Olivia ~•~I didn’t know how I managed to sleep off the previous night but as soon as my eyes fluttered open, I remembered my son was still missing and in danger.I hurriedly stood up from the couch where I had fallen asleep. I made my way to Amanda’s room and woke her up. She was nice enough to spend the night at my mum’s house just to be there to support me. “Can I have your phone?” I demanded as soon as she opened her eyes. She pointed over the the couch in her room. “It’s right there.” She replied in a slightly groggy voice. “Have they found him?” She asked, scratching her eyes with her hands. I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’m about to call Alexander.” I grabbed the phone and walked out of the room, Alexander didn’t return my phone the previous day, so I had to reach him through Amanda’s phone. I called his number and watched it ring multiple times but he didn’t respond. I was pissed. Why wasn’t he answering his phone? I also tried calling my number but it was still th
Olivia ~•~Alexander picked me up and in no time we arrived at the police station. When we entered the building, Alexander wanted me to wait at the reception but I protested against it. He had no choice but to allow me to go into the office with him. I sat down quietly while he spoke with the officer who was in charge of the investigation. After talking for a while, he asked us to wait in his office while he went out to see if any of them had said anything about who exactly took Rowan. “What are we going to do about the school?” I asked Alexander who sat beside me. “Do you think they are actually part of this incident?” “We’ll think of that after we find our son, but trust me, they won’t go unpunished,” Alexander replied, his voice laced with frustration. I was scared for Rowan but I was a little bit relieved because we were close to finding him. The officers were certainly going to get information about his situation from the school. After waiting for about an hour inside the
Olivia ~•~[ Ethan has been arrested and I’m bringing Rowan home.] My heart leaped for joy as I read Alexander’s text. I quickly informed Amanda and David, so everyone would be relieved. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulder. The past twenty-four hours were hell and I wouldn’t wish to go through something like that again. “Rowan is coming home!” I exclaimed, engulfing my mother in a tight hug. “That’s great news.” She responded, leading me to the living room. “So what are you going to do about Ethan?” She asked, giving me a sympathetic look. I had no idea what I was going to do about Ethan. I was still shocked by his betrayal and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to look at him.He left his life back in California just to cause harm to my family. It was very immature of him to seek revenge just because I rejected his marriage proposal. I thought he was going to give it a rest after he sabotaged all my attempts to find a job after he fired me. But he still wasn’t
Olivia ~•~ I walked out of my house and headed to the cab I ordered. Maya was in the city and we planned to hang out at a cafe so we could catch up on each other lives. It had only been about two weeks since I moved back to New York, but it felt like I hadn’t seen Maya for an eternity. I was excited and couldn’t wait to see her. I slid into the back seat of the car and after a short drive, I was at the cafe. I let out a relieved sigh as I saw Maya sitting outside the cafe. After paying the driver, I rushed over to Maya. She stood up from her chair and opened her arms wide. I leaned into her body and engulfed her in a warm embrace. “I’m so happy to see you,” I said, a wide smile plastered on my face. “How are you doing?” Maya smiled. “I’m doing great.” She gestured to the empty chair beside her as she settled down. “You look good, you’ve added a good amount of weight.” “You look good too.” I returned the compliment and settled down on the empty chair beside Maya. “So what bring
Olivia ~•~I promised to take the kids to the park during the weekend and as soon as it was morning, they sang it like a song loud in my ear. “I remember, sweetheart. Just let me sleep a little longer.” I pleaded as they dragged my blanket out from my body. But they were relentless and I knew they wouldn’t give up until I got up. With a laugh, I surrendered, tossing off the blanket and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “Alright, you all should keep yourself busy with the television while I get ready.” Their expressions turned victorious. “Yay!” They both yelled in unison before running out of my room. I let out a loud sigh and stretched my arms. Then I stood up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. It was still very and they were really persistent, so I had to spend a long time in the bathroom. After I was done showering, I changed into a comfortable dress and went outside to meet the kids in the living room. “What do you want for breakfast?” I asked the kids wh
Olivia ~•~I blinked in confusion and tilted my head. “Huh?” “I’m sorry, it’s just the test resu………”I trailed off, lost in my thoughts as the doctor spoke. I knew he was saying something but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. My mind started racing. I had no idea when last I had my period. My hand hovered around my stomach and I examined it, trying to see if it was protruding. With everything that had been going on, I hadn’t kept track of my period in a while but I knew I had it some time ago. My hands were clammy with sweat as I realized where the conversation was heading. Everywhere became dizzy and the next thing I knew, everything went blank. The next time I opened my eyes, I was lying on the bed and Alexander was sitting next to me. “No, you shouldn’t be here.” I gestured for him to leave as I tried to sit upright. Alexander pushed me back gently. “I’ll go get the doctor.” He said in a soft and calm voice. “Stay on the bed.” I remained still while he left the office. I
Olivia ~•~“Are you good? What was this all about?” Alexander asked as he entered the hospital room. I was still lying on the bed, thinking about my life. “Nothing, I just wasn’t feeling well.” I felt a pang of guilt as I lied to him. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth about my pregnancy. Alexander moved closer to me and placed his hands on my body. “Your temperature isn’t high. Are you ready to leave? Are the doctors done?” He asked. I nodded. “Yeah. I’m ready to leave.” The doctor gave me his card, so I could call him whenever I was ready to move forward with the next step. With Alexander’s help, I got out of bed and he led me out of the hospital. “I took your mother home because it was getting late.” He said as he opened the front door for me to enter. “Alright, thank you,” I replied, securing my seatbelt. “What of Riley and Rowan?” I asked as Alexander settled down beside me in the driver’s seat. “I dropped them with your mother.” Throughout the ride back home,
Olivia ~•~I tried hard not to let my emotions cloud my judgment. Throughout the time I sat in court, I kept on thinking about how unfair it was for the father of my unborn baby would be in prison during his birth. Part of me hated him for everything he’d done but another part of me couldn’t ignore the reality that my child would be without a father. I wasn’t even sure I was going to tell Ethan that the baby was his. I had been a great single mother a few years back and I didn’t have any problem being one again. I knew I was giving birth to a boy but I hadn’t told anybody about it. Not even my sister or Maya. I knew they weren’t going to judge me but I still felt ashamed whenever I thought about it. For the past week, I have been visiting the doctor’s regularly. I had come to accept my fate and I needed to take the necessary precautions, so I would give birth without complications. “Are you satisfied with his sentence?” Alexander asked and I jerked back to reality. I was leaning
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
Riley Burke ~•~As I got to school, I contemplated going back to my dorm room or going to class. I wasn’t sure I was in the right head space to see Mason. My mind was spinning with different thoughts and I was laced with anger. I couldn’t believe someone would betray me like that. I felt so stupid and used. I didn’t even know what to say to him. As I stepped out of the car, I decided to call Harper first to ask if she was in the room. I didn’t want to go to meet in an empty room, it would just fuel my frustration more. Harper didn’t answer her phone. I was guessing that was in class and couldn’t take the call. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I decided to call Amelia instead. I let out a relieved sigh when Amelia answered on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up? Are you in class?” I asked with a hint of urgency in my voice. “No, I’m in the dorm room.” She replied. “What’s going on?”I didn’t want to talk on the phone. “You’ll see me soon.” I ended the call and made my way to the dorm
Riley Burke ~•~It was finally time for me to leave for school.The driver was already waiting for me downstairs. I took one last look at my reflection in the mirror. I was satisfied with my look and my outfit for the day. I wore a pink sweatshirt and a short leather skirt with boots. I grabbed my coat and bag and then arranged my hair before heading downstairs. I only had one class, so I was kind of thrilled about it. Plus, I’ll also get to see my friends and Mason. As I walked down the stairs, I ran into my mother and Caroline discussing seriously in the living room. They were so engrossed in the conversation that they didn’t hear me walk down the stairs. “What’s going on?” My voice diverted both of their attention to me: I was able to hear some of what they were saying, so they didn’t see the need to keep it away from me. Plus, I deserved to know. I asked my father to keep me in the loop and he agreed to do so. “They finally found the people responsible for tarnishing the com
Mason Craig ~•~I could barely get any sleep the previous night because I couldn’t stop thinking about what Tristain had told me. He confirmed my fears about my parents being the ones responsible for Burke’s company’s rumors. I was highly disappointed. A part of me was also scared. Why did it have to be them? How would Riley feel if she eventually found out that my parents were the ones who were responsible? My mind was spiraling with different thoughts. I contemplated confronting my parents but they were already not speaking to me. I wondered if I should call Riley and tell her about it, but that wouldn’t be a smart move. It would be as though I was betraying my family. I hated that I was in such a position. I couldn’t even think properly. I didn’t know the right step to take. I didn’t even want my parents to know that I was friends with someone from the Burke family. I had no idea how they would react to it. Even if I wanted to keep the truth away from Riley, nothing stays h