Chapter 12

OLIVIA

It had been two days since the mishap we had with some cops from the motel we had checked in from, and since then I had not seen Chase personally. He could not find a way to visit me at home because as he said, there were a lot of things on his plate right now. Though he kept sending me text messages, informing me about his whereabouts, what made him busy all throughout the day and some things he had been doing in their company, I could not help but feel that there was something wrong after the incident that happened.

I did not know whether I was only being paranoid or whatnot, but I kind of got so reluctant about our situation. My mind wondered what Reese would do if ever she was in this position? Would she go after Chase and be clingy enough to get his attention or would she play like nothing had been bothering her and let Chase think that she could go on a day without him sitting right next to her?

I was trying to channel Reese's spirit to possess me so I would know how to take an action more appropriately while keeping my own – Olivia's – emotion at bay.

"Are you alright, Reese?" Lara asked me, brows furrowed as she placed the freshly brewed coffee on the countertop in front of me. I had to admit though, her calling me Reese was kind of uncomfortable and foreign but I really had to get used to that name and she better get used to it too so we could avoid any suspicion from anyone who knew the missing - in - action Reese Jones. "You seem a little down and I have been noticing that since yesterday. What is up with you, my dear evil friend?"

I rested my elbows on the countertop, both hands cupping my face and a little bit uneasy about everything. I never expected that this pretense would actually made me feel so fucking problematic, in any way. Lara was not right when she mentioned that this whole thing was easy knowing I was too identical with Reese, because if it did, why did my emotions run high over such petty things?

"I have not seen Chase for two days in a row, Lara. He hasn't visited me at home. Not even phone calls. He only fed me text messages and nothing more. Do you think it is a good idea to visit him in the office and pretend to be concerned soon to be wife?" I asked.

Lara sat down on the chair across mine and gave me a mischievous stare. "Is that the reason why you visited me so early? You kind of miss the billionaire hottie?"

I rolled my eyes at her. Lara never really had something good to say.

"Do not get high hopes over this thing, Lara. You know that Chase is our precious gem right now," I said as I gave her a stern look. "I am a little bit worried. Maybe something really happened after the jail thing?"

"Did he ever tell you how his conversation went with his father?"

I shook my head. That thing bothered me the most. I kept asking him through text messages about how his conversation with Uncle Ernest went but he only gave me neutral responses about it, telling me not to worry about it and he got it settled. However, I had no slightest idea as to how it got settled.

"He only told me that he got it fixed, no further explanation . . ." I huffed out of frustration, grabbed my coffee and sipped on it. I could really tell that its bitterness was somehow radiating my exact emotion right now.

"You know that is what a man usually does."

My forehead creased. "Care to elaborate, my dear evil friend?" I asked, mimicking her voice when she called me with the same term of endearment a while ago.

"What I meant is, men tend to provide minimal responses over some things that they don't want their women to get so worked up about. Perhaps Chase is only trying to get you away from stress or something. After all, we have this saying, the less you know, the better . . ."

"And why is he not visiting me? Is it part of that saying you just mentioned? Because I could not see any connection at all."

Lara chuckled and crossed her arms on her chest. "Really, Olivia Miller. Are you stressing yourself because Chase did not tell you how his conversation with his father went? Or are you more concerned about why he has not visited you? Enlighten me a bit."

I let out a huge sigh and rested my back on the chair. "Perhaps I am just worried that our plan would go down hill right before we get to suck some money out of their pockets."

"Hmm, if you are that worried then you might want to step up your game a little bit."

"How, Lara?" I took another sip on my coffee, paying attention to this devil in front of me.

She smirked. "Seduce the guy and make him want to marry you so bad up to the point that he couldn't care less about his own family." Lara shrugged her shoulders. "Did you enjoy having sex with him?"

I coughed as her question seemed to have choked me. I could have sworn I wanted to strangle her hair for being so straightforward! And why would she even ask if I enjoyed doing it with Chase?

"Based on your reaction, I bet he is really that good in bed!" she exclaimed.

Oh, good Lord! It was a good thing that Mikael left for school so early. I would not want him to hear such a vulgar thing from his mother!

"Lara! Stop it! You are not funny!"

"What I wanted to say is, you can use that opportunity to rush the wedding. Act as if you really want to be his wife as soon as possible. Seduce him, make him crave for sex. No man would ever refuse it," she advised and then leaned forward. "Or if you want to use your ace card . . ." she paused.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Make him jealous . . ." She giggled. "A rich man would make an impulse decision whenever someone tries to steal his woman."

I giggled upon realizing that Lara was completely right. I looked at her playfully. She then gave me a grin. "What do you think?"

"You always come up with such a brilliant idea, Lara . . ." I said meaningfully as I finished my coffee.

We will see if you could still be at ease, Chase . . .

I may have to act soon and better find a man who I could use to carry out my plan.

***

It was around afternoon when Lara and I had decided to go to a high end mall to buy some luxurious dresses for my plan. In order to be so convincing about making Chase jealous, of course I had to make sure that I would have the best wardrobe ever, so that he would think that I was dressing up for the man I would be using as my accomplice.

"It is my first time entering a high class mall, Reese . . ." Lara could not stop herself from jumping up and down and clinging into my arm. She was so giddy, as if a child who had been in a mall for the very first time.

"It is my first time too. I am so glad Chase had given me his black credit card. We can buy anything we want!" I said, grinning from ear to ear.

Lara and I did a high five. After that, we did not wait much time and checked out some luxurious clothing boutiques. My mouth was half opened, in awe, as soon as my gaze landed on the expensive dresses, shoes and bags from what seemed to be the most expensive clothing line here at the mall.

"Oh my gosh, Reese! How could they sell bags that costs a fucking hundred thousand dollars?" Lara was shocked when she checked the little sling bag and its price. "This whole place is no doubt to be for wealthy people! I bet my paycheck could only afford the hangers they are using!"

We both chuckled.

"A few dresses will not make Chase mad. You can get some for yourself too. My treat!" I said and showed her the black credit card.

She wiggled her eyebrows and clasped her hands together. "I love you so much, Reese Jones!"

Then, Lara disappeared in front of me and rushed toward the other corner of the boutique where she saw some dresses that fit her liking. I could not stop smiling as I watched her grab something that she liked. I shook my head and proceeded to check out some dresses on the other side of the boutique and asked for assistance from one of the staff.

After paying for the clothes we grabbed, we went to the other boutique and chose some stilettos. Lara was freaking out when I grabbed the red pointed stilettos she had been eyeing for a moment. She shamelessly jumped in joy and hugged me in front of all the staff inside the boutique.

"Calm down, Lara. We do not want these people to think that we are first- timers here," I patted her head.

She giggled and nodded her head when she released me. "Should I learn how to act like a damn rich woman, too?"

I laughed and elbowed her, then we proceeded to pay for the shoes we wanted to buy. After the tiresome shopping of new things for our wardrobe upgrade, I invited Lara to go for a coffee date. We went to a cozy coffee shop inside the mall and ordered some frappes and slices of cakes.

Lara was with me in front of the counter, waiting for the staff to compute the amount we had to pay, still thanking me for tugging her into this and buying new stuff for her. Well, if I would be able to get a huge amount of money from this pretense, I would definitely spoil her every day.

When the staff told me that I had to pay two hundred bucks, I took the black credit card from my wallet. I was about to give it to the staff when a familiar lady went to me, and snatched the card from my hand.

I was stunned for a moment when I realized that it was none other than Chandria, Chase's younger sister, who appeared out of nowhere. She was grinning from ear to ear while looking at the black credit card her brother gave for me to use.

"Chandria," I called her name.

I instantly felt the shivers down my spine. It was as if someone had caught me off guard . . . what was she doing here, anyway?

"Wow! So you are enjoying someone else's credit card and using it as if it is totally yours? Your audacity impresses me, Reese," she said, and I could really feel the sarcasm dripping off her tone.

"Can you give it back, please?"

I tried to get the card from her hand but she fastly moved it away from me.

"Reese, who is she?" Lara whispered as she hid at my back.

"Chase's evil sister," I said in my hushed tone of voice.

Chandria laughed and I could have sworn that I had never felt so shameful until this day. Out of all places, why did our paths have to cross in a crowded place like this? I could feel the tension building up and the gazes from the crowd only made it worse.

"You are not even his wife yet. Aren 't you shameful to use my brother's hard earned money too early?" Chandria looked at me from head to toe. "I still cannot believe he wants to marry someone like you."

"Hey, we are not here to start a fight with you—"

"Lara, stop it," I told Lara and glared at Chandria. "Are you done talking? Would you mind giving the card back now? You are making a fuss out of nothing. I wonder how your brother would react once he finds out that you initiated an argument here in the coffee shop."

"Then go tell him, to hell I care!" She crossed her arms on her chest and raised one brow. "You should have not come back, Reese. I can't believe my brother is head over heels to a cheater like you!"

I was shocked upon hearing her last statement but I managed to keep my rage and confusion at bay. What the hell did she just call me?

Cheater?

It seemed to me that this girl, Chandria, knew something about Reese Jones that Chase himself did not know and I wondered what it was . . .

"That is quite an accusation from my soon to be sister- in- law," I commented through my gritted teeth.

She smirked. "I bet you do not remember it right now, or probably you are just putting on an act but let me tell you this . . ." She walked closer to me until she reached the side of my ears. "Right after learning that you put my brother into serious trouble related to illegal substances, my parents are trying to convince him not to marry you. You will never get our approval, Reese Jones. You will only tarnish our names because that is the only thing you are good at."

The words she said hit me to the core that I suddenly felt anxiety getting through me. I was so shocked that it felt like my feet were glued to the floor.

Chandria stepped back and tossed the black credit card to me. It hit my cheek and then landed on the floor, which made me come back to reality.

She grinned. "Well, you can use it all you want but I assure you that your gold digger career will end very soon. Be thankful that I am letting you enjoy my brother's money for the last time . . ."

She gave me a death glare before she walked her way out of the coffee shop. I sucked in a breath and swallowed so hard.

What the hell had just happened?