NICK“Olivia’s wedding is in two weeks.” I ignored Ethan, I knew he only wanted a reaction out of me, but I was not going to give him the satisfaction. “She looks happy, it’s been a while since I last saw her smiling so much. Marcus must be doing something right.” Still, I said nothing. “What do you think Nick?”I stood and went to stand by the window. We were in my office working on a deal. Since I decided to stop bothering Olivia while she was with Marcus, I threw myself into my work and have spent most days and nights in that office.It was starting to feel like before, when Olivia was in jail and all I could do was work. “Nick am talking to you.” he complained, I turned to him. “What do you want me to say Ethan, weren’t you the one who told me to let her be happy with Marcus, so, why do you care what I think about her wedding?”He just looked at me. “It’s okay to be upset about it man, telling you to stop bothering her didn’t mean you must forget her altogether. You have not seen
NICKI sat there and watched my mother leave after dropping such a bomb on me. I didn’t know if I should take what she said seriously or as just rumblings of an old and frustrated woman still grieving the loss of her husband. As a son, I should be listening to my mother and trying to make her life easy.But my mother was like no other, she was no ordinary woman and even the way she spoke one could tell that she wasn’t the housewife everyone knew her to be. Mother had mafia blood running through her veins and even when I want to ignore some of the things she says, it’s hard to because of her background.I might ignore them only to regret it later when she acts on them. “Tell me what is on your mind?” Ethan brought me back from my thoughts. I looked at my friend and he had this look I couldn’t decipher on his face.“I don’t know what to make of the threat my mother just…” I shook my head no longer able to continue with what I was saying. I wished I remained ignorant to everything that s
OLIVIAIt’s the day of the wedding and I couldn’t sleep a wink last night. I didn’t remember myself being that nervous on my wedding day with Nick. What was different about this one? I tried; God knows I tried. I drank warm milk, camomile tea but none of that worked. I was still up at two in the morning not able to sleep.I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. Now Lupita was mad at me because I didn’t want to wake up and get ready. She was complaining about being late and all that. but a bride is always late, what’s new? “Olivia!” I wished she would stop coming into my room and trying to wake me up every five minutes and let me get the sleep I need then I can wake up.“Call Marcus and tell him to move the start time by an hour or so because I am not going to rock up there with bags under my eyes.” I complained turning to the other side and sleeping some more. My eyes were heavy with sleep that I found Lupita annoying for trying to deprive me of it.I head footsteps moving away and a smiled
OLIVIAI hoped Nick would come home early today. He hadn’t been around much since he started working with my best friend, Sandra. Things had been hectic at the office, but I still hoped today would be different, seeing how it was our fourth-year anniversary. I also had big news; I was finally pregnant, and we were about to have the family we’d always dreamed of.I couldn’t wait to see his reaction when I told him, and I didn’t even want to think about my mother-in-law—she’d be thrilled. I’d call and tell her after telling Nick. I was sure they’d cut their trip short once they heard the news of my pregnancy.I hummed as I moved around the kitchen, cooking. I was happy, despite knowing things hadn’t been the same between Nick and me lately. I hoped that after hearing the news of my pregnancy, he would become the man I fell in love with again.Just as I placed the last dish on the dining table, the front door opened. My heart leaped with excitement, and I rushed to greet him. Nick was ta
OLIVIATwo Days Later“Lock her up, and don’t let her see the sun ever again. She doesn’t deserve it!” Nick barked at the New Village Town police. His eyes were cold as ice, filled with hatred. The officer roughly shoved me into the filthy, smelly cell before slamming the bars shut. I turned to look at Nick and Sandra. They stood together, looking like old friends... or lovers. She was why he had turned against me, though I didn’t understand what had motivated her. We’d grown up together, did everything together. We’d watched each other’s backs. And now she stood beside my husband as he threw me into jail for something I didn’t do. A few hours ago, I was cooking dinner for my husband, waiting for him to come home from work. Even after the incident with Sandra in the kitchen, and even though things had changed between us since Sandra came back, I still had hope that we could fix things. Then this happened.The way Nick had looked at me when he arrived with the police broke my heart,
OLIVIAAs I stood in the cell, my thoughts went to my grandma. What would happen to her now that I was locked up? My chest tightened as I thought of her and her fragile health. Hearing about my arrest might kill her.Nick turned to the officer. “She’s to have no visitors and isn’t allowed outside. Let her rot in this cell. She can die here for all I care!”My heart shattered into a million pieces. I felt hot and struggled to breathe. How was my grandmother going to know that I was all right if I couldn’t have visitors? This would kill her! My throat felt like it was closing, threatening to cut off my air supply. I wanted to give up so badly. But then I looked at the satisfied gleam in Sandra’s eyes. Determination flooded back into me. I wasn’t going to let that witch win. By then, I was drenched in sweat, my eyes wide as saucers. I was sure I looked pale as a white sheet. The nice policeman looked terrified. “Sir, she can’t breathe. Should I call the doctor?” Maybe I should tell Ni
OLIVIAI sat in the dark jail cell, thinking about my baby and how he was going to survive in a place like this. I didn’t care about myself—they could keep me there for as long as they wanted—but my baby didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be born in a jail or suffer for my sins.It was only the second day of my incarceration, and the police were keeping their word to Nick about not letting me out. But I thought they were taking it too far; they hadn’t given me food since I arrived.It was good that nothing stayed in my stomach anymore. I’d been starting to have morning sickness. But I still felt hungry, even though I knew whatever I ate would come back up again.“Oh, my baby,” I said, caressing my stomach, “I’m so sorry you’re going through this, that you’re going to start your life into this world like this. But I swear to you, I will protect you. Your father will never know you exist, and he’ll never hurt you or me ever again. He’s done enough.”The cell door opened. I stood
OLIVIANINE MONTHS LATERPrison had been hard, not just because I was pregnant but because of how I was treated. But I was grateful for one thing—Ethan kept his word. The guard he’d bribed continued to bring me vitamins and took care of me as promised.But when he wasn’t around, the others would conveniently “forget” to feed me. There were days I was so hungry that my stomach ached. One day, I yelled until someone finally came. But instead of food, I got a beating.They beat me so badly that I had a black eye and bruises all over my arms and legs. But through it all, I protected my baby. Even after the beating, they didn’t give me any food. From that day on, I learned to stay quiet when that officer wasn’t around.I rationed my food, eating small portions and saving some in case I didn’t get any the next day. I was skin and bones, and I worried about my baby. Was he getting enough nutrients? Would he be born healthy?The thought of my baby suffering only made my resentment for Nick gr