Olivia ~•~I couldn’t get any sleep throughout the night. I kept on thinking about the text message I had received. What did the person mean by calling me a homewrecker? Who’s home did I wreck? I tried calling the number multiple times after sending numerous texts demanding answers. But no matter how I tried, the person was deliberately ignoring me. Normally, I would have ignored the accusations. But this person had access to my personal number and it was scary. My curiosity made me so restless. As soon as the day was bright, I picked up my phone to call my sister. I wanted to tell her about what was happening so badly. “Hey, good morning.” I greeted her in a slightly faint voice as she answered the call. “Hey, Liv. What is going on?” She asked, her voice lively. I hesitated for a moment, then I took a deep breath before speaking. “I got a weird text message yesterday,” I said, running my hands through my hair. Amanda’s interest was piqued. “What was the text about?” “How doe
Olivia ~•~The kids were in their room getting ready while I remained in the sitting room. I had called Maya earlier but she was busy and asked to return the call in about five minutes. My eyes were glued to the television as I used it as a distraction while waiting for Maya’s call. In exactly ten minutes, my phone started ringing. I picked it up from the table and saw that it was Maya who was calling me. “How are you doing?” I asked, my voice gentle. “And how’s my baby?” My heart melted as I thought of Maya’s new baby.“Baby North is fine, I just put her to sleep,” Maya responded, her voice beaming with pride. “As for me, I’m exhausted,” Maya added with a soft chuckle. I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’ll get better with time,” I reassured her. “I’ll come over to see you guys during one of these weekends.” Ever since Maya gave birth about three months ago, I haven’t had the chance to visit her in California. I wanted to go with the twins because they pleaded that I shouldn’t go wit
Olivia ~•~Two weeks had passed since I received the text from the unknown number but I was unable to figure out who sent it. I also had no idea if the person was bluffing or not but I decided to stop thinking about it. The person still hadn’t contacted me, so I was guessing that it was probably a mistake or something. I shoved my thoughts away and focused on the road. We were on our way to the airport. The time to visit Maya had finally come. I was excited to see Maya’s baby girl and the kids felt the same too. They were also excited to visit California again. As usual, the kids drifted off to sleep as soon as the plane took off. I tried to keep myself entertained by watching movies and reading books, but soon enough, I drifted off to sleep. “Mama, wake up. We’re about to land.” Rowan gently tapped me and my eyes fluttered open. I had slept for so long and didn’t realize we had arrived in California. A few minutes later, we were out of the plane and were on our way to our ride
Alexander Burke ~•~Whenever I pull up at the driveway in my office, I always have a sense of accomplishment. Starting my company from scratch wasn’t going to be easy but I knew that no matter what happened, I was going to pull it off. However, I wasn’t expecting to accomplish something as great as this in just the space of one year. It was as though I became even more successful after cutting all ties with my father’s business. The first few months were rocky and I almost gave up. Sometimes I wondered if walking away from the security of my father’s company was the right decision. But every time I thought of giving up, I remembered why I had started in the first place. Arthur and Caroline were there to motivate me through it all. Even Olivia, despite the strain between us, had offered words of encouragement when I needed them the most. Another thing that kept me going was to show my father that I could be successful without his help or influence. Whenever I visited him in jail
Alexander Burke ~•~I went over to Arthur’s office because I needed some advice. I hadn’t told anybody about what was going on and I needed to hear his opinion, so I would know what to do. Arthur’s office space was just a few steps away from mine. After signing off on some production deals, I locked my office and went to Arthur’s. “The door is unlocked, come in,” Arthur said as I knocked multiple times on his door. As I opened the door and walked inside, Arthur continued. “I didn’t know you were here already.” He gestured for me to sit across him. “I need advice on something.” I began as I settled down on the chair. Before I could say anything else, Arthur leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms. “If it’s about you finding someone new, I don’t think you should think about Olivia again. She has moved on and you need to do the same. Stop moping around and waiting for her relationship to crumble so you can swoop in.” I clutched my heart in mock shock. Was that what he real
Olivia ~•~As soon as we landed in New York, we went straight to Alexander’s house. He sent one of his drivers to pick us up from the airport. Even when I protested against going to his house first, he persuaded me saying he had something important to talk to me about. I even promised him that I would just drop my luggage at home, and then shower before heading to his house. But Alexander didn’t agree. He wanted to see me as soon as I was back in New York. The twins also convinced me to go to his house because they missed their daddy. I knew it was Alexander who put them up to it, and I had no choice but to agree. After a short drive, we arrived at his house. The excitement on the kid's face was palpable as they jumped up on their father. I just stayed by the side and watched in admiration as they exchanged pleasantries. “Where is Jason?” Rowan asked, his eyes wide with excitement. “He’s inside his room.” As soon as those words came out of Alexander’s mouth, the twins dashed
Alexander Burke ~•~I was fully aware that Olivia wasn’t going to believe me if I told her the truth about Maxim by myself, but I didn’t have any choice but to do it. I couldn’t just sit and watch her being lied to again. I needed to do something about it. Earlier in the day, I had reached out to Tatiana Bolkov, Maxim’s wife. It wasn’t easy to track her down, but I managed to get her contact information through my private investigator. If anyone could convince Olivia of Maxim’s lies, it was Tatiana. Tatiana also deserved to know about her husband’s infidelity. As I finally got hold of her and spoke with her about the situation for a while, I gasped in disbelief when I realized that the wife was also aware of his actions. From the way she responded, I could tell she was enabling his behavior. Even when I convinced her to just help me talk to Olivia, she asked me to mind my business and never contact her again. I was a bit confused about why anybody would be okay with their h
Olivia ~•~Once I entered the kitchen, I gripped the counter, trying to steady my breathing. My head was spinning, my emotions turned between disbelief and a gnawing sense of doubt. Was Alexander actually telling the truth? Was Maxim really a fraud? No, Maxim was too sweet to be a fraud. He had been by my side for a while now and everything was perfect. There was no way he would lie to me about his wife. His wife was dead and Alexander had no idea what he was talking about. Maxim told me he loved me and wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. He told me I was his dream woman and the only woman in his life. There was no way in hell that Alexander was saying the truth. Alexander was just making everything up because he wanted the relationship to crumble. Alexander wanted me for himself, so he had to fabricate a lie to make it happen. My mind raced with different questions that I needed the answers to. Even as I tried to convince myself that Maxim wasn’t a fraud, a part of me was beginnin
Mason Craig ~•~I had tried calling Riley earlier when I saw her calls but she didn’t respond. Initially, I felt she was upset because she felt I was ignoring her, but I chose to believe that she was asleep. I was washing my face in the bathroom when I heard my phone ringing. I had been expecting Riley’s call, so I rushed outside to take my phone. As I saw Riley’s name flashing across the screen, I let out a relieved sigh. “Hey.” She greeted me with a low voice. I apologized for missing her call and told her about how I tried calling but she didn’t respond. Surprisingly, she was not upset and was okay with it. Before I could ask her about the reason she called, she started talking. She wasn’t happy with the fact that my father refused to debunk the rumors and wanted me to convince him to accept her father's terms. Apparently, that was the only way she would believe that I wasn’t part of my father’s schemes. The call was a brief one because she hung up as soon as she passed her m
Chapter 230Riley Burke ~•~We were talking about random stuff, and then out of the blue, she stared at me and asked. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while. Have you met someone new? Are you seeing anybody?” “Emm… huh? Wha….” I stuttered as I tried to form a coherent sentence. I had no idea why I found it difficult to answer her question. It wasn’t like I ever kept my love life a secret from my mother, her question just caught me off guard. My mother was always the first to know whenever I got into a relationship or met someone new. But this time, her question felt like a trap. What if she knew about me and Mason and was just asking to see if I would tell the truth? But there was actually nothing going on between Mason and I. I mean. We hadn’t even gone out on a date. I wasn’t even sure I really liked him or wanted to date him. He just talked to me and sent me a gift basket. I let out a deep breath and cleared my throat. “I’m not seeing anybody,” I replied, my voice st
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