by Jennise K
~
“So, this is the lucky lady who gets to bag you?” The blonde woman beside the surprisingly young, dark-haired man smiled at me. I frowned when I thought her canines shone under the lights of the brightly lit hall. My gaze, however, didn’t remain long enough on the woman.
Instead, I found myself glancing at the young man, Mr. Phillip Ohalm, and Dominic and Grayson, who stood a few steps away chatting with a group of people I didn’t know anything about only that they looked very important. I glanced back at the man before me. Surely, he was younger than I had ever thought he would be. He seemed like an old man when my…father used to mention him.
Being fully aware of my eyes on him, he continued to look down at me through his spectacles. Slowly, a friendly smile eventually settled on his sharp-featured face.
Mr. Phillip Ohalm was a man of principles. His method of operating his businesses was well-known amongst his peers. He was just, and to whoever deserves his praise, he would give it regardless of their social status. He was also the owner of the Redanward Estate, the great grandson of the infamous Adam Ohalm.
The dark-haired man reached his hand forward, and my eyes snapped to it, then up to his gaze.
“Hello, Mr Ohalm. Olivia Fredson.” I smiled as I took his hand, shaking it. His green eyes lit up with recognition.
“The heir of the Willington Industries?”
Ahh…
I nodded. “Ah, yes.”
“You’ve made quite a catch yourself, Romanov!” the lady exclaimed happily again, her disturbingly sharp smile made me avert my gaze once again, but I still put my hand in hers, shaking it despite the deadly chill it held.
“I believe we aren’t fishes, Sierra, so would you please refrain from referring to us as such? Also, keep in mind that your social standing is quite below that of my or Olivia’s own. Let’s use proper titles, yes?” Romanov’s uninterested, sharp tone almost made me gape at him.
Still, Romanov only seemed to be beginning.
“Prince Ohalm.” Romanov acknowledged the other man with a short bow and swiftly swept me away, moving towards a face I was already quite familiar with.
“What was all that about?” I whispered as we slowly moved towards the next group of people. My grip on his coat tightened when he smiled at another group of people in acknowledgment while sharply moving past them.
“A long-needed education for that stupid woman. We’re going to Spencer. The group has a lot of our existing clients, but don’t worry about them if you don’t want to. Just make sure to show her the ring, okay? You can add that line you used last time as well,” Romanov whispered into my ear.
What?
I looked at Romanov and sighed when my lips brushed against his own. Instantly, I tried to take a step back, but Romanov’s arms tightened around me.
“Great. Now I feel like doing something else entirely.” Romanov growled under his breath, and I could feel the heat in my cheeks grow, but instead, I looked up and smiled when I met Spencer’s eyes.
“Mr. Naight! You’ve outdone yourself with the arrangement this year,” an elderly gentleman exclaimed with a hearty laugh. I grinned when I recognised him. Uncle Rulph Tenisson.
The rest of the men and women in the group agreed heartily, nodding and murmuring their agreement, and I grinned when Uncle Rulph’s eyes found mine.
Uncle Rulph, the adopted son of my grandfather, had left the nest at the age of eighteen and only came back when he had successfully made a name of himself. Today, he owned a lot of five-star hotels and golf courses across Canada and Australia. He didn’t come to Europe that often, even when I was a kid, but I had heard of his plans to expand to Europe.
Seeing him here, he just might.
“Thank you, Director Tenisson. Everyone, this is my fiancée, Olivia,” Romanov announced. I couldn’t help but feel my heart almost burst with happiness when I noticed how proudly he held me. Uncle Rulph’s eyes sparkled with surprise, and I grinned at him.
“Little Amaleen!” he exclaimed as he moved forward, reaching for me with both his hands.
“Hey, Uncle Rulph.” I took a step forward and held his hands with my own. “It’s been ages, hasn’t it?”
“I heard about…” Uncle Rulph shook his head to rid himself of what he was about to say and proceeded to ask safe questions as we moved to the privacy of the balcony. “Are you doing well?”
Inside, the party still carried on with the upper echelon sashaying to the music and socializing to fellow businessmen and women.
The chilly night breeze brought in the scent of frangipanis, and I smiled as I took in the calming night air, closing my eyes in contentment.
“Dad isn’t dead, Uncle.”
“What?” Uncle Rulph frowned, turning towards me.
“Dad isn’t dead.” I shrugged. “He just wanted me off the will.”
“I always knew that rotten bastard didn’t deserve to marry Alicia!” Uncle Rulph growled as he slammed his fist on the balcony railing. “The bastard was always after Uncle Tom’s money! Where is he now? How did you find out? Is he in prison? Which prison?”
“He came to Rome, looking for me. Rome has him for now. He’s letting me decide—I don’t know what to do, Uncle. I haven’t even told Grandma Liz and Prue,” I croaked and felt his hand find mine over the railing.
“It’s okay, Amaleen, I’m here now. I’ve been looking all over for you, you know. But that blasted housekeeper of yours would never tell. That stubborn woman. She’ll never change,” Uncle Rulph grumbled before he patted my hand on the railing and took a step away, looking up at the sky. “Who knew you were in Germany, of all places?”
“Am I being irresponsible? Leaving the companies back home and coming here?” I sighed as I found myself gazing at the sky as well.
“How could you run such a big empire when you haven’t even found yourself first, Amaleen? You did what you felt was right. Besides, I know you won’t let your Uncle Tom’s hard work all vanish.”
I shook my head. “No, I won’t let Grandpa’s hard work go to waste, Uncle.”
“I’m always here if you need me, Amaleen. Even more for the Willington Empire. When my father died, even though he was just a driver, Uncle Tom took me in and even legally adopted me. He sent me to the best schools. Not once did he or Mum treat me differently. Not even the help. I’ll always be grateful, you know? When Mum decided to come visit, I decided to come along—you’ve known about me wanting to expand my empire. I reckoned I could finally do that as well. Mum didn’t even tell me where you were. No matter how much I asked.”
“She knew you would start setting up security and everything. No offence, Uncle, but you’re really like Grandpa in that aspect—control freaks.” I chuckled, walking over to the man who I had peed on once as a child. I threw an arm around his slouched shoulder. “You know, no matter how much you refuse to call Grandpa “dad,” you’re just like him. Just like a real son would be. Fiercely protective about the family.”
I felt him sigh, and I took my time before I confronted him about the past.
“Why didn’t you come to the funeral, Uncle?”
“I was there,” Uncle Rulph replied. Suddenly, he seemed just like a tired, defeated old man. I looked at my uncle standing there—in a very different light. Had he always been this vulnerable?
“I didn’t know how I’d face you. I regretted leaving the family and settling in other countries. I regretted leaving your mother behind and taking Mum away. I regretted not calling enough, not checking up enough with your mum. I was guilty. I felt like I had failed as a son, a brother, and an uncle. I’m confessing today because I owe you, Olivia. I’m your uncle, and I should have taken care of you and your sister better.”
I’d always thought I’d always be able to console anyone if the circumstance presented itself—that I would always be able to make anyone feel better.
It was an innocent thought, an innocent thought that had stemmed from a childlike thinking.
In
reality, no matter how much I wished to, I could not make everyone forget their pain.
How does one console anyone when they themselves hide behind their smile? Behind my smile, I was also as inconsolable as Uncle Rulph.
So, I did the only thing I could think of.
“Why don’t we have family time tomorrow, Uncle?”
And that was so we could keep breathing and living happily.
The silence outside muffled the classical music coming from the hall, but I still swayed lightly with the distant music. Beside me, Uncle Rulph sighed before he turned towards me and smiled. I smiled back.
“Yes. Let’s have family time tomorrow, little Amaleen.”
~
“Are you feeling okay?”
I smiled as my fingers played with my engagement ring. Romanov’s slightly tanner hand found mine, and my smile widened as I watched the beautiful contrast our skin tones made. Turning towards him, my eyes twinkled as I hooked his fingers together with mine.
“Aside from just a little stomach cramp, I’m feeling okay. And you?”
Romanov frowned with worry. “Don’t period cramps hurt a lot? Do you want to stop by a pharmacy? Get some pain medications?”
“Mine don’t. Don’t worry.”
“Okay. I’m sure we have painkillers at home. I noticed you had a lot of fun at the function today.”
“Wasn’t it you who told me to flash my ring in front of Spencer? What was that about, though?”
Romanov sighed as he took another left turn, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding mine. “She asked me to be her date for this function.”
“I’m not surprised.” I shrugged. “She must have thought I was just a casual thing. It’s more natural nowadays to believe in that rather than think that two people dating are going to end up getting married.”
“What kind of a man does she think I am?”
I chuckled as I leaned in and pressed a kiss on his cheek.
“Hearing ‘I love you’ is more common than hearing ‘and we lived happily ever after’ nowadays. I’m sure she knows now. She was very nice to me anyway.”
“Humph,” Romanov responded, and I chuckled.
Between both our smiles, I paused. My grip on his hand tightened.
“Hey, Rome?”
Romanov glanced at me before turning towards the road. “Yeah?”
“I’m going to turn Dad in.”
Breathing. Living. Happily.
Chapter 30
The garden has been bloodied.
Blood splattered on every fruit.
I fear it’s too late.
She’s back.
– EL
~
“Who’s back?”
“What?” Adyl’s eyes narrowed from his place on the sofa, his once comfortable posture now straightening up in alertness.
I sighed as I looked back at the diary in my hand. The battered old thing had sure endured a lot in its life. “She’s being vague. Says someone is back. But she isn’t saying who. I don’t get it. It’s her diary! She should just write who is back! And then there’s all that talk about blood.”
“You sure you still want to read that?” Fin asked cautiously as he titled his head towards the diary.
“Things are getting strange in her entries. Sometimes they barely make sense.” I shook my head as I carefully pressed the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger.
This was more than just a tell of nervousness; it was a habit.
“Don’t cursed things get stranger the more you go through them?” Fin shrugged, returning his attention back to his bright phone screen.
I rolled my eyes when I peeked and saw dozens of pictures of a TV show’s actress.
“What? Where did you even get that information?”
Fin saw me peeping, and his phone was smacked down immediately. He shot me an accusatory look. “Haven’t you read Harry Potter? Because you must be joking me; everyone reads Harry Potter!”
“What’s the big deal? I have not read Harry Potter.” Adyl shrugged as he dragged himself out of the sofa and yawned, stretching until I thought his hands would hit the ceiling.
“What?” Fin and I gaped at the dark, mysterious boy. “You—you’re fired!”
Adyl glanced at Fin and narrowed his eyes, a serious glint now present in the once tired black pools. “You can’t fire me.”
My eyes snapped to Fin’s just as he shrugged. “Ah, you’re right. You should be thankful I’m a certified Hufflepuff.”
“I got sorted into Ravenclaw,” I said, putting the black book aside. I pulled my MacBook closer, and I saw my engagement ring sparkle in the light. I smiled for a second before my eyes fell on the unfinished document’s page that was still up.
I sighed tiredly. Projects always seemed like a piece cake in the beginning, then they all just get tiring.
“I suddenly have no idea what you two are talking about,” Adyl grumbled, dropping back onto the sofa with a thud.
Fin grinned. “Serves you right for acting like you’ve just dropped out of the 1980s.”
“Ha ha. Very funny.”
Clearly, it wasn’t. Adyl wasn’t the least bit amused. I could hear it in his tone.
Just then, the large doors of the library swung open, and in strode Romanov. Immediately, the two guys stood up, their postures stiff and hyper alert.
I, on the other hand, looked at the man approaching me with a smile. The warmth in my chest made my fingertips tingle with a strange sense of joy.
This was happening a lot lately. Every minute I thought about Romanov, every time he walked into the room, every time he was right there before me, I couldn’t help but thank the fates that made us meet and have each other.
This thankfulness, this warmth—I liked it.
And looking at Romanov, each and every single time, just there, a breath away, I was reminded that there was never going to be anyone who could made me feel this warm inside.
“You’re back early.” I smiled as Romanov reached me and swooped down to place a kiss on my forehead.
“Livia…your father wishes to talk to you before he leaves.”
Although he hadn’t asked whether I wanted to go or not, although he had merely stated it as a news, I knew. He was asking if I wanted to go meet my father.
I looked away.
A lot had happened in my life so far. I had endured a lot. Yes, I was strong. But not strong enough to face the person who had betrayed all of my family—especially my mum.
I was afraid. I was afraid that if I went and met him before he left, I would always remember his face as the man he had become. I was afraid and selfish.
Despite this pain, I still feared losing the laughing face that came into my memories every time I thought of my pa.
He was literally the second person I had come to know in this world. The one man who I thought could never do any wrong. The man who would always protect me and love me. The man who would always be there for me whether any other guy would or not. My father.
The father I aimed to get high grades in school for. The father I learned to fix cars and stereos with because I didn’t want him to wish for a son. Because I didn’t want him to regret having me.
The father I would still take a bullet for.
Strange thing, this love. No matter what my father did, even when he had admitted he hated me, no matter how much my father hurt me—I still couldn’t hate him. I could cry. I could swear at him. I could scream that I hated him, but I could never feel hatred for him.
Sometimes I hated myself. I should have hated my father. Mum and Elizabeth had died because of him. Letty had lost her parents because of him. She had become an orphan because of him. And today, I was going to become an orphan because of him. My father. But I couldn’t. Instead, I just felt so sad. Defeated, I am so disgusted with myself and guilty that I’d still feel love for this person.
My father. The man who was supposed to protect me from everything that could hurt me
was going to break my heart the hardest today.
Today, I’d see him being taken away. I’d see him as the criminal that he was—and no longer my pa.
“Rome.” I shook my head, looking down at the black keypads on the MacBook. The muffled sound of the library door closing echoed back to me from the large cold walls of the library. Soon enough, warm hands found my own as Romanov got down on his knees so he could look at my face.
His fingers found my chin, and I slowly looked up. I blinked as the tears slipped down my cheeks, my lips pulled apart in a broken smile.
“I really don’t want to.”
Romanov’s silent gaze stayed on me for a second, then he reached forward and took the laptop out of my lap. Putting it aside, his hands quickly grabbed a hold of me and the next thing I knew, I was on his lap, and both of us were now on the floor.
“Okay. You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he mumbled as his fingers carefully caressed my hair.
“Maybe if I don’t see him out today, I can pretend this never happened and he still died with Mum?”
“Life doesn’t work that way, Livia.” Romanov sighed as he picked us both up a bit and scooted back until his back leaned against the alcove.
I sighed. He was right.
“Life doesn’t work that way,” I echoed back.
The tears continued to slip down my cheeks while Romanov and I remained in our position. Time seemed to pass by, but we still remained there—seated on the floor and then on the alcove—just talking to each other.
Soon enough, the light turned into darkness, and a knock on the library door sounded around the large library. Tilting my head, I looked up at Romanov whom I was now leaning against. The silver band on his left hand that remained wrapped around my waist sparkled, and I smiled like I always did when I saw the promise ring he had been forced to pick out by Matthew but which he now wore all the time after he had proposed.
“Alpha, we have something to show Luna.”