Olivia ~•~“How was your date, Mama?” Riley asked as drove into the city. “Did you and Daddy have so much fun?” She added, her voice barely audible. I couldn’t help but smile as the memories of the previous day replayed in my head. “Yes, baby. We had so much fun.” “I can’t wait to grow up and have the chance to go out on dates.” Riley continued. “Hey,” I responded with a scoff, taken aback by her statement. “You’re still a baby, you shouldn’t be thinking about going on dates.” Rowan, who had been quiet, finally spoke. “But she said when she grows up.” He defended his sister and I raised my hands in mock surrender. I wouldn’t lie, I was a bit terrified hearing Riley talk about going on dates. I had gone through so much when it came to love and relationships, I didn’t want my daughter to pass through the same thing I had passed through. “Where would you like to go after Christmas?” I asked the kids, changing the uncomfortable topic. “You guys deserve a trip.” “Paris!” They both
Alexander ~•~After rounding up the important meeting of the day, I decided to head back home because I needed a little time to rest before going over to Olivia’s house for dinner. But before going back home, I made a quick stop at Jason’s school. I had to pick him up because he requested that I should be the one to pick him up by myself. I waited in the car while his class teacher brought him to me. “Yay! I’m so happy you came to pick me up.” Jason said as soon as he stepped into the car. I raised a suspicious brow at me. “Why?” I asked, curious to know why he was hellbent on having me pick him up instead of the driver. “We always stop at the ice cream shop but ever since the driver started picking me up, we haven’t been to the ice cream shop,” Jason answered and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You could have told me about it,” I replied, starting the car engine. “You have nothing to worry about, I’ll make sure the driver stops for ice cream.” “Okay, Daddy,” Jason replied as he g
Olivia ~•~I stood frozen on the pulpit and wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. It was my wedding day but the groom couldn’t be found. My brother had walked me down the aisle and we stood there, waiting for Alexander to show up. But it had been over five minutes and he was still a no-show. “I told you that this was a bad idea but you didn’t listen,” David whispered in my ear. My head was spinning and it wasn’t the right time for him to gloat. My eyes darted around the crowd, I could see the worried expressions registered on their faces. They were also whispering to each other in hushed voices and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Suddenly, I started screaming and crying. Alexander had disappointed me on my wedding day. The blogs were going to have a field day with this one. Just as I was about to fall to the ground, I heard someone tapping on my body. The next thing I knew, I jerked back to reality and found myself sweating heaving on the bed. “Oh my goodness!”
Olivia ~•~“Mama, you look so beautiful.” Rowan gushed over me as I stood in front of the mirror. “Your dress looks like it belongs to a queen.” “Yes, I’m so happy for you,” Riley added, her eyes filled with admiration. “I love you, Mama.” I opened my arms wide and my babies leaned into my body. I forced myself to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall out because I didn’t want to ruin my makeup. The makeup artist had spent a lot of hours working on my face because Alexander told her that he wanted everything to be perfect. He made sure to go to great lengths to see that my day was perfect. I had told him about the dream I had some days back and he promised me that nothing like that was going to happen. I believed him and I wasn’t worried about anything going wrong. Everyone I invited was already present at the venue. I had about twenty minutes before I headed downstairs. As I waited for my brother to come to the hotel room, my mind wandered back to the day of my fi
Olivia ~•~Everyone had finally left, it was just me and Alexander at the fountain side. The kids and Maya were also present but they were at their hotel room. Maya was spending the night at the same hotel, so she insisted on sharing a room with the kids while I spent time with Alexander. “I have something for you,” Alexander whispered in my ears as he stood behind me. I turned around with a wide smile plastered on my face. “What is it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued. Alexander smiled and pulled out a small box from his pocket. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a small crystal pendant. “I wanted to give you something special to remember this day.” He said, his voice filled with genuine emotions. I was impressed by his thoughtful gesture and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Alexander. I love you.” I turned around and he wore the necklace over my neck. It was so beautiful and I was never taking it off again. “I love you, too.” He whispered, his hot breath fanning my e
*TEN YEARS LATER* Riley Burke ~•~ “Miss Burke, what do you have to say about your father’s company?” “Is it true that the beauty products are causing cancer?” “Why haven’t they made a press release about the issue yet?” I clenched my jaw as I maneuvered through the swarm of reporters outside my dorm. Their cameras flashed like a thunderstorm and their relentless questions buzzed my ear. It took everything in me not to wave my middle finger at them. I was tired of the constant harassment from the paparazzi. I was already exhausted from my long classes and the last thing I needed was a bunch of annoying reporters bugging my life. They followed me everywhere whenever there was a scandal involving my family. I was tired of them and should’ve just listened to my parents when they asked me to go home in the meantime. I finally passed through the crowd and made my way to my room. By the time I slammed the door behind me, it felt like I’d just escaped a war zone. I
Riley Burke ~•~“Is Harper in love with me?” Rowan asked in a cocky tone as we walked together to the car. “Why does she always act that way whenever she sees me?” He added with a scoff. I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t flatter yourself, she acts the same way with everyone else.” I was lying but I didn’t want him to know that Harper had a huge crush on him. I found it disgusting because why would anyone be interested in my brother? By the way, Rowan was already in a relationship with Bella, his high school girlfriend. “I know you’re lying! She’s clearly in love with me.” Rowan bragged and I pushed him away. “You wouldn’t understand because you’re single.” He added, mocking my love life. “Just shut up and drive me home, chauffeur.” I teased with a chuckle as we got to the car. I knew how to drive but I hated driving, so Rowan automatically became my designated driver. He always complained but he had no choice but to drive me home. “Did you know those silly reporters harassed me
Olivia ~•~Alexander and I have been receiving threats for a while. There had been a lot of rumours and lies about the company and we had no idea how to stop it.At first, we brushed it off as mere gossip. But as the days turned into weeks, the rumors and the threats escalated, and we then realized it wasn’t just an ordinary rumor.Someone had deliberately set out to destroy the company’s reputation and we had no idea who was behind it. I knew it had something to do with a rival company. They’d stop at nothing to sabotage us because the company was thriving more than ever. They even went as far as to record false testimonies against the company. Alexander even had a meeting with his production team and they reviewed all the chemicals to make sure none of it was toxic. But still, the lies were spreading like wildfire. It wasn’t a good look for the company because people would be reluctant to purchase the products. Alexander and his team were trying their best to fix the situation.
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