Chapter 2

SIX MONTHS LATER

Oliver was a happy man

He was supposed to be happy.

He was no longer married to Claire and was about to be married to his childhood sweetheart. He was the CEO of a multi billion dollar company. In fact, he had just closed a deal with a major shipping company last week. But he wasn't happy.

He still felt empty.

He was on his way to pick up his mom and Ayana. They had gone to meet the pastry chef for some "cake testing". He didn't know what that meant, how would they taste a cake that's not baked yet. Ayana wanted him to come with them, insisting it would be fun but he dropped them off and promised to pick them up when they were done.

He had other things to handle. One of them was the interview of a new housekeeper for the two household. Mrs Nelson had resigned three months ago. He knew her sudden resignation had something to do with the divorce. She wasn't the only one who took the divorce personal.

His relationship with his father had gone from knit tight to barely civil. His father was disappointed in him but he knew his father felt guilty deep down for trying to force a marriage on him. He only hoped that time would fill the void and restore their relationship.

Mrs Nelson's sudden resignation was unexpected. He knew she loved Claire as a daughter and hated how he treated her but he was unprepared for this.

"Good riddance" Ayana said when she left. 

He didn't understand the hatred Ayana had for the woman. He adored Mrs Nelson as she loved him. She had been a constant throughout his life, taking care of his wounds, babysitting him and giving him treats. She also adviced him. 

But above all, he missed her efficiency. None of the other workers had been able to fill her position. Hence the interview to get a new housekeeper. His P.A had shortlisted candidates for him to interview. Today's interview had been a flop. He hoped he would find one soon, he seemed to be going crazy.

As he paused at the red light, he could not help but think about Claire. How was she? Was she okay? Had she moved on with her life?

He felt she would have, after all she was happy after signing the divorce papers. They didn't love each other, that part was true but he also knew she tried to make it work in the early phase of their marriage.

She would prepare dinner for him and try to make conversation with him when he came home from work. But he always ignored her and didn't eat her food. Most nights, he didn't sleep there, he went to Ayana. She must have known and understood the marriage wouldn't work. She stopped waiting for him to come home, she stopped making dinner and stopped trying. Mrs Nelson had told him that she usually made the dinner for him by herself without the aid of the Chef.

It actually surprised him that she could cook. Ayana never tried cooking and he couldn't remember the last time his mother cooked a meal for him or anyone. It was always the chef who prepared meals. Mrs Nelson also informed him that some nights she would refuse to eat and that concerned him. He didn't love her but he didn't want her to die either. Her father would not like that at all.

Ever since the divorce, he hadn't seen her father even during social events. He knew that Mr Jackson and his father had a fallout following the divorce. He also heard that Mr Jackson had a fallout with his daughter. He wondered why there was so much trouble over a divorce. All this could have been prevented if the two fathers had never made this deal in his opinion. Everything would get settled, he thought. He was about to be remarried. Maybe Claire would do so one day but that idea didn't sit right with him.

He parked in front of the shop just as Ayana and his mum were leaving the shop.

"Hey honey" Ayana pecked his lips.

"My sweetheart" his mother kissed his cheeks. Both women laughed at his unease.

"Mum, baby, stop it" he flushed in embarrassment. He held the car door open for them before he rounded the car. He drove off dropping his mum first at his parents house before going to his house.

After the divorce, Ayana had moved in with him. She had always wanted to live with him but Mrs Nelson was strongly against her presence in the house. But when Claire left, she forcefully moved in. Oliver also believed she was part of the reason Mrs Nelson resigned.

"Ah! Home sweet home" Ayana exclaimed collapsing on the couch.

"Why are you acting like you're exhausted. I don't think cake tasting requires so much energy" Oliver teased.

"Oh stop! The stress of planning a wedding is getting to me."

"You know I could hire a wedding planner to do all the work so you won't be so stressed." Oliver sat next to her on the couch.

"You're such a sweetheart" she kissed his lips. "But I want this wedding to be perfect, I need to do this, I can handle everything."

"If you say so" he agreed and wrapped his arms around her.

"I do" she stood up despite his protest. "I'm hungry, so hungry I could eat a horse."

"I'd like to see you try."

"I won't do that anyway. I have a wedding dress I'd like to fit me. Let me get Romero to prepare lunch for us." She walked away swaying her hips much to Oliver's delight.

He and Ayana were childhood friends but their relationship began in high school. She had always been the hottest girl right from grade school. She had broken so many hearts including his. It all changed in Junior year when she lost her father and her mother had to take two jobs to take care of her and her brother. It was a difficult time for her family.

Oliver was there to comfort her and help her through those times. Ayana opened her heart to him and they began dating. But their relationship was a rocky one with so much back and forth. Oliver left the country for college and they couldn't handle a long-distance relationship so they broke up for good. Somewhere between his holidays they reconciled and rekindled their relationship.

The stress on Ayana's mother was so much, she fell sick and later died. Ayana and her brother were heartbroken. Oliver tried to comfort Ayana but she said she needed space. It was during this break in their relationship that Oliver's father proposed the merger and he got married. Ayana was mad when she heard the news but she refused to give up Oliver. 

Oliver sighed as his thoughts drifted to Claire once again.

    **

"Where do you think you're going?" a deep voice mumbled. She tried wiggling out of his grip but his hold on her was firm.

"I have to go to work."

"Take a day off, call in sick" he pulled her close, nuzzling his head on her neck. She relished the feel of his warm breath on her. But she had to get out of bed and go to work.

"Husband"

"Wife" he mimicked her. They burst into laughter, a distinct ringing in the background.

   **

Claire woke up to the sound of her alarm clock and turned it off. She laid back on her bed but she knew she couldn't go back to sleep again. She lazily stretched and got out of bed. As she washed her face, her mind flitted back to the dream she had. She started having weird dreams after the divorce. Dreams where she witnessed a couple during their affectionate moments. It was as if the universe was taunting her.

She shook her head as if to get the thoughts out of her head. The past was in the past. She had to look into the promising future. She had started her own company and within months, it had reached its peak. In the next few weeks, she would be launching a new product to join their line of products in the market.

After discovering the clause in the contract which permitted a divorce if the marriage didn't work out, she began making plans. The clause had come as a shock to her, even her father didn't know about it. She knew there was no way Oliver would stay married to her especially with the provision of a divorce. She knew her father would not hand over the business to her unless she proved her worth. 

The first thing she did was to get her hands on the documents of Greenyork Estate with the help of her father's lawyer, Mr Morris.

The merger had provided the funds to restart her father's company and some properties had been handed over to the Milbourne family as part of the deal. The Greenyork estate was not one of such properties and it was easy to get the document. Her father never cared about that property, she knew he would sell it sooner or later.

She began planning her own company. She had initially thought of launching a fashion line but she didn't have much idea about it. She thought about her cooking skills and how good she was at creating recipes but she couldn't open her own restaurant.

She decided to start selling fruit drinks and energy drinks. She bought a company that was bankrupt and wanted to sell. She improved their recipes, paid all their debts, got the company back on its feet and was making a lot of profit from it. She had begun while she was still married. She could not allow a few nightmares to hold her back.

She had a nice, warm bath, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning Claire"

"Good morning Mrs Nelson" she kissed her cheeks.

"Did you have a good night rest?"

"I don't think I'll get a good night rest until the launch is over."

"Well you're a very hardworking lady, I know the launch will be a success. In the meantime, try to get some sleep at night." She was adjusting the table cloth as she set the table for breakfast.

"I will do as you say" Claire sat down and Mrs Nelson served the breakfast.

Claire didn't like the fact she lied to Mrs Nelson but she couldn't tell her the truth about her lack of sleep and strange dreams. Mrs Nelson worried about her a lot. She was very surprised when Mrs Nelson called her, she had just resigned from the Milbourne household and needed a new job. Claire didn't think twice before inviting her to her place and taking her in as a housekeeper. The arrangement suited both of them.

Claire's new position made it hard for her to perform domestic tasks as she used to do in the past. Mrs Nelson didn't mind and she also wanted to be close to Claire.

"We're running low on vegetables, eggs, butter and strawberries. We also need to stock up cleaning supplies" Mrs Nelson said as she sliced some fruit. Claire looked up from her plate.

"That means you'll go grocery shopping soon"

"Sometime this week" she slid the plate of sliced fruit to Claire.

"Okay, I'll sign a cheque for that." The doorbell rang just as Claire was done with breakfast.

"That must be Hunter" she said.

"He's here to drive you to work?"

Claire nodded in affirmation as she grabbed her bag.

"I'll see you in the evening" she kissed her cheeks and went to the door.

"Take care"

"Morning sunshine" Hunter grinned as she opened the door.

"Good morning" she hugged him. He led her to his car in the parking lot behind her car. She lived in a nice neighborhood, the houses were all alike with front yard and parking lots. It was a simple one but she loved it.

Hunter was her friend turned business partner. They had a lot of places to go so he offered to drive her, which she was grateful for. He held the door open for her before he got in. Her phone rang, it was Mr Morris. She felt ominous about his call and when she answered, she did not like what he was saying.