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 and at any time. Even if their relationship had ended, I always felt insecure when it came to Tricia. I felt Alexander never stopped loving her because of the way he spoke about her initially. They ended their relationship on good terms because Tricia had to move away to Paris to focus on her modeling career. They couldn’t do long distances so they had to move on from each other. “Olivia, calm down,” Sandra said when she saw that my legs had started shaking. “You just have to get through this event. We’ll deal with it later.” I was more than ready to confront Alexander in front of everyone. “What’s the problem?” Amanda asked. She was still confused because she had no idea I was getting a divorce. Sandra explained everything to Amanda. “Olivia, you have to calm down.” My sister advised when Sandra was done with the whole explanation. “He fucking lied to me,” I said, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall down my face and ruin the makeup I spent hours on. “He said it wasn’t because of his ex. Shit, he said he hadn’t seen her in years. So the expensive necklace was also for her, he got it for her.” I ran my hands through my hair in annoyance as I realized my marriage was crumbling because of his ex-girlfriend. All these years, I wasn’t wrong about him still being in love with her. If he wanted her so much, why did he marry me then? “I’m not saying I’m on his side, but can you just ask for an explanation from him before doing anything?” Sandra suggested in a calm voice. I took a deep breath, then another one, and another one. I needed to stay calm or I was going to do something drastic. “I need to leave here right now,” I said as I picked up my bag and stood up from the chair. Sandra held me back before I could move. “You have to stay for the couple's dance.” She said and I rolled my eyes at her. “If I don’t leave here now, I’m going to cause a scene and it is going to be bad.” I tried to beat back the anger in my voice. Sandra understood, so she just asked Amanda to stay back while she walked out with me. On our way out, we bumped into Alex and he tried to stop us but I ignored him and walked straight to the entrance. I knew my absence during the couple's dance was going to raise questions but I didn’t care at that point. We were getting divorced after all, so it was better they knew something was wrong already. Sandra and I walked to the parking lot where her car was parked. We got into the car and I asked her to drive off quickly before Alex would send somebody to try and stop us. One thing about Alex was that he didn’t like embarrassment and he was certainly going to be embarrassed when the time for the couple's dance came and I wasn’t present. On our way back home, Alex started blowing up my phone with multiple calls and texts but I didn’t care to respond. I just switched it off and placed it back in my bag. When we were getting closer to the house, I asked Sandra to stop for a moment. “Can we go back to your place instead? I don’t want to have to deal with him tonight.” I pleaded with Sandra. Sandra nodded and started the car again. “Sure, we can go back to my place.” She reversed the car and we drove back to her house instead. “I can’t believe he would lie to me about it,” I said as we got inside the house. “The least he could have done was to be honest with me about the whole situation.” “Olivia, you have to calm down,” Sandra said, giving me a pat on the back. “Just change your clothes and sleep, we’ll deal with this in the morning.” I doubted I was going to be able to get any sleep with the news I had just heard. I certainly was going to be up all night thinking of how I just got hurt and betrayed by Alex. I nodded my head and Sandra escorted me to the guest room where I always slept whenever I spent the night at her place. “Alex is calling me,” Sandra said as we walked into the room. Of course, he was going to call her too. “Ignore him,” I instructed and she nodded in agreement. After Sandra helped me settle into the room, she left me alone and went back to her room. When I was alone, I turned on my phone and the first thing I saw was a text from Alex. [We agreed to wait until after the party but you embarrassed me in front of my guests.] I felt a little bit guilty about what I did, but my anger overshadowed the guilt, so I didn’t care about it. I turned off my phone again, then I changed out of my dress before going to sleep.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
My chest tightened as I read the headlines. "Billionaire Alexander Burke Spotted Cozying Up with Ex-Flame Tricia: Rekindling Old Flames?"My eyes scanned through the article, they even mentioned the fact that I wasn’t present at the dance during his party. The photo accompanying the piece showed Alexander laughing with Tricia. My eyeballs shot out when I noticed Tricia was also wearing the necklace from the auction. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut and I couldn’t breathe. My mind was racing with different thoughts I couldn’t process. My father and siblings were staring at me, their faces mixed with shock and curiosity. “What’s the problem?” David asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Before I could say anything, my mother answered. “Her husband is having coffee with another woman.” Her voice was laced with a mixture of disdain and disappointment. She sounded like it was my fault. Like I was the one who drove him to his ex and asked them to meet up. “You can’t even keep
Olivia ~•~I felt a surge of frustration and anger run through my veins. “You’re not going anywhere with me and there’s nothing to fix,” I said, my voice steady. “I’m done trying to please you, I’m done letting you control me. I’m getting a divorce and there is nothing you can do about it.”The words rolled off my tongue like a train with no brakes. From their puzzled expressions, I could tell they were stunned by my response. Without giving them a chance to say anything else, I turned around and walked out of the room, banging the door behind me. Amanda and David rushed out of the dining room to meet me when they heard me walking out. They both had worried looks on their faces. “What happened there?” David asked, his voice laced with concern. “What did you say to them? What did they say to you?” I didn’t want to stay in the house any longer. “I’m going back home, you’ll hear it from your parents.” I dismissed them and picked up my bag from the table before making my way out of t
Alexander ~•~I thought keeping the divorce papers away from Olivia and still staying together would change everything for the better. I hoped she would realize our marriage was at stake and act right. But I was totally wrong. Even if we had known each other for years, the past few weeks felt like we were strangers living under the same roof. No matter how hard I tried to tell her I had no idea Tricia was in town, she didn’t believe me and I had no way to convince her. It was as if we were in a cold war. We couldn’t have a normal conversation anymore because she ended up bringing up the fact that I gave her divorce papers because of my ex-girlfriend. It was getting out of hand and I wanted to be sure if she truly didn’t love me. At first, I thought she would protest against signing the divorce papers and try to be a better wife but it just made everything worse. I asked my assistant to set up a meeting with Tricia. I knew the implications of what I was about to do but I needed t
Olivia ~•~“Diana invited me to hang out at the bar earlier, do you want to go there to unwind?” Sandra asked as I lay there on her lap. Diana was our friend but I wasn’t as close to her as Sandra was. Going to the bar was going to be a good distraction from everything. “Yes, I’ll go,” I replied without hesitation. “That’s my girl.” Sandra’s lip curled into a soft smile. “Let’s get ready.” She said and I stood up from her and sat up straight. Sandra and I were practically the same size so most of her clothes fit me. We went into her bedroom and I began to scan through her closet, searching for the perfect outfit. Suddenly, Sandra threw me a sleek black dress. It was the perfect dress for a night out with friends at a bar. We spent the next hour getting ready, laughing and chatting as we did our makeup and hair. For a moment, I had forgotten that my husband was spotted with his ex-girlfriend. Soon enough, we were ready to leave. I ordered an Uber because Sandra and I were going
Olivia ~•~The next morning, I woke up with a bad migraine. As I tried getting up, my head started pounding. I looked over to the side to see Alex sleeping peacefully. I was a little bit confused because we had been sleeping in separate rooms for the past nights. The events of the previous night were a blur. The last thing I remember was seeing Alex’s car pull up in front of the bar. “You’re finally awake,” Alex said and I turned back to look at him. I thought he was deep in his sleep. “Yeah,” I let out a loud yawn. “What happened yesterday?” I asked. “Nothing, you just slept until now.” He answered, making his way out of the bed. “I’ll make you something to help with the hangover.” I nodded my head. “Okay, thank you.” I desperately needed something because I couldn’t live with a pounding headache. I remained in the room while Alexander went downstairs. I looked around to search for my phone and luckily enough, it was in the side drawer. I reached out to take it and dialed Sand
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