Olivia ~•~I didn’t like how Ethan gave me no choice but to go with him on the trip to New York. The kids were even excited that I cut their outing short to fly them out of California. After a grueling six-hour flight, we finally arrived at New York. Throughout the flight, I was restless and all I could think of was running into Alexander or anybody from my past. “You’ll address me by Stacy while we are here, so even if someone recognizes me, they’ll probably think they are mistaking me for someone else.” I pleaded with Ethan as we exited the plane. When I moved to California, I decided to come up with a new name because I wanted a fresh start. However, when Ethan and I ran into each other, he claimed he couldn’t address me by that name. Ethan and I were in a relationship back in New York way before I even met Alexander. After we broke up, I cut all contact with him and had no idea he even moved to California. He was nice enough to offer me a job when he realized I moved to Cali
Alexander ~•~After the last event the company hosted flopped, my mother was hell-bent on hiring an event planner from California. She claimed that New York’s event planners were incompetent. I didn’t protest against it, so I just let her choose who she wanted for the charity event Burke Enterprise was hosting. It was a tradition we upheld every year and she wanted this one to be flawless. Earlier that morning, my mother called me and said she had already made all the arrangements and the only thing left was for the event planners to fly to New York later in the day for the meeting. She said she was going to text me the details of the people I was having the meeting with later on. The event was in two weeks but she wanted us to plan earlier so it would be perfect. I called Arthur to ask him if he wanted to accompany me to the meeting and luckily enough she agreed. Later on, my mother sent the details of the planners as she had promised. It was a meeting with Ethan James and Stac
Olivia ~•~ I enjoyed watching Alexander’s reaction as I pretended like it was my first time meeting him. “Isn’t she Olivia Keating?” He asked, looking down at Ethan. “Can we start the meeting?” I demanded before Ethan could respond. “It’s getting late and we have a busy schedule.” “Sir.” Ethan gestured to the empty seat beside Arthur. “Can you please have a seat?” He added and Alexander settled down. As the meeting started, I could tell Alexander and Arthur were really restless. Alexander tried his best to avoid eye contact with me, even though my eyes were fixed on him. It was a brief meeting since everyone was awkward. “We’ll send you the final draft to go over once it’s ready. And after that, some of our skilled team members will handle the event.” Ethan said and extended his hand to Alexander for a warm handshake. When we were done, Alexander asked if he could speak with me outside for a moment. I was hesitant at first but the curious part of me wanted to hear what he had
Olivia ~•~“Mama, who was that man from yesterday? The one you were arguing with?” Those were the first words that came out of Riley’s mouth when she woke up in the morning. I was caught off-guard. I had no idea she was so observant. How could I tell her that he was her father?Whenever they brought up questions concerning their father, I always changed the topic to distract them because I didn’t know if it was the right time to tell them that their father didn’t know about their existence. I thought hard and smacked my lips before responding. “Riley baby.” I reached out to her hands and took them in mine. “That was mama’s business partner.” Her eyes locked into mine and she questioned further. “So what were you arguing about?” I let out a dry chuckle. “It was nothing serious, we just disagreed on how the event would be done.” I lied. “What do you want for breakfast?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “I’ll have pancakes.” Rowan, who had been asleep earlier, finally spoke.
Olivia ~•~A few weeks had passed since I returned from the trip to New York. Alexander couldn’t stop blowing up my phone after I refused to meet up with him the day we were meant to leave for California. Ethan had pleaded with me but I didn’t listen because I couldn’t listen to Alexander’s excuses or justifications for his betrayal. I was determined to move on from him and I was going to keep to my words. The kids, on the other hand, couldn’t stop talking about New York and their cousin. However, I made them understand that they had to wait until the holiday before they could see him again. Since my cover about where I had moved to was already blown, I didn’t have a problem visiting New York again. The last time I stalked Sandra on social media was when she posted the news of her baby. Ever since then, I blocked her everywhere because I didn’t want to be reminded of her betrayal. But I didn’t know why I decided to check again, I tried to stop myself from doing it but my curiosi
Olivia ~•~The next day when I went to work, I asked Ethan if I could go with him to New York for the deal. He was confused at first because I declined his offer the previous day, but when I explained the reason to him, he understood and agreed with me. Throughout the day, I couldn’t focus on anything. I kept on thinking about my life and how I spent the years arguing with my parents. I blamed myself for his death even if he died in a car accident. Maybe if I hadn’t left, things would have turned out differently. “You didn’t have to come to work today, you could’ve just called me.” Ethan’s soft voice echoed, interrupting my thoughts. I jerked back to reality and ran my hands through my head. “I couldn’t be at home alone, I needed a distraction.” I didn’t know how to deal with grief and I couldn’t be alone because I was just going to think about it continuously and cry my eyes out. The previous night, I couldn’t sleep and stayed up crying. Even during dinner, my kids noticed some
Olivia ~•~When I pulled up to my parent’s house, I was certain it was Alexander’s car that was parked in the garage. What was he doing there? And what business did he have with my family? I took a deep breath to calm myself before walking through the front door with Ethan by my side. I wasn’t surprised when I saw Alexander sitting on the couch in the living room. It had been so many years and the house still looked the same. My lips curled into a small smile when I heard my mother's voice coming from the kitchen. I pretended like Alexander wasn’t even present and walked to meet my mother. I was grateful she was alive, and even if we didn’t agree on many things, I was going to be nicer to her. “Olivia, come here!” My mum exclaimed with a wide smile and open arms. That was the happiest my mum had ever been to see me. I fell into her open arms and her arms wrapped around me in a tight squeeze. “I’m so happy to see you,” I confessed and she hugged me tighter. After a few seconds,
Olivia ~•~After multiple knocks, my mother finally opened the door. I was fuming with anger and I didn’t want to say anything disrespectful, so I just walked past her and went straight to the living room. Ethan stood up and reached for me as he saw me coming. “What happened there?” He asked with a worried expression registered on his face. I needed some fresh air, so I walked outside and he trailed behind me. My father just died and instead of them to focus on his funeral, they were trying to rekindle a love that was already long gone. “Are you okay?” Ethan asked as we sat down outside. I shook my head, fighting back the tears. “I’m not, I don’t even want to talk about it. My mum and Alexander are unbelievable. Maybe coming here was a mistake.” I sniffled, struggling to contain my emotions. Ethan didn’t say anything else, he just pulled me closer and I leaned into his body. I decided not to go back inside the house until Amanda and David arrived. While we were outside, I call