“Phew!” She let out as soon as she was inside the room. It was nerve-wracking to face the grandpa. He had that judgmental look the whole time. Thomas said that he was never in the house at lunchtime. He had specially come to welcome them and have their meal together.‘At least, he has manners.’ She thought to herself. She was clearly the last person he wanted for his grandson. How she wished she could tell him that he did not have to worry since they never really got married for love and would eventually depart from each other’s lives.‘Ouch! Why did it hurt?’She could not believe that it was all a part of the adventure she was going to have for the whole year. An adventure she never wanted in her life but was going to have nevertheless.She shook her head and got up to take a shower. It calmed her senses whenever she showered when stressed.She remembered his words clearly as he made a passing comment while she was having lunch. The spoonful of rice got stuck in her throat and she c
“I don’t know what she wants.” He blurted out while clutching his head. He had been chanting that sentence over and over. Mike was feeling a headache appear as he listened to him say that for the nth time. He had been drinking for the whole night. It was past four in the morning when he drunk-called Mike. He did not know who else he could count on.“Let’s get you to the car and then talk.” He screamed over the last music. He was quite frustrated when he called him at three in the morning. When he heard his voice though, he had to get there. He sounded so drunk. He was never that drunk even when he gulped a whole three bottles down his throat. He kept slurring. It took him a few minutes to get to say the bar’s name.Thomas had left the house in the afternoon and had been out and drinking since then. He was frustrated to no end. The truth was that he was stuck. His grandpa had called him earlier to his room and warned him about “his wife” Olivia. He told him in clear words to make her l
“Fuck! My head is killing me.” Thomas grunted clutching his head tightly. It felt like someone was piercing different sides of his head with needles. He could not believe he had drunk so much that he was feeling that way. He had a lot of alcohol tolerance, so it was strange to feel that way. He must have drunk tons of bottles.“Bastard, I had to carry all your weight the previous night. You can imagine how much you had drunk.” Mike informed bitterly as he remembered his back pain the night after he threw him on the bed. He was sitting on the chair while Thomas was glaring at him from his bed.He did not have the strength to go to his place, so he stayed. Besides, he felt so sleepy.“Will you shut up?” Thomas spat. His head was truly acting strange. He was never this hungover.Mike brought his forefinger and thumb together and made a motion with his hands as if he was zipping his lips. He knew he was not in the mood to take his sarcasm at that moment.He let him take his time while he
“Has he returned?” She heard Sana’s voice from the other end. She let out a sigh while lying down on the bed. It had already been a week since he disappeared.“I heard that he did come while I was sleeping. The maid told me that he just came for a few minutes.” She said feeling frustrated to no end. He knew how difficult it was to live with his grandpa, yet he left her completely alone with him.And then he came for a few minutes to fetch some necessary stuff and left. She knew that because some of his clothes were missing from his closet. She would never admit the fact in front of him, but she had gone through his stuff to see what kind of a person he was. The colors, choice of clothing, and personal stuff all told a lot about a person.She got to the conclusion that he was a very neat, disciplined, and organized person. The majority of his stuff consisted of black and white. It screamed expensive and classy. He screamed expensive and classy.“Wow! I never expected him to act like a
“Let us get you to the clubbbbb!” Sana screamed at the top of her lungs as their uber stopped in front of a famous club. She seemed so excited. Her vacation had just started, and she could not wait to hit the club.She was not a clubgoer, but this time, she was tired from all the assignments and the hectic schedule of her college. It was the most important thing she needed at that time: some fun time with her best friend.“Sana, I don’t think we should have come here—especially today,” Olivia commented looking at the long queue outside the club. It was a Saturday night, so the crowd was justified.“Oh, shut up! We will enjoy it. Just let go of your concerns and let loose for a night,” she said shaking her head at Olivia as she paid the uber driver, “Don’t forget that I had to face that hag and beg him for letting you go with me for just one night. Jeez, he is such a difficult person to deal with. I pity you and admire your patience in keeping up with him.” Sana said with exasperation.
“Thomas?” It was not Olivia who uttered that. She was too shocked to say anything. It was Sana. She was as surprised as Olivia was.When she asked Olivia to accompany her so she could talk to the guys, she did not think that Thomas would also be there. But the bigger shock was when she turned her head and looked at the guy sitting on his left.“Mike?” She said in a more breathless tone than before. Mike was avoiding eye contact with Sana.Olivia felt lightheaded as she kept staring at him. Thousands of emotions were dancing in her eyes at that moment. She had wanted him to be in front of her so that she could make things clear between them. She wanted to make him understand that she was not the one to blame and that she had no other purpose for hurting him aside from the fact that she had to. She had to do that to save them both and their temporary relationship from complications.She wanted to talk to him, but now that he was right in front of her, she was tongue-tied. She could not
“Are you sure that is what you are going to do?” Sana asked again. She did not want her to take the decision based on her emotional state. Olivia nodded.“Yes, I have to get away from him and that house for a while. It is not like he is at home either. I don’t have to perform any duty which is required by the contract.” She said in a determined voice.“Okay, love. You know what is best to do at this point. Let me make our coffee.” Sana stood up and left the room. Olivia sighed.Living in that hell-like house and dealing with Thomas for the last month had taken a toll on her physical and mental well-being. Besides, she was fed up with doing all that for no reason. What was she taking those useless classes for? Why was she living there when there was no one she was supposed to act like a couple with? Thomas was not there to answer all those questions. She did not think he would appear before her anytime soon. She was not bound in any way. The contract terms would have been exercisable o
“There is no need to leave,” Thomas said simply sighing. Olivia gave him a side glare.“I was not asking. I was informing.” She said confidently. Thomas took a dramatic double-take as if what she said and how she took a firm stance for herself did not sit right with him.Either she must have stopped standing up for herself or he had forgotten what kind of a person she was. Nevertheless, she was so angry that he had just come back and was already giving her orders. It was her fault. She should not have let him forget that concrete fact.She could have reached out and brought him to the house if she wanted to, but she did not do that. It was because she was afraid. She did not want any proximity between them that would complicate things. She was scared of the way her heart had been acting seeing his face and sharing space with him. As much as she did not want to be in the same space with him for that same reason, she knew—or at least thought—that it was not possible until he proved her
Everything felt blurred. She tried to open her eyes, but even that little task hurt her head. She winced as she finally opened her eyes.The sudden light compelled her to close her eyelids again.“Olivia?” She heard her name being called. The voice…she recognized the voice.She opened her eyes again. This time, it felt less hurtful. The light was too bright for her liking though.“How are you feeling?” She heard the soft familiar voice again, but the voice sounded panicked for some reason. She adjusted her eyes and was finally able to look at his face.The face that she loved to look at… Why did he look like he had grown his beard? He always had this 5 o’clock shadow. It looked quite rough now. His hair was also ruffled. She wondered if he even took care of himself. His eyes looked concerned.She saw him opening the door of the room and calling for the doctor.“Olivia? Are you hearing me?” There was concern written on his face as he came to stand beside her. He looked quite happy but
He was terrified as soon as he heard the scream. It was as if someone had pulled out his heart out of his chest. He had experienced such kind of feeling only once in his life and that was when he got the news of his parents’ accident. He was never the kind of person who would get scared easily. However, at that moment, he was scared to no end.He rushed in the direction where he had heard her terrified voice calling his name. A few steps inside the woods, and he reached there.He saw her plastered against the tree with no shirt on and with her hands tied. He saw that lunatic picking up a piece of wood and getting ready to hit her.How dare he!His blood boiled, and all he saw was red.Thomas did not know where he got the superpower to launch himself on Joe in a second, but he did. He smacked his face and threw him on the ground. He attacked him before he could do any more harm to Olivia.“You bastard! How dare you touch her.” He blew punshes after punches on his face. He was not aware
“I don’t know Mark. I have decided to let her go.” He sighed leaning against his chair. He was in the office when he received her text. He felt devastated to type the reply he sent to her, but he had no other way. He had to free her after all the suffering he put her through during their contract marriage. It was about time he put a full stop to all of that.But why did his heart feel like it had just been pierced? Even the thought of letting her go hurt him to no end.“Listen, man, it is not her fault that her father had been involved in the accident that happened years ago. Don’t get mad but it is not her father’s fault either. Nobody can control an accident, Thomas. He also lost his life. His family has also been suffering just like you have been suffering all these years. Let go of this hatred, Thomas. It will destroy you and your relationship with Olivia.” Mark said trying to make him see sense. He had seen him being engulfed in that hatred for too long. Due to this hatred, he wa
“What did you just say?” He growled as he came closer to her. His eyes looked bloodshot. His hair had also fallen from its perfect position. He visibly shivered with anger as he yanked her hair again. This time, it was even harsher.She yelped as she felt like her hair would be pulled out of her scalp. Even in that state, she rose a little and looked challengingly in his eyes.“I said you are a pathetic piece of shit.” She spat at him after saying it again. She was so angry. He was so eager to see her crumble before him and shudder with fear. He thought he would get rid of her without any fight from her side. He was in for a surprise.She was well aware of her situation. She did not have anything with her to defend herself in that state. She had lost her phone when he started dragging her down the road and into the forest. Nobody knew where she was. Joe was looking at her murderously, and she was sure that he would not let her live another minute after what she said.However, he would
She got up after what felt like hours. She started walking toward the exit of the park. The sun had already set and darkness was slowly engulfing the surroundings. She did not want to move, but she knew that she had to.She was so devastated. What would she tell her mom? She was so happy that her daughter had finally found someone for herself who loved her and cared for her. In front of her, they put up a perfect picture of the happily married couple. She would not be able to take such a harsh piece of reality.Olivia knew that her pretended marriage would have to come to an end sooner or later, but she was not aware that it would be this soon.What hurt her the most was not that he had decided to call the fake wedding off. Her heart had broken into pieces because she thought he might feel something for her. She thought that he would somehow reciprocate her feelings. She thought that he would not blame her father anymore for an accident that happened years ago. But he did not stop bla
She was tired of the push and pull. She was tired of playing the double life. It was not her.The life she was living was not hers. She detested lying to everyone about her relationship with Thomas. She hated that their pasts were connected in such a twisted way.Life was so unpredictable. If she had not lost her job, she would have never agreed to such ridiculous terms. Neither she was happy nor was Thomas.When they got closer after separating for a while, she thought that everything would be all right now. She thought that maybe for once, she would have the life she desired to live with Thomas. Although it was a contract marriage, she could not deny having intense feelings for him.It was true. She never imagined herself wanting to live with a man, craving his touch, desiring his presence so much as she wanted with Thomas. He was the first and only man she had opened up so much. She had opened her heart to him unknowingly. Now, it was hurting her like hell. She was sure he was hurt
“Thank you for today.” Olivia smiled as the car stopped in front of the mansion. Seeing her mom’s face was indeed what she needed after the long, torturous days of being away from her mom. And now that she knew that her mom was being taken care of, she was satisfied.It was all thanks to Thomas.“My pleasure.” She saw him smiling as he also got out of the car and came around to open her side of the car door. She got out and was about to go inside when he grabbed her wrist and made her stop.“Are you okay now?” He asked with an expression of concern on his face. She was confused at first thinking why she should not be alright when she remembered that she was upset earlier. He was undoubtedly referring to that.At that moment, standing in front of him and under the moonlight, her heart felt at peace. She felt like everything was alright for once. She did not feel so miserable anymore.She had no idea what came over her as she closed the distance between them and put a soft kiss on his c
“Olivia?” She whispered as soon as she saw her daughter. She was so sad for the past few days that she did not come to visit her. but she knew her daughter. She knew that she must have been caught up in something. Otherwise, there was no way she would not have come to visit her, especially after her surgery.“Mom, how are you feeling?” Olivia sat down beside her and kissed her cheek. Her mom seemed healthier than before. Mary said that she had been eating well. She had gotten sick the previous day, but the nurse had made sure to take care of her. Olivia felt like her heart would explode with pain. She was not there with her mom when she got sick.“I’m okay, darling. How have you been?” She asked her instead. Olivia smiled. There she was asking about her when her health was not in good shape. She had just had her surgery.“I am fine, mom. Did you miss me?” She asked with a smile. She wanted to make some jokes so she would not ask her why she was absent in the last week. As much as she
Olivia had just gotten off the phone when Thomas entered the room. He had left for work in the morning and just returned. He wanted to see if Olivia had listened to what he had said to her.He still remembered the conversation.“Olivia, I have a request to make. Please don’t leave the room. Stay here.” He had said as he was about to leave the room.Olivia was still sitting in the same position on the bed. The pounding of her head had eased a little, but she still had no strength to leave the room. Besides, she was waiting for him to leave before she would go to her room as she did not want to argue with him when her head felt so heavy and she still felt a little nausea.But he had just told her not to do that. Why would she listen to him?“I will do whatever I want.” She had replied without sparing him a glance. She heard him sigh. He was holding the door open but closed it.He turned around, “This is our room. Grandpa is already suspicious. He might use this opportunity to misbehave