. “What is going on, Alexander? This news doesn’t look good for my project.” She asked, her voice cracking slightly. I responded with a scoff, the irritation bubbling up before I could stop it. How selfish could she be? I spent the night in jail and she couldn’t even care to ask if I was okay. She was only concerned about her project that I had no business with. “You and your family blackmailed me with something. You forced me into this mess of a marriage, knowi
Olivia ~•~“Are you guys ready to leave?” I asked the kids as I walked pass their room. “We don’t have much time!” It’s been a rough week, with awkward silences and forced conversations. Riley and Rowan were still upset with me and it made me restless. I had been promising them a trip for a while, so I decided to take them somewhere for the weekend. I also wanted to use it as an opportunity to get away for a while. I decided to take them to California. I knew they grew up there and it wasn’t really an ideal vacation destination for them, but they were excited about it. I also felt the same way because I would get to see Maya again. With everything that was going on, I needed to be in a new environment. Even if it was just for the weekend. I already had our bags packed and loaded them in the trunk of the car. After a few more minutes, Riley and Rowan stepped out of their room, ready to leave for the airport. “Are you guys going to be mad at me forever?” I asked gently, my eyes d
Alexander ~•~[ I guess you are still giving me the silent treatment, I just want to let you know that I’m going away with the kids to California for the weekend.] I read Olivia’s text before tossing my phone on the bed. Olivia had been calling and texting for a while but I couldn’t bring myself to answer or talk to her. I was even surprised to see that she hadn’t showed up to the house unannounced yet. I had no idea what she wanted to talk to me about but I wasn’t ready to see her. The fact that she could even think that I had something to do with murder was haunting me. After everything we had been through all these years, I thought she knew me better than anybody else. But I was wrong, Olivia thought I was the worst person ever who was capable of doing vile things. I hated that I had to distance myself from the kids too but it had to be that way for now. I wanted to sort out everything that was going on before associating myself with any of them again. My decision was hurti
Olivia ~•~As soon as we stepped into the suite, everyone knocked out and drifted off to sleep. Even though we had spent the entire time on the plane sleeping, we were still exhausted. After some time, I finally woke up from my sleep. I sat upright on the bed and saw that the kids were still deep asleep. They looked so peaceful and adorable. I couldn’t help but smile. Then I retrieved my phone from my purse to check if anybody had called or texted me. Especially Maya, I didn’t get a response from her before I fell asleep. I scrolled through my notifications to see that I had gotten numerous texts from Maxim. I also got some other texts from Maya and my siblings. I was hesitant to click on Maxim’s text. Why was he blowing up my phone? We still kept in touch ever since he left New York but it wasn’t very often. A lot of things were happening in my life and I didn’t have the time or energy to be speaking with him regularly. He also had no idea what was happening in my life. How
Olivia ~•~Throughout the outing with Maya, Maxim was blowing up my phone with constant texts and calls. I tried too hard to ignore them but Maya noticed. I had no choice but to tell her about it. And as usual, she forced me to accept his invitation. She offered to take the kids to her house while I spent time with Maxim. Maya made sure to convince me to accept his invitation. She even helped me text him back, letting him know I had made my decision. “You wouldn’t want to be alone when you get older.” Maya’s words replayed in my head as I stepped into the car Maxim had sent to pick me up. I took a deep breath as I settled down in the back seat. It was just a date with a friend. It didn’t mean anything. I wasn’t interested in being in a relationship with anybody right now. I already had so much on my plate. After a short ride, I arrived at a restaurant. It looked so elegant and classy. Maxim was there to welcome me as soon as I stepped out of the car. “You look so breathtaking
Alexander Burke ~•~I tapped my fingers impatiently against the table as I waited for Caroline to arrive. According to her, she was only five minutes away. She said that over thirty minutes ago. Jason was kind of sad because he felt alone and didn’t have anybody to play with, so Caroline took him out to the park to cheer him up. But something urgent came up and I needed her to come back to the house. I had been waiting for her for what felt like forever. I called her phone again but she didn’t respond. Just as I was about to storm out to find her, I heard someone open the front door. I stood up from the couch and made my way to the door. “Finally!” I let out a deep breath as I saw Caroline and Jason walk into the foyer. Before I could even voice out my frustration, Caroline apologized. “I’m so sorry but Jason said he wanted ice cream, so we had to stop at the ice cream shop.” Jason ran off to his room while Caroline and I stopped in the living room. “I need to talk to you abou
Chapter 269Riley Burke ~•~I wanted everything to be perfect! For the past two weeks, I’ve been looking forward to this day. Mason and I were finally going on our date. I had no idea why I was nervous. It wasn’t like it was the first time I was going out with him. Maybe I was just having PTSD from our last date. But I knew I had nothing to be worried about. My father had assured me that he was okay with me being with Mason. He wanted me to be happy, even if my happiness included being with someone who had hurt us in the past. It wasn’t Mason who hurt us but I just didn’t focus on that part. As long as he was ready to move past the whole situation, I didn’t care to correct him anymore. “The makeup artist is here!” Rowan yelled loud enough for me to hear after knocking on my room door. Yes, I had to ask for a professional makeup artist because I was hellbent on making everything perfect. “I’ll be downstairs soon,” I replied as I wore my hair bonnet to protect my hair while getti
Chapter 268Mason Craig ~•~Ever since Riley’s father picked her up from the restaurant and interrupted our date, I had this lingering feeling of sadness inside me. But I acted like everything was fine and normal. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. I felt hurt because every day I woke up, I was reminded that she wasn’t my girl and could easily give another boy a chance. I didn’t want that to happen but at the same time, I didn’t have any control over it. Every day felt like torture but I was glad that it had finally come to an end. Riley’s father had finally approved of our relationship. A wave of excitement surged through me but I tried my best to remain calm when she told me about it. I would finally be able to be with the girl of my dreams. I had a feeling that he changed his mind because my father agreed to help when Riley had gone missing. I also had my father to thank. He finally fixed the mess he had caused earlier. Everything was finally going smoothly. I h
Chapter 267Olivia ~•~“Are you sure you don’t mind seeing them together?” I asked Alexander for the umpteenth time when he said he wanted to tell Riley that she could be with Mason. I didn’t want a situation where he would second guess his choice and regret his decision. Or a situation where he wouldn’t be nice to the boy later in the future. It wouldn’t be fair on Riley. Alexander nodded his head as he parked the car in the driveway. “Yes, I’m sure.” He assured me. “I shouldn’t be the one to take away my daughter’s chance at teenage love.” He added, smiling at me. I shrugged. “Okay, if you say so,” I replied as I loosened my seatbelt. “I hope you don’t have any secret animosity towards him that will reveal itself later.” Alexander laughed. “Don’t you trust me?” He asked, raising a brow at me. “I’m not holding anything against the boy. Not even his parents.” “Fine.” We stepped out of the car and made our way into the house. On our way back home, we stopped at the mall to get
Chapter 266Riley Burke ~•~It was fun having my friends over for the weekend. And it was a total flop trying to pretend like I was surprised when they first arrived. They saw right through my pretense. Even if we hadn’t been friends for so long, they knew me well enough. I barely even thought about what I had gone through while they were around. Having them around was a good distraction. I was sad that they had to leave. But I couldn’t do anything about it as I walked them to the car. During their stay, I realized that it was actually my mother’s idea to invite them over. Now it made sense why she was so welcoming. My mother didn’t usually like it when I had my friends over. I mean, my friends from high school. Our family was always under scrutiny, so she didn’t trust anybody. It was nice to see her giving my new friends a chance. The weekend was over and it was a new school week. I hadn’t completely healed but even when I assured my parents that I would be okay, they claime
Chapter 265Riley Burke ~•~As soon as my dad handed me a new phone, I found my friend's phone number and called them immediately. It was already noon and on the weekend, so I was confused about why none of them answered their phones. I mean, those girls were literally always with their phones. I really wanted to speak to them, but I guess I had to wait until later to try calling them again. Maybe they were busy with something. I spent most of my time inside my room and I was getting bored. Normally, my mother didn’t like it when l took my food upstairs but this time, she brought the food to my room by herself. I hadn’t gotten any reason to go downstairs. I needed a change of environment, so I decided to freshen up and head downstairs. I was pretty sure Rowan and Jason were playing video games in the living room. After spending about thirty minutes in the bathroom, I dressed up in my comfortable sweatshirt and shorts before making my way downstairs. “Hey,” Jason said as soon a
Chapter 264Olivia ~•~I wanted to accompany Alexander when he was going to see Maxim, but he refused. I knew that he didn’t want me to see him, but still, he said I was going to see him later. After helping Riley with dinner and giving her medication, I went back to the room to meet Alexander. I hadn’t talked to him since he came back from the station. “Hey, what happened at the station?” I asked him as I walked into the room. He was standing in front of the closet and searching through it. “I have something to tell you,” Alexander muttered under his breath. My interest became piqued. “I’m listening,” I responded as different thoughts ran through my head. Alexander sounded so serious and I couldn’t help but wonder what he wanted to say to me. He took a deep breath and turned around. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” He cleared his throat and continued. “You remember when you found out that Maxim was a fraud?” He asked and I nodded, anticipating what he had to say next. “Y
Chapter 263Riley Burke~•~When we finished at the restaurant, my father asked my mother to drive me back home. He wanted to go to the station to see Maxim and the other men who kept me hostage. My mother wanted to accompany him but he refused, saying she would see him later. As soon as my father left, I followed my mother to the car. I couldn’t wait to go back home and see my brothers. I was so excited to see everyone. Being free felt so good. “Riley, I’m inviting the doctor over, so she can do a checkup and give you the necessary treatments you need.” My mother said as I settled down on the passenger’s seat. I hated anything related to hospitals or medical care, but I couldn’t protest against it. I actually needed medication because I was still in pain. My legs and my head were still hurting and I needed the pain to stop. “Sure,” I responded with a smile and my mother nodded. A few minutes later, we arrived at the house. My heart leaped for joy as the security guards open
Chapter 262 Rowan Burke ~•~I loved my sister but I had no idea that her absence would affect me so badly. Ever since I realized she was missing, I couldn’t even focus on anything else. My mind was always racing with different thoughts. What if something bad had happened to her and my parents took so long to search for her? Everyone thought Riley had willingly disappeared but that wasn’t the case. My sister was missing. I couldn’t even talk to anyone or go anywhere. I shut everyone out, including my girlfriend, Belle. Until Riley was found, I was certain that I would be restless. While my parents were at the station, I kept on blowing their phones with constant calls. Most of the time, they didn’t respond. A part of me felt bad because I wanted to be kept in the loop, I wanted to know what was going on, or even if they had gotten a lead. But I knew that they were busy and my calls were distracting them from doing their work. When my mother finally answered her phone, she a
Chapter 261Olivia ~•~Different waves of emotions rushed through me as I saw Riley running in our direction. Relief, joy, and gratitude swirled together, overwhelming me.I was so happy to see her. For a moment, I thought we were at a dead end. I thought she had left the house or the men they caught were probably lying about her whereabouts. She looked so scared but also excited to see us. Before I could even move, Alexander rushed and pulled her in a tight hug. I was still in shock as I watched them reunite. After a few moments, I joined them, turning the hug into a group hug. “Oh my baby, um happy to see you.” I smiled at Riley as we broke the hug. Riley looked like she was struggling to hold back her tears. I could only imagine what she had gone through at the hands of those people. Alexander stepped aside to call the detectives. He wanted them to know that we had seen Riley. While he made the call, I led Riley to the car. As soon as we got into the car, I began asking her