So, Shall We Get Married?
Chapter 47

Are you serious?

-Are you really apologising? Olivia half-smiles. Suddenly the blonde smiles too, but half-smiles.

-Yes.

-That’s good,” she answers just as the car stops. We’ve arrived, we’ll see you later.

Alma hugs Olivia and gets out of the car, Talia looks at her a moment longer and then gets out and follows her sister. Suddenly she turns back.

-Dad will send me to that boarding school, whatever you do, I’ve seen it in his eyes.

And with those words, the young woman left. Olivia watched her walk away and finally sighed, she was going to have a hard time convincing her husband not to send her daughter away.

[…]

-What do you want, Alina, what do you want? What do you want to leave my family alone once and for all? -She looks at him carefully, sitting in his armchair like a king, and she like the poor girl who had nowhere to drop dead.

-You couldn’t afford to take me aside.

-Of course I can, I can take you aside any time I like, tell me your price?

-You want to pay me to stay away from my daughters?

-To get you out of our lives forever, never to come back, never to ask for anything more.

-That’ll be hard enough, because I don’t intend to walk away. Unless…

-What?

She walks over to Caleb’s desk seductively, approaches his chair and stands just inches away from him, tantalisingly, until she’s close enough to reach his legs.

She leans in a little and smiles mischievously…

-I can get away from everyone, if you’ll just make love to me once… and I swear I’ll sign anything to never come near you, your wife, or the girls again.

-Is that what you want? -The CEO replies impassively.

-That’s what I want, to be with you one more time. And I promise you that I will disappear forever from their lives.

That was the last straw, that woman had no self-respect. Olivia was furious at what she had just heard. She was offering herself to her husband just like that. And with the excuse of disappearing from their lives, that was the biggest lie in the world.

-So, what do you say, Caleb? Do you accept? We can take advantage of your wife not being home.

If I could get Caleb to have s*x with her, there was a good chance she’d get pregnant. Even one time should be enough to get a baby from this man, that way she’d have a good living that would keep her afloat for life, and of course, her child would have a share of all the assets of Caleb’s enterprises.

She didn’t plan to give up the child as she had done with the others; that one she intended to manage as she pleased. Since Talia was no longer of any use to him, Caleb was determined to send her away. And she wasn’t about to take her with her.

She wasn’t about to let that happen, especially not in her house, and she would pull the woman by her hair if she could… Furious, Olivia storms into Caleb’s office. She looks at her husband, then looks at a surprised Alina.

-Olivia, wait…

-You! -She points at the blonde. “Get out of my house, and leave my husband alone.

-Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?

-I’m the wife of that man over there, and the owner of that house. Now get out of here.

-Caleb! -She looks for support, but in return she gets a smirk from her ex.

-She’s the one in charge, you asked for it.

That’s when she realized that this man was just playing with her, he certainly wasn’t planning to have s*x with her in exchange for disappearing. The bastard was teasing her.

-This isn’t helping you at all, Caleb, I’ll keep insisting….

-Get the f**k out of here.

Olivia walked over to Alina and surprisingly grabbed her arm to pull her out of her husband’s office.

-Olivia! -Caleb stood up in alarm for his wife and son.

-You don’t touch me,” his wife growls at him, causing him to stop.

-Wait, the baby…

-Let go of me, Caleb, you can’t let this woman treat the mother of your children that way.

As soon as the three of them reached the living room, the bodyguard witnessed all the commotion. And Olivia, spotting him, pushes the blonde towards him.

-Get this woman out of my house, and I want her banned.

-Yes, ma’am.

-You can’t do this to me, you can’t do this to me…..

Alina screamed as the bodyguard yanked her out of the house. Olivia looked at her and felt a weight lifted off her shoulders, this woman was just a nuisance. An opportunist.

-Love? -She heard her husband’s voice and her b***d began to boil.

-You are shameless, how dare you fall for that woman’s games. Were you thinking of sleeping with her? Ah, answer me,” she demanded angrily.

At that, the brunette notices what her husband had called her, Olivia analyses and goes back in time for a moment… she wasn’t crazy, he had called her “love” or was she imagining it?

-Wait, what did you call me? -Caleb smiles and suddenly grabs his wife by the waist.

-I called you love, because that’s what you are to me. My love.

-What’s going on?

-How could you think I was going to have s*x with Alina, please, that woman doesn’t inspire me with a bad thought. The only one in my mind is you, Olivia.

-What do you mean by that, Caleb? -I love you.

-That I love you.

She gasps at what her ears had just heard, was it true? Had Caleb really fallen in love?

-Are you serious?

-I’ve never been so serious in my life,” she smiles because she feels his words were sincere.

-I didn’t think this day would come so fast,” Olivia hugs him tightly. You make me the happiest woman in the world, Caleb, I love you too.

-I know.

-But that doesn’t make up for the fact that you were playing along with that woman,” she smacks his arm.

-I would never betray you. I swear, you’re the only one I want in my life, Olivia.

She smiles openly and throws herself back into her husband’s arms. That day was the best day of her life, this man finally changed his feelings for her, his older daughter was trying to get along with her, and the younger one adored her.

It was very likely that things would go well, and they would end up being a real family…

[…]

The next day, Talia was very worried because her mother wasn’t answering her calls. He had been calling her since the day before, but she didn’t answer, and that distressed her. She thought the worst, and to her misfortune, the next day she would be leaving for England.

So far, her father hadn’t said anything to her about changing his mind. That meant Olivia couldn’t talk sense into him, and perhaps he deserved it. But at the very least, she wanted to say goodbye to her mother, but she wasn’t answering.

The young woman looked out the window and thought that maybe she should go to the hotel where her mother was to see her, maybe something bad had happened to her and no one knew anything. But if she asked her father for a favour, he would never take her. So he would have to sneak out to see her.

As best she could, she managed to get out of the house without anyone catching her. She would see her mother, and she didn’t care if she got into any more trouble. After all, she was already up to her neck.

[…]

Alma ran through the corridors of the house looking for Olivia, her father wasn’t in the house, so she had to go to her. When she spotted her on the terrace area, the girl went to where she was.

-Olivia, Olivia, quick!

-What’s wrong, Alma? You shouldn’t be running around the house like that, it’s peli….

-Talia ran away from home, I saw her sneaking out of the house, she was carrying a backpack. She’s gone.

Olivia stood up scared to death, those girls were in her care and one of them ran away. If she thought things were going well with Talia, how could she do that to her after apologizing.

-Oh, my God! I’ll call your father…

-We should go look for her, she must have gone to that lady, to look for her… come on Olivia, I don’t want her to go with her.

I wasn’t sure I was going to take Alma at her word, but if I didn’t do anything about it, that girl was going to get hurt.

[…]

The taxi dropped the blonde off in front of the hotel where her mother was staying, the young woman walked into the hotel with the intention of asking for her at the front desk, when suddenly she saw her at the front desk. Around her were many of her suitcases.

Talia ran to her before she left….

-Mum? Are you going to leave? -Alina turns around and rolls her eyes.

-It’s you! -She exclaims as if bored. You shouldn’t be here.

-I called you, but you never answered. I came to see if you were OK and to say goodbye, I’m being sent to boarding school tomorrow.

-Well, that’s what you get for not doing what I told you. You’re a fool, you thought I was going to save you from your father sending you to boarding school. Please, Talia, I thought you were smarter than that. But you turned out to be a fool.

-What are you saying? -she asks, her heart on the verge of shattering.

The woman turns away, ignoring her daughter who was on the verge of tears. She had no scruples, she didn’t care about anyone but herself.

-The bill is being sent to Caleb Palmer’s hotel,” she turns around and notices that her daughter is still there. You’re so annoying, you’re a fool; you still don’t realise that I don’t want children. I don’t care about you or your sister, I was just using you for my convenience. But that’s not even what you were good for.

-Why do you say that to me?

-Because I only got pregnant with you, to encourage your idiot father to better himself, but he couldn’t even do that at the time. And now that I really can’t get back what I had before, I’m leaving, and don’t think I’ll take you with me.

-Don’t you love me?

-No, nor your stupid, long-suffering little sister. I don’t care about them at all, they should never have been born for all I care. On the other hand, your idiot father did go out of his way for you children, you’re a nuisance in life. That’s why I signed a power of attorney to your father to get rid of you two.

Alina looks at her daughter with an annoyed expression, at that, she looks up and notices that Caleb’s wife is in front of her, accompanied by her little daughter.

-Well, your witch of a stepmother is here to rescue you. Goodbye, and believe me, I’m not going back this time,” she says the last words, grabbing her handbag. These brats are all yours, make the most of them. I don’t care about them.