Olivia~•~I was used to checking the news because of the kind of man I married, but for the past week, I’d been avoiding every news outlet. My name was trending and so was my husband’s. To outsiders, it was a good thing but they didn’t know exactly what was going on inside.Ever the perfect wife, I stayed downstairs, waiting for my husband to return as I tried my best to ignore the voices in my head, telling me that my marriage was crumbling.I wanted to save it but I didn’t know how. We both forgot about our anniversary which was a few days ago. Alex was trending because of an expensive necklace he bought at an auction. They all thought it was for me and were waiting to see it on my neck, but our anniversary had passed and he still hadn’t given it to me.It had to be for her.I hated that this was what we had turned into and most especially, I hated that I couldn’t do anything about it. I’d gone shopping earlier today and gotten some random gifts, hoping to salvage it, but I knew w
Olivia ~•~I blinked in confusion. “Why do you want to get divorced?” I asked but he didn’t respond. My eyes scanned through the papers and my pupils dilated in shock as I read the content. Alex had already signed his part and all that was left to finalize the divorce was my signature. I was confused because I wasn’t expecting to get a divorce anytime soon. Sure, our marriage wasn't every couple’s dream, but we got along pretty well. We tolerated each other. We were able to sleep next to each other at night.“What is the meaning of this, Alex?” I asked angrily but Alex still remained quiet.“Why are we getting a divorce? When did you get these papers?” “Today.” Came his short flaccid response. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. “It is because of her, right?” I sniffed, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall down but Alex scoffed. “You want a divorce because of her, right?” I added, my voice cracking slightly. He finally confirmed my suspicions. The necklace he got at
Olivia ~•~I paused for a moment and looked at him. Why was he asking me not to sign the papers anymore? Did he change his mind about moving on with the divorce? There was an awkward silence for a few moments and I looked at him in anticipation, waiting for an explanation. “Let’s wait until after the party tomorrow.” He said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “We have to appear as a couple at the event.” I swallowed hard. I expected to hear something else. I expected him to say he had changed his mind about the divorce. “Okay,” I said without asking further questions. After that, I dropped the papers and the table and walked out of the room. Alex tried calling me back but I ignored him and walked into the kitchen. I couldn’t believe he wanted me to act like everything was okay. He wanted us to pretend in public. I poured myself a glass of water and took deep breaths to calm myself down. My mind kept on racing with different thoughts. So I was still a married woman but not for
Olivia~•~As I finished getting ready for the party, I stared at my reflection in the mirror and a stunning woman stared back at me. My blonde hair was styled into a messy updo with some loose strands falling down my face. The long red gown Alex and I had carefully selected a few days ago hugged my curves in all the right places. My bright blue eyes sparkled like gold against the bold of the red gown. I looked confident and undeniably sexy. Even if everything was falling apart, the least I could do was to look stunning in public. Satisfied with my look, I wore my pair of gold stilettos and matched it with my gold bag. Alex had already told me we had thirty minutes to leave, so I went downstairs immediately after I was done with my makeup. We were going to the party together. “You look so beautiful.” He complimented me as I got into the back of the car. I didn’t respond and just managed a half-smile. I was getting divorced so there was no need for me to get flattered by his compli
Olivia ~•~“What the fuck?” I seethed angrily through gritted teeth. Amanda looked at me with a puzzled expression while Sandra had a sympathetic expression on her face. “Why are you so upset?” Amanda asked but I ignored her question. She had no clue what was going on. “When was this taken?” I asked curiously, my voice filled with urgency. “Yesterday,” Amanda responded in a confused voice. I looked at the picture again and my face twisted in disgust. Alexander’s ex-girlfriend, Tricia, was in town. Everything started making sense. It became clear why he asked for a divorce. “I ran into her at the mall and I took photos just so you would believe me when I tell you,” Amanda added when I didn’t say anything else. When I first met Alexander, I looked into his life and discovered he had just left a serious relationship months before he met me. Their photos were everywhere on the internet. They looked like the power couple everyone would dream to be. I could recognize Tricia anywhere
Alexander ~•~ I left Olivia alone at the table to welcome my friends and some of the other guests. I was gone for a while but I knew she was good when I looked over and saw she had company. Her best friend and sister were seated with her. I spent a few more minutes and when I finally decided to go back to meet her, I saw her walking out of the hall with Sandra. Olivia looked so upset and I couldn’t help but wonder what the reason was. I tried holding her back but she ignored me. I let her go outside because I didn’t want to cause a scene. Confused, I walked over to the table, and luckily enough her sister, Amanda, was still there. “What’s going on with Olivia?” I asked Amanda but she remained silent. “Is she okay?” I added. “I don’t think so,” Amanda responded and I narrowed my eyes. “What’s the problem?” I asked curiously. Olivia had agreed to act like everything was okay at the party and she seemed fine when we first came in. “She found out your ex-girlfriend
Olivia ~•~My best friend woke me up the next morning. I was even surprised at how I slept peacefully the whole night. “Are you ready to go back home?” She asked and I sighed when I realized what I was going to face when I returned. “Just a minute,” I said and she nodded before making her way out of the room. I switched on my phone and the first thing I did was to call Amanda because she left me a text and asked me to call her immediately after I saw it. “Hey.” She said in a slightly groggy voice as she picked up the call. “Did I wake you up?” I asked when I heard how sleepy her voice sounded. “You asked me to call you and it looked urgent.” “Yeah yeah, I wanted to talk to you about Alex.” I sat upright on the bed. “What about Alex?” I braced myself for what she was about to say. It was probably about the mess I caused after leaving the party. “I think he was telling the truth about Tricia.” She said and my face scrunched up in disgust. She was my sister and she was meant to
Olivia ~•~“What do you even want? You gave me the divorce papers and now you’re talking about how I’m about to throw five years of our marriage down the drain?” Alex stopped and ran his hands through his hair. “It’s just funny how you jumped at the opportunity the first chance you got.”My lips parted and I blinked. I couldn’t believe he was trying to play the victim card. “I know what you’re trying to do, Alex.” I pointed at him in disbelief. “You got caught, right? I realized you did it because of Tricia, and now you’re trying to put the blame on me. Like everything is my fault.” “For the umpteenth time, I had no idea Tricia was in town and this has nothing to do with her!” “I don’t believe you, Alex,” I screamed at him. “You’ve always wanted Tricia, haven't you? She’s back in your life, you can have her now!” “I’ve told you numerous times, I didn’t want Tricia. It was always you.” He said, his voice filled with frustration. “You can’t let go of just one mistake? It’s all in t
Riley Burke ~•~I felt better after Amelia and Harper called to check up on me. It was the weekend and we weren’t having classes, so they had gone back to their respective houses.Our group conference calls always lightened up my mood. After we rounded up the call, I made my way downstairs for dinner. Caroline volunteered to make dinner. For someone who barely cooks, she was a great chef and I was excited to try her food. As I stepped into the dining room, the aroma of roasted chicken filled the air and my stomach growled in response to the scent. I was hungry and couldn’t wait to eat. Everyone was already sitting on the table. “You’re finally done with your phone call?” Rowan asked as I sat beside him. A few minutes earlier, Rowan came to tell me that dinner was ready. I told him to hold on because I was on a call with my girls. I nodded. “Of course, I am.” My family and I engaged in a light conversation as we ate our meal. Every bite I took tasted heavenly and I couldn’t he
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