So, Shall We Get Married?
Chapter 40

-Well, my nerves… I’m very nervous about the wedding, and all those people out there.

-Of course, and also that daddy is very handsome.” The girl smiles at her, to which she blushes.

-Olivia tries to change the subject, she didn’t like it when she blushed when talking about her future husband, let alone being seen.

-I picked it out myself, Talia didn’t want to buy anything. She’s in her room locked up. But Papa will swear her out so she can attend the wedding.

That’s what I was trying to avoid, the father and daughter arguing. The chestnut bites her lips and tries to replace a way to stop the two from fighting. But she couldn’t replace any feasible method, unless she wouldn’t marry Caleb.

-If she keeps this up, Daddy’s going to send her to boarding school,” Olivia looks down at the little girl, who is adjusting the train of her dress. She’s very spoiled, I think my mother spoiled her a lot when she was little.” The mention of Alma’s mother caused Olivia’s insides to churn.

-I imagine you must miss your mum a lot, you haven’t…

-No,” she replies as normally. “She left me when I was a baby, Dad says she was still feeding me when she left,” the girl shrugs.

-I’m so sorry, Alma. I know it can’t be easy that….

-But you’re here,” he interrupts her with a huge smile. You can be my friend, I know you don’t want to take over for my mum, but at least we can be friends.

-Of course we can.

Olivia took the girl’s hand and squeezed it. Without meaning to, she was forming an incredible bond with Alma. It was so unexpected, she liked that they were getting along. At least her stay in the house wouldn’t be so bad if that little girl would be her company.

[…]

-I need you to put on a dress and come out, child. I want you to be present at the wedding.

-Why, we both know it’s a sham. You don’t love that woman, I don’t understand why you want to marry her.

It’s grown-up stuff that you wouldn’t understand, but I promise you’ll understand later.

-If you want a woman for your needs, you don’t have to marry her.

Caleb rolls his eyes, Talia was very direct and quite complicated. So stubborn, it was impossible to hold a conversation with her. Luckily he thought in time not to break the news about the baby, otherwise, maybe she’d be worse off.

-Put on a dress and come downstairs, I won’t tell you again.

The CEO leaves the teenager’s room, while she looks out of the window at all the wedding commotion. She purses her lips and looks for a way to ruin everything, but she was sure that if she did, her father would send her to boarding school that very day. Breathing out, she was between a rock and a hard place.

-Don’t you dare ruin daddy’s wedding, he’ll be furious with you,” her sister Alma enters her room without her permission.

-I’ve told you not to come into my room when I don’t give you permission, and don’t meddle in my business, I can see you’re a traitor.

-Olivia is good, you should get to know her better. I’m sure you can become good friends.

-I don’t want a friend, I want mum.

-But she’s not coming back. Dad said so, you’d better forget about her.

-You were just a baby, you can’t know how much love my mum gave me every day.

-But still, she’s gone… you should think about that.

-If I ruin this wedding, I’m sure when mum comes back she’ll take me out of boarding school.

-I doubt it!

Talia felt her sister leave her room, while she was left thinking about her words. But it wasn’t possible, her mother did love her, she knew that. But not that intrusive babysitter, she was just an opportunist who had caught her father in her harpy nets.

[…]

Everything was ready for the celebration, the bride and groom were present in front of the judge who would marry them. The whole event had been organised in the garden of the house, by mandate of Olivia, who wanted to avoid the reporters who were in the church.

So they both found themselves looking at each other as they said their vows, Olivia knew that her vows were spoken from the heart, because she loved Caleb. But his were only out of commitment, she just hoped that at some point he would look at her differently. She hoped he would fall in love with her and they would eventually become a real family.

At least Talia had attended the ceremony. That was progress, the brunette thought. Even if her expression wasn’t the most cheerful, she was there in support of her dad.

-I accept! -Caleb said.

-I do! -Olivia followed him.

Her heart was about to explode into a thousand pieces, she was so in love with this man, but she was so afraid of getting horribly hurt in her new life as Caleb’s wife.

Then the two seal the celebration with a k**s, and seconds later, the guests applaud effusively.

[…]

In the evening, the party continued. Some guests arrived late for the ceremony; but not for the party. Caleb led Olivia by the hand, visiting the few guests table by table.

She felt a little embarrassed, because she was neither a model, much less a famous businesswoman. Caleb was a man of the world, he knew many important and influential people, and his marriage to a stranger puzzled many of his friends. Especially when she was much younger than he was.

-You can relax, your nerves aren’t doing the baby any good. Calm down, everything will be fine. Besides, the bodyguard has instructions not to leave Talia’s side, you know, in case he gets one of his own.

-You shouldn’t think of her that way, I don’t think she’ll do anything this day.

-She’s very angry, she didn’t come down for her pleasure.

-I’m so sorry, Caleb. I feel like this is all my fault.

-Don’t worry, it’s okay; I know she’ll get over the upset when she gets to know you better. Just give him a little time,” The CEO caresses the brunette’s cheek, and tries to k**s her.

She felt like the luckiest woman in the world even though her husband didn’t love her, but at least he was supportive and with her. The couple were inches away from kissing, when they were interrupted by Caleb’s bodyguard.

-Excuse me, sir. There’s a problem.

-What did my daughter do?

-She’s not your daughter, Mr Palmer. She’s…

-What’s wrong? -The blond frowns at his employee’s silence.

-It’s me!

I knew that voice…

Out of nowhere, behind his bodyguard, his former wife appears. The woman faces the newlyweds, but of the two, the one who was completely shocked was Caleb. Olivia, however, just stared at the woman before her.

The brunette wondered if she was a partner Caleb wouldn’t tolerate….

-MAMAAAAAAAAA!

Olivia watches Talia scream that name, then run off towards the woman before her. The brunette visualized the blonde before her and felt a strong shudder inside her, Caleb’s ex-wife had appeared, on their wedding day.

She looked at her husband, and saw his expression of… she couldn’t even decipher the expression on Caleb’s face, it was a mixture of surprise, fury and something else. And it was that something else that worried the brunette.

-Oh, my love! How big and beautiful you look,” the newcomer hugged her daughter tightly.

-I knew you would come, I knew it.

-Yes, my love, of course I did.

-Alina, what are you doing here? Caleb interrupts the mother-daughter reunion and questions the woman deadly serious.

-Do you really want to discuss this in your wedding party? -Alina holds his gaze.

-Dad, I told you mum would be back. And you married that one, I told you you should wait.

-Talia, go see what your sister is doing,” he orders her without even looking at her.

-But…

-Go!

The young blonde saw her father’s angry expression and didn’t hesitate at all to go and look for her sister. Besides, he wanted her to meet her mother, now if she was going to believe that he had come back for them, they wouldn’t have to live with their father and that woman.

-Let’s go to my office.

-I’ll stay here to attend to the guests, you….

-No, you’re coming with me. You’re my wife, Olivia.

Alina looks Olivia up and down, and immediately senses that this woman was a stain that needed to be cleaned up as soon as possible.

Caleb and his wife excused themselves for a few minutes, then retreated to the office… Olivia was quite uncomfortable with this woman’s presence, Caleb promised her that she wasn’t going to interfere with anything, but there she was. Now what the hell was going to happen?

-What the hell are you back for, Alina? What do you want? -he asked in exasperation.

-I came to see my daughters, what else? I want to be with my girls, I’m their mother, aren’t I?

-Nearly 9 years later, now you’re a mother in floods? Excuse me, but I don’t believe you.

-Think what you want, but I’ve come for them. -They have to be with me. They have to be with me.

-I remind you that you gave up everything, including your daughters,” Olivia looks at Caleb, she didn’t know.

-That’s why I came, to talk to you about undoing that document. I want my daughters with me.

-That won’t be easy for you, this time you won’t get what you want.

Alina looks angrily at Caleb, then at the woman next to him. Maybe it was because of this woman that he was acting this way, since he always did what she asked him to do. Now things were different, and it was all because of his new wife.

When she saw the news that she was getting married, she didn’t think twice about going back. Of course he had already planned to do so, but with the marriage of his ex, he had to bring his plans forward. What she didn’t count on was that she would arrive on the very day she was getting married. That was bad luck, but maybe it could ruin that marriage and make everything turn out the way she wanted it to.

Besides, Talia seemed happy to see her. That added a point in her favour, despite the time that had passed, the girl still loved and missed her. It served him well to have manipulated her so much since she was a child.

-They’re my daughters, I have rights over her.

-You lost them when you decided to leave, so don’t come and tell me that you love your daughters, because I won’t believe you, Alina.

-Of course, because you’re well married, now your wife wants to take my place as the mother of my daughters.

That was the limit of what I could tolerate with that woman, she’d walk out like it was nothing, giving up everything, and now she’d show up on her wedding day and end up messing with Olivia, who had nothing to do with the problem.

She’d just come along to annoy….