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
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