Olivia ~•~SIX YEARS LATER“Mama.” “Mama.” Riley and Rowan’s muffled voices echoed through my sleep as they tapped me multiple times. My eyes fluttered open and I sat upright on the bed. “Good morning babies.” I smiled as I engulfed them in a warm hug. “Why are you guys up so early?” I asked when I noticed the excited look on their faces. “Mama, you promised to take us to the park today.” Riley reminded me. “Yes, you promised,” Rowan added. At the beginning of the week, I had promised the kids that I was going to take them to the park during the weekend if they behaved properly. Throughout the week, they were on their best behavior. They even took their schoolwork more seriously. It was so early in the morning and they were already reminding me about it. “I haven’t forgotten. We will go to the park later in the day.” I acknowledged and their eyes flashed with excitement. Riley and Rowan jumped on my bed and snuggled up with me. We stayed in bed for a few more hours before I
Olivia ~•~I didn’t like how Ethan gave me no choice but to go with him on the trip to New York. The kids were even excited that I cut their outing short to fly them out of California. After a grueling six-hour flight, we finally arrived at New York. Throughout the flight, I was restless and all I could think of was running into Alexander or anybody from my past. “You’ll address me by Stacy while we are here, so even if someone recognizes me, they’ll probably think they are mistaking me for someone else.” I pleaded with Ethan as we exited the plane. When I moved to California, I decided to come up with a new name because I wanted a fresh start. However, when Ethan and I ran into each other, he claimed he couldn’t address me by that name. Ethan and I were in a relationship back in New York way before I even met Alexander. After we broke up, I cut all contact with him and had no idea he even moved to California. He was nice enough to offer me a job when he realized I moved to Cali
Alexander ~•~After the last event the company hosted flopped, my mother was hell-bent on hiring an event planner from California. She claimed that New York’s event planners were incompetent. I didn’t protest against it, so I just let her choose who she wanted for the charity event Burke Enterprise was hosting. It was a tradition we upheld every year and she wanted this one to be flawless. Earlier that morning, my mother called me and said she had already made all the arrangements and the only thing left was for the event planners to fly to New York later in the day for the meeting. She said she was going to text me the details of the people I was having the meeting with later on. The event was in two weeks but she wanted us to plan earlier so it would be perfect. I called Arthur to ask him if he wanted to accompany me to the meeting and luckily enough she agreed. Later on, my mother sent the details of the planners as she had promised. It was a meeting with Ethan James and Stac
Olivia ~•~ I enjoyed watching Alexander’s reaction as I pretended like it was my first time meeting him. “Isn’t she Olivia Keating?” He asked, looking down at Ethan. “Can we start the meeting?” I demanded before Ethan could respond. “It’s getting late and we have a busy schedule.” “Sir.” Ethan gestured to the empty seat beside Arthur. “Can you please have a seat?” He added and Alexander settled down. As the meeting started, I could tell Alexander and Arthur were really restless. Alexander tried his best to avoid eye contact with me, even though my eyes were fixed on him. It was a brief meeting since everyone was awkward. “We’ll send you the final draft to go over once it’s ready. And after that, some of our skilled team members will handle the event.” Ethan said and extended his hand to Alexander for a warm handshake. When we were done, Alexander asked if he could speak with me outside for a moment. I was hesitant at first but the curious part of me wanted to hear what he had
Olivia ~•~“Mama, who was that man from yesterday? The one you were arguing with?” Those were the first words that came out of Riley’s mouth when she woke up in the morning. I was caught off-guard. I had no idea she was so observant. How could I tell her that he was her father?Whenever they brought up questions concerning their father, I always changed the topic to distract them because I didn’t know if it was the right time to tell them that their father didn’t know about their existence. I thought hard and smacked my lips before responding. “Riley baby.” I reached out to her hands and took them in mine. “That was mama’s business partner.” Her eyes locked into mine and she questioned further. “So what were you arguing about?” I let out a dry chuckle. “It was nothing serious, we just disagreed on how the event would be done.” I lied. “What do you want for breakfast?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “I’ll have pancakes.” Rowan, who had been asleep earlier, finally spoke.
Olivia ~•~A few weeks had passed since I returned from the trip to New York. Alexander couldn’t stop blowing up my phone after I refused to meet up with him the day we were meant to leave for California. Ethan had pleaded with me but I didn’t listen because I couldn’t listen to Alexander’s excuses or justifications for his betrayal. I was determined to move on from him and I was going to keep to my words. The kids, on the other hand, couldn’t stop talking about New York and their cousin. However, I made them understand that they had to wait until the holiday before they could see him again. Since my cover about where I had moved to was already blown, I didn’t have a problem visiting New York again. The last time I stalked Sandra on social media was when she posted the news of her baby. Ever since then, I blocked her everywhere because I didn’t want to be reminded of her betrayal. But I didn’t know why I decided to check again, I tried to stop myself from doing it but my curiosi
Olivia ~•~The next day when I went to work, I asked Ethan if I could go with him to New York for the deal. He was confused at first because I declined his offer the previous day, but when I explained the reason to him, he understood and agreed with me. Throughout the day, I couldn’t focus on anything. I kept on thinking about my life and how I spent the years arguing with my parents. I blamed myself for his death even if he died in a car accident. Maybe if I hadn’t left, things would have turned out differently. “You didn’t have to come to work today, you could’ve just called me.” Ethan’s soft voice echoed, interrupting my thoughts. I jerked back to reality and ran my hands through my head. “I couldn’t be at home alone, I needed a distraction.” I didn’t know how to deal with grief and I couldn’t be alone because I was just going to think about it continuously and cry my eyes out. The previous night, I couldn’t sleep and stayed up crying. Even during dinner, my kids noticed some
Olivia ~•~When I pulled up to my parent’s house, I was certain it was Alexander’s car that was parked in the garage. What was he doing there? And what business did he have with my family? I took a deep breath to calm myself before walking through the front door with Ethan by my side. I wasn’t surprised when I saw Alexander sitting on the couch in the living room. It had been so many years and the house still looked the same. My lips curled into a small smile when I heard my mother's voice coming from the kitchen. I pretended like Alexander wasn’t even present and walked to meet my mother. I was grateful she was alive, and even if we didn’t agree on many things, I was going to be nicer to her. “Olivia, come here!” My mum exclaimed with a wide smile and open arms. That was the happiest my mum had ever been to see me. I fell into her open arms and her arms wrapped around me in a tight squeeze. “I’m so happy to see you,” I confessed and she hugged me tighter. After a few seconds,
Chapter 255Riley Burke ~•~I summoned every last ounce of strength in my body and dragged myself to the door.Even if he wanted to trap me, the least he could do was provide me with food and water, so I wouldn’t die of hunger and thirst. As I got close to the door, I banged on the door multiple times, yelling at the top of my voice for someone to open up. I spent about five minutes hitting the door but nobody answered the door. I didn’t give up though. I kept on hitting the door until I finally heard footsteps coming in the direction of the room. I moved back a bit as I waited in anticipation to see who would open the door. They twisted the door knob and slowly pushed the door open. It was the same man who had given me a glass of water the first time. “Please can I have something to eat and drink?” I pleaded, not caring about the fact that I had been kidnapped. My stomach rumbled whenever I realized that I had been there for two days without food. I needed to eat something a
Chapter 254Olivia ~•~After finding out that Riley’s car had been at the gas station for over two days, the detectives told us to hold on as they requested access to the CCTV from the first day. Alexander tried his best to comfort me but I couldn’t stop crying. Riley wouldn’t just dump her car at a random gas station. The situation was even worse than I had imagined. I couldn’t help but wonder how my baby was feeling. I couldn’t help but wonder where she was. I prayed silently that she was okay and we would find her soon. Amanda, Maya, Rowan, and Jason were blowing up my phone but I couldn’t bring myself to respond to any of them. I didn’t want to believe that my daughter was missing, so I didn’t want to have to tell them that she was actually missing. After what felt like an eternity, the detective came outside again. “Come in.” He gestured for us to come into his office with him. When we got inside, he showed us footage playing on his computer. My hands flew to my mouth as I
Chapter 253Riley Burke ~•~I started moving back slowly as he walked into the room. I never liked him. I never imagined I would even see him again. What did he want from me? Why did he take me? What did he plan on doing with me? I screamed as he came closer, a bloodcurdling scream. “Get away from me, you monster!” I yelled at the top of my voice as tears flowed down my face, as though it was a waterfall. “It’s nice to see you again. After so many years.” He said as his lips curled into a mischievous smile. “You’ve grown into a fine young woman. I mean, it was hard for me to recognize you at first.” “What do you want from me, Maxim?” I asked, trying to steady my voice. “Please, let me go!” I pleaded, my tone desperate. Yes, Maxim was the person who kidnapped me. I had forgotten about his existence and was shocked to see him come inside the room. Maxim was one of my mother’s boyfriends who turned out to be a fraud. Rowan and I never liked him. We also made it clear that
Chapter 252Olivia ~•~It had been over two days and we still hadn’t heard from Riley. The last time I spoke to her, she agreed to come back to the house. I canceled everything I had planned for that day just to wait for her, but she never showed up. I tried calling her numerous times but her number was unavailable. I made sure to call everyone I knew to ask if she was at their house, but they claimed that they hadn’t seen her. I didn’t even know how to feel. Did she ghost us again just to teach us a lesson or was she actually hurt? I was feeling restless the first day and decided to stay calm, hoping she would reach out later, but she didn’t. I was able to get some sleep the first time but on the second night, I couldn’t even close my eyes for up to five minutes. I was up thinking about my daughter. Her friends from school claimed they hadn’t heard from her either. Even Harper, her closest friend, had no idea where she was. She said Riley told her that she was on her way back
Chapter 251Riley Burke ~•~Everywhere was stark dark! The last thing I remember was when I stopped to get gas at the gas station. I honestly couldn’t remember anything else. My head was spinning and I couldn’t think properly. I had no idea where I was or how I even got there. My eyes were open but the room was dark and I couldn’t see anything. I tried to move my hands around but I couldn’t touch anything. It was as though I was in an empty room. The cold ground sent shivers through my spine. I had never felt that way before. I tried to stand up and make my way to an exit, but I couldn’t even get up. My legs were hurting. In fact, my entire body was hurting. What was actually going on? I searched my pockets to see if I could find my phone. I had kept it there after I called my brother to send me some gas money. My heart started racing as I couldn’t find my phone. I still had no idea where I was. I was extremely confused by what was happening. Maybe it was a dream. I deci
Chapter 250Riley Burke ~•~What was I thinking about lying to Amanda? Of course, my mother would call her to tell her about what was happening. I didn’t think anything through, I just did the first thing that came to my mind. I felt bad as I saw her disappointed look. I shouldn’t have lied to her. I didn’t even want to watch the movie anymore. I couldn’t look her in the face. I just wanted to sleep until the next day. Everyone thought I was missing but my father didn’t even bother calling me. I felt so terrible. Didn’t he love me anymore? I just wanted to cry myself to sleep. When I was done bathing, I dried my body with a clean towel and changed into the nightwear that Amanda had handed over to me earlier. I decided to sit for a while before heading to the living room. My mind raced with different thoughts as I sat down on the bed. Was there any possibility that my father would have an open mind about Mason? Was our argument ever going to end? Was Mason even worth all the
Chapter 249Olivia ~•~I was worried! I was so worried. It was getting dark and Riley wasn’t responding to my calls. I even asked her brothers to call her, but she didn’t pick up either. My stomach churned as different scenarios played in my head. What if something bad had happened to her? I even tried reaching out to roommates but none of them had seen her. I was starting to panic and I couldn’t even do anything else. “Alex, you see what you’ve caused, right? You pushed her away and now nobody has any idea where she has gone.” I said through gritted teeth as I met Alexander in his office. There was a hint of guilt in his eyes. “I’m sure she’s safe. She just doesn’t want to answer because she is still upset.” He sounded like he was so sure. “If anything happens to my daughter, I’ll hold you responsible,” I replied before storming out of his office. If they didn’t have that stupid fight, I wouldn’t be in such a situation. I couldn’t even go to bed until I was sure she was oka
Riley Burke ~•~Mason stayed with me throughout the whole period while I tried to figure out what I was going to do. I called my father and asked him to give me access to my bank accounts and dorm room, but he refused. He wanted me to go back home, but I wasn’t going to do that. I was upset. After everything, Mason offered to take me to his house, but I couldn’t accept his offer. Instead, I decided to go over to my Auntie Amanda’s house. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Mason asked for the umpteenth time as he walked me to my car. “You shouldn’t be worried about my parents, they don’t really care if I go out with you anymore.” I rolled my eyes. I wished my father felt the same way. “It’s fine,” I assured him. “My parents would be more upset if they found out I followed you home. I just have to find a way to fix this situation.” Mason let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, but if you need money for anything, don’t hesitate to call me.” He continued. I nodded. “Sure.” I
Chapter 247Olivia ~•~For the longest time, I always thought Riley was the person who Alexander loved the most. He always listened to her and did whatever she wanted. Alexander treated Riley like she was a princess. He would pluck the moon for her if he could. Most times, I was jealous of their relationship. He was close to the boys, but not as close as he was to Riley. Maybe it was because she was his only daughter. I was surprised to see how he reacted to her this morning. I mean, no relationship was perfect. I had witnessed them disagreeing a few times, but I had never seen him so upset when it came to Riley. While I was upstairs, I could hear them arguing. But before I could get downstairs, Riley had already stormed out of the house. Alexander’s jaw was clenched and his eyes were blazing with anger. “Riley has grown wings and she’s really disrespectful.” He said through gritted teeth as I walked towards him. “It’s all my fault. I made her feel too comfortable and now sh