Is Olivia an idiot? I think she is. But they are all right, right? What will Jackson gain by them moving back? Read on... <3 <3 <3
_____________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~."Will Jasmine come to visit?" Kelsey asked, her eyes wide with hope.It had been three weeks since we moved back to our city.I didn't want to live in the apartment that Jackson and I once lived in anymore.So we were temporarily living in a two-story house.Jasmine and Kelsey had been friends since diaper days. I had met her lesbian mothers when we took them to baby swimming classes.And they had gone on so many playdates since then."We will visit her soon, my love." I looked up from my laptop.I was back at the headquarters and I was back to being a workaholic. Except, I did alternate afternoons from home.Mom took over the other afternoons.Jackson was eyeballs deep in work due to some merger mishap that occurred while he was away.He rarely came home before Kelsey's bedtime anymore. But he still managed to squeeze in as much love for her as he could in the fleeting morning breakfast time that the father and daughter spent together.It
_____________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~.After the moment in the kitchen, Jackson said he was going to change into something more comfortable while I finished making my sandwich.I sighed to myself, my whole body tingling all over from that chaste hug of his.I put the sandwich together and took a bite, trying to shake off the funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.I took a seat on the living room couch and put on a random sitcom.Jackson emerged from upstairs in sweatpants and a t-shirt, looking more relaxed than before.He sat down next to me on the couch, picking up the TV remote. "What are we watching?""Just some mindless sitcom." I took another bite of my sandwich, my eyes flicking towards him.Jackson leaned back and sighed, his hand finding mine on the couch. "Can I have a bite?" He asked, looking over at me.I handed him my sandwich without a second thought. He took a bite and gave me a small smile."Thanks," he mumbled before turning his attention back to the TV.He too
______________ . . .~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~ .I followed Jackson to the front door but stopped when I realized he was going to step out."It's freezing out there." I said."We are not going to spend too much time in the cold." He assured me and held his hand out.I stared at his hand for a moment, wondering if I really trusted him before I decided that I did not have to be hesitant for something so trivial and took it, his warmth seeping into my skin.Jackson led me outside and his car was outside in the cold, and not in the garage.I raised a questioning brow at him."I saw the reminder on the calendar." He confessed sheepishly. "I knew Casey was going to take monkey out and even I had a less hectic day at work so I thought I might as well steal you away."My mouth formed an O."Where are we going?" I asked, looking down at the cozy sweater and leggings, the cold started to bite into my legs."That's a surprise." He wrapped his arm around me and ushered me into the car, which wa
____________ ...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~."Aren't you both already married?" Sarah was stuffing herself with a croissant while I sipped on my coffee. "It's more of a renewal of vows," I said. "Not really renewal, but the actual establishment of vows." She mumbled. I pursed my lips. "Look!" She held her hands up. "I know I seem blah but I am not any less excited than you, okay? It's just that-" I burst out laughing. "I know," I said. "What?" She looked away. "The idea of working with William Harvey for one wedding was bad enough, right?" I asked Sarah let out a heavy sigh and she slumped in her chair. "That man micromanages EVERYTHING." I let out a laugh. "Oh come on, darling. It's not like you are any better." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Are you taking his side?" "I am not," I replied, taking another sip of my delicious coffee. "I am just stating a fact." Sarah rolled her eyes at me. "Well, at least he's good at what he does. But yes, he's a bit much."I raised a brow
____________ ...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~.After coffee with Sarah, I drove to Jackson's office to pick him up for the marriage counseling session.I drove to the basement parking lot where he had his car parked because he needed to get something from his car."Hey!" He sounded like a zombie trying to be cheerful as he got into the car."Long day?" I asked, reaching over to give his shoulder a comforting squeeze.Jackson nodded, his eyes closing briefly as he leaned into the touch. "Long week.""Maybe we should schedule this session for some other day? You need to get some rest." I suggested, looking at the dark circles under his eyes.Jackson shook his head. "No, we need to do this." He leaned back in the seat and took a deep breath. "I need to do this."I sighed. "This is not some race, Jackson. We don't have a deadline. We can take our time. Now, we need to prioritize your health."He looked over at me, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "You sound just like Mom."That made m
____________ ...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~."Then why did you say in your sleep that you never cheated on me?"Jackson's eyes widened in surprise. He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "I... I don't know what I said in my sleep, Liv.""Well, I assume it should be the truth because people do not get to lie in their sleep." I replied. I was not going to let this go. Not that easily.Jackson looked away from me. "I... I don't remember saying that."I tilted my head to the side. There was no way I heard wrong. I was not delusional."You are hiding something from me." I told him. "I just know it."Was he? Was he hiding something from me? Or was he pretending to not remember trying to manipulate? I did not trust him. But I also had no choice but to ask him itself for the truth."Jackson," I said, my voice firm. "Look at me."He slowly met my gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of exhaustion and apprehension."You need to tell me what's going on," I insisted. "If we're going to do
____________ ...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~."Because I wanted that woman's daughter to go through the same my Mom did."I froze."My Mom?" I asked. "Your Dad left you and Lily because of my Mom."Jackson nodded, his expression tight. "Yes.""But what did my Mom even do?" I asked, feeling the tears stream down my face. I wanted to get off the chair, I wanted to yell at him. But I did not have the energy for either. It was like I was paralyzed.Jackson took a moment before speaking, his voice filled with pain. "Nothing. She did nothing wrong.""But you punished me for it," I whispered, feeling the anger swell up inside me. "You hurt me, Kelsey... all because of a spiteful revenge against my mother, who has to be the least affected by any of this."Jackson's face fell. "I know. And I regret it every day. I was blinded by rage and bitterness. I wanted to show her the kind of pain she caused us, but I ended up causing you more than I ever intended."I stared at him in disbelief. "How coul
____________ ...~ ~ ~ J A C K S O N ~ ~ ~."You what?"I ignored the asshole and continued to sip on my whiskey."Reign, are you out of your mind?" William grabbed my shoulder and forced me to face him. "You told her everything?"The whiskey burned my throat but it was the only thing keeping me sane at that moment. I nodded. "Yeah."William's eyes widened even further. I didn't even think that was possible. "You know what this means, right? She's going to leave you. And take Kelsey with her."I took another sip of my whiskey. "No, she is not."William looked at me like I had just told him I was going to walk on water. "What makes you so sure?"I smirked. "Olivia Smith is wired to be a doormat to the person she loves the most. And right now, she loves Kelsey the most. And Kelsey? She just adores her new-found Daddy."William paused for a moment. "You really going to use Kelse like that?"I sighed. William had been spending too much time with Monkey apparently. The man never really
_________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~ .New day, new me. Last night, when Jackson said that he had more secrets, for a moment I thought he was going to come clean. For a moment, I thought he was going to show some kind of remorse. But then I didn't know what I would do if he did suddenly confess to all his wrong-doings. What the hell was I supposed to do? How the hell was I supposed to react? But he simply shrugged and walked away, waiting patiently for me at the living room with Kelsey and Pickles for their sandwich and snacks.He gave me time to sleep on the thought. What would I do if he suddenly came clean? And I had come to a conclusion. I was not going to forgive him. Him confessing to his sins was like a serial killer confessing to his murders. Would the confession decrease the severity of the crime committed? Maybe to the court of law, it would. But not to the victims. And I was the victim. And in my court of law, there was no forgiveness of Jackson Reign. “You ok
_______...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~.“Daddy!” Kelsey ran into Jackson’s arms as soon as we walked in through the door. Pickles, on the other hand, seemed not very interested in seeing him and went sat down by Kelsey’s feet though she was wagging her tail.“Monkey, I missed you!” He picked her up and twirled her around as she giggled. “So how was girls’ week?” That was the excuse we had come up with to cover up the latest fuck up. “Fun!” She giggled. “Daddy, get me a brother so than you can have boys’ night!” Jackson laughed nervously as he looked over at me. Yeah sure, bruh. I am going to give you another child after all the shit you put me through.“Alright Monkey, get changed. Mommy will fix you up a sandwich.” I told her as I walked over to her bedroom to drop off her bag. “Okay!” She was in a really good mood tonight since she was back with both her parents. And Pickles. My daughter did not want anything more than this. And I felt horrible that I could not even give her th
_________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~ .“Till when are you going to keep this up, Jackson?” I asked as soon as the other two stepped out of the conference hall. Sarah was not at all happy. I knew that she believed in me but there was a part of her who still believed that I will melt for the sob story that Jackson would present to manipulate me. I needed to make my loyal best friend proud. Jackson winced as if me calling him by his whole name had done more damage than all of his bullshit did. “Liv, just listen to me.” He said. I knew he had enough time to make up a good story and that he had come completely prepared to get the deal that he wanted.I crossed my arms across my chest and tipped my chin up. “I am listening. So say what you have to say.” And he did. His made up story of how Elena had approached him to get William’s help with her divorce. “You don’t believe me.” He said after I stayed silent for almost three minutes after he had finished his tale. “Oh I believe you.”
___________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~ .“I know that you have got this.” Sarah turned to me. “I know you are in your boss girl era, but a gentle reminder that your asshole of a husband will do whatever the fuck it takes to get the company in his name. You are not allowed to fall for any of his bullshit. Capiche?” I took a deep breath and let it out. “Yes yes, ma’am. I will do my best to not be influenced by hi-”“No no no.” She stomped a foot to make a point. “That’s not the attitude we are looking for. We are not going to do our best to resist his manipulation. We ARE going to resist his manipulation. Now, rephrase your sentence.” I rolled my eyes. My friend was motivating and coaching me like I was going out to war, which I was. Did I love it and felt grateful for her support? Absolutely. But she was going a tad bit overboard with it at this point. “I am going to not be influenced by his manipulations. I am not going to fall for his same old cheap tricks. And I am going to m
___________...~ ~ ~ J A C K S O N ~ ~ ~ ."She said she still loved me. That means I still have a chance to set things right, right?" I asked as I paced William's office. I looked over at him, who was looking at me as if I was an idiot, and raised a brow, "Well?" "Why the hell would you go to meet Elena? When you know very well that she is trouble?" William asked. I rolled my eyes. He was still stuck there when there was much more important matters to worry about. "Why the hell would you go to meet Sarah? It's not like you knew Liv was going to be there? Why the hell would you go to meet your arch nemesis alone? What would have happened if she had stabbed you and fed you to some wild animal?" Of course, I knew I was being dramatic but I would not put anything past that pain in the ass. William let out a chuckle. "One, she is not my arch nemesis. Two, you have a wild imagination. Careful now Reign, someone might think you actually care for someone other than yourself." I t
________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~ ."I am keeping the company until you prove yourself."The fact that he played right into my hands with this was so damn hilarious that I had to do everything to not laugh at the absolutely horrified look on both his and his asshole best friend’s face. I side-eyed Sarah who seemed like she was going through as much as a hard time as me trying to stay serious. “What do you mean?” He finally found his voice. I thought the man had had a stroke hearing my condition and lost the ability to speak. “You heard me. I am not signing the Lilith Corp. back to you until you prove that there was, is, and will never be anything between you and Elena.” I said as evenly as I could, trying not to sound arrogant or victorious.“Liv, that makes no sense.” He said. “Whatever you mean?” Sarah spoke, coming to stand beside me. “It’s the most sensible thing I have heard her speak ever since you came back into her life.” Jackson turned to look at his stumped friend
__________...~ ~ ~ J A C K S O N ~ ~ ~."Harvey, you motherfucker! Why the hell would you visit them without telling me?" I bellowed into my phone as I hurried to my car. Why the hell did he have to go there? Why the hell would he do that without letting me know in the first place?"And why the hell would you go see Elena, of all people, after telling Olivia you were hanging out with me?" William sounded equally pissed. He had no right to be. Okay, maybe I should have given him a heads-up but why on earth would I ever imagine that he would turn up at their door?"There is a situation." I breathed out as I got into my car and connected my phone to the system."Don't tell me that bitch is blackmailing you with something else now." William sighed.I rolled my eyes."She wanted to talk.""Seriously, man." William sounded exasperated on the other end. "I know you both never had anything going on between the two of you, but I always felt like Elena had something for you. And even if the
________...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~ ."What's D-E-F?" Sarah rolled her eyes. "Deception, Extortion and Fraud?"I snorted as I passed her a bowl of popcorn as I plopped down on her couch. I had just told her about Jackson's date idea.It was good to see that her humor had not been affected after what happened. I knew that my best friend was still beating herself up for things that she could not control.And the sleepover was me trying to fix that."I do not like that you left my Kelse alone with that fraud just to come here to make me feel better." She pouted.I rolled my eyes.Of course she knew what I was doing."You think I haven't learned my lesson?" I asked, feigning disappointment at her for undermining my common sense. "I dropped Monkey off at my parents at the pretext that they have been wanting to visit some kiddish stuff with her for the past few days. And Jackson has been wanting to visit William, no doubt to plan more bullshit against me, so it worked out for the best fo
_______...~ ~ ~ O L I V I A ~ ~ ~.I stepped out of my room in a white and green floral dress with a denim jacket thrown over it. I had my white sneakers on. "Daddy, it's coming apart!" I walked to the living room to find Jackson working on Kelsey's pigtails. "Do you plan to stay up all night, Monkey? Why are you dressing up?" I asked. Both of them looked over at me. Kelsey grinned at me while Jackson had that look of awe that used to make me melt on the spot. Used to. Not anymore. Because I knew it was a farce. "Mommy, you look so pretty!" Kelsey clapped her hands and turned to Jackson. "Right, Daddy? Mommy looks like a Barbie doll, right?" I rolled my eyes as he nodded in agreement before looking back at me. "Even better." "Alright, let's go, shall we?" I asked, holding my hand out for my daughter to take. She held my hand and then turned around to hold her father's hand as well. "Let's go! I miss Pickles!" "Don't tell Grandma that you are going there to meet Pickles.