Chapter 39

OLIVIA

THE NEXT DAY…

After buying some school supplies and new clothes in the mall, I called Chase, telling him that I'd visit my best friend, Lara, before going home. He had to work overtime too, so he let me visit Lara. It was a good thing he loosened up a bit when it came to securing and protecting me.

As per his one condition, Mathias was with me all the time. Even though there were a lot of good things that happened in the past couple of days that made me feel so bright and optimistic, I could not let my guard down. The death threat I received the last time hadn't been forgotten, so I needed him to stay with me to ensure my safety and for Chase to be at ease.

"This calls for celebration!" Lara swayed in front of me, holding a bottle of champagne in her left hand while her right hand was holding two wine glasses.

I chuckled from where I seated as I watched her sway like I was some sort of VIP customer from Mike's bar.

"Stop it, Lara. Your dance sucks!" I said but clearly, I found her so amusing.

"Why? Isn't it bad to feel so happy for you?" She said, rolling her eyes.

She then put the champagne and glasses down on the table in front of me and did a couple more dirty choreos before she settled herself beside me.

"No, it's not, but your dance makes me want to puke." I made a face as if I wanted to really puke, and then we both laughed.

"Alright, alright, I had long admitted that you were the best performer at Mike's bar before, and I cannot defeat you for that title." Using a wine opener, she opened the Champagne easily and filled both of the wine glasses. She handed me one of them. "Cheers to you becoming an elite student of a top notch international business school!"

Now, it was time to roll my eyes. "What a crazy intro, but thanks!"

We made a toss and my lungs were truly satisfied as soon as I sipped my champagne.

Damn, this felt so great!

Remembering what my life was like before, I could finally say that everything had totally changed and was happening according to what I wanted.

"I am so happy for you, Olivia. You are really getting anything you want, and there's no way Chase wouldn't give it to you. Look how lucky you have become!" Lara said proudly.

"Consider yourself the main reason why I am in this state. If you did not push me to go to this extent, I bet I am still living paycheck to paycheck."

"Well, then consider yourself lucky that you found a smart ass best friend." She giggled and sipped on her wine glass. "So going to classes means you will be very, very busy. Are you cool with that?"

I nodded in response. "I am so ready that there's no way I will back out. Chase supports my decision too, and he's really looking forward to seeing me become a successful businesswoman with all my hard work."

"Chase is really too soft when it comes to Reese Jones…" she commented, shaking her head.

Lara's statement stung my chest a bit. It was like a sudden realization that whatever Chase was doing and giving me, it was all because he thought I was Reese Jones, the only woman he ever loved the most, and without that name I took advantage of, my existence would never be known to him.

That thought, for some reason, saddened me. I cleared my throat and a giggle escaped from it after a few seconds, but it did not sound particularly joyful. It was like me tossing the negative emotions for a moment, but clearly I would never forget it right away.

"Hey, did I say something wrong?" Lara's tone of voice became concerned and cautious.

I looked somewhere else and finished my champagne in an instant. "No, I'm cool, Lara!"

"Are you telling the truth? I'm pretty sure I saw the sadness in your eyes just a second ago. Don't tell me you got hurt by what I said?"

"Definitely no!" I giggled and mustered the courage to look her in the eyes. "Why would I get hurt, Lara? Don't overthink it. Come on…"

"Humor me, Olivia." She narrowed her eyes and jerked her head to the right. "Did you fall in love with Chase Maxwell?"

My eyes widened with her question. I could feel the heat rushing through my veins all the way up to my face. I opened my mouth, shocked, and even though I wanted to respond and clear myself, I could not utter the right words to do so.

"Hmm, did you?" Lara grinned widely and was waiting for my confirmation.

My heart raced fast. It was like I was facing a confrontation I was not prepared for.

"Of course not!" Finally, those words came out, defending myself from her baseless assumptions!

But looking at Lara, I surely bet she did not believe me.

"Why would I fall in love with that man, Lara? We are only after his wealth, remember?" I gave her a wide-eyed look. I'm not going to fall for his trap just because I married him. He may be kind and adorable, but I will never allow myself to fall for him. I'm treating this scheme as a job."

"You surely had a lot to say just to defend yourself, huh?" She finished her drink and refilled her wine glass. "But I hope you are really telling the truth, Olivia. Falling in love with him is prohibited, unless you want your heart to be shattered into pieces once he finds out that you are a different person. Then that's really insane."

"I am completely aware of it, Lara. So stop with your nonsense assumptions. I am just really after his money…"

She stared at me maliciously. "And casual sex?"

My face was engulfed by a tremendous shame. "Lara!"

She burst into laughter and tapped my shoulder. All I could do was roll my eyes. I could not believe she'd gone from questioning my feelings for Chase to teasing me about wanting casual sex with him! This woman was much more insane than me, really…

"But, Liv, all joking aside. I am warning you. Do not, in any way, fall in love with him. I do not want you to get hurt in the end. You clearly know that it's not going to work out given that he only sees Reese Jones in you. Nothing more than that…"

"I am not that naive to not know that, Lara. I am guarding my heart. He's only our money machine…" I swallowed the lump in my throat and took the bottle of champagne on the table and drank it.

I felt a pang inside my chest after saying those words... but I immediately shoved that emotion away.

***

After talking to Lara regarding my feelings towards Chase, a voice in my head kept telling me that I needed to stay overnight. There was an urge for me to drink more, to get wasted and contemplate a bit, and I could only do it without Chase around. Lara liked the idea, as it has been a while since the last time we got wasted. I immediately took my phone from my bag to call Chase and inform him that I would not be going home tonight.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in your comfortable bed, with your hot husband who will keep you warm?" Lara teased me, giggling.

I narrowed my eyes as I dialed Chase's number on my phone. It only rang three times before he answered my call.

"Hmm, what is it, wife?" he asked from the other line.

"Chase, I will stay here overnight. Lara and I have a lot of things to catch up on. Will that be alright?" I said as I bit my fingernails.

Lara was so nosy that she even moved closer to me so she could listen to our conversation. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and scold her. She only giggled.

"I was actually expecting you home, Reese." His response made me wince.

Without any hesitation, I handed my phone to Lara and told her to convince Chase on my behalf. He wouldn't be able to refuse my best friend, I hoped.

Lara cleared her throat first and then she said, "Hi, Chase! This is Lara. Please let Reese stay here with me. We missed our girl talk. Don't worry, I will make sure that she's going to b safe here with me. We will also celebrate her admission to Steinfield's." She chuckled, and I bet she didn't give him a chance to talk back. "And since you know my address, can you please send us some food here—"

I snatched my phone from Lara as soon as she started saying nonsense things to Chase. I gave her a wide-eyed look. This woman, really! She laughed out loud in her seat, and all I did was roll my eyes.

"Please, baby. Let me stay here for the night. " I said in a seductive tone of voice.

Lara covered her mouth, suppressing her amusement upon hearing that tone from me.

I heard Chase let out a loud sigh from the other line. I bet he was massaging his head right now... Of course, he wouldn't like it when his wife was not at home, knowing that we hadn't resolved that death threat thing that occurred recently.

"Alright, Reese. But please, send me a text before you go to sleep and give me some updates. I want to make sure you are all fine there," he remarked in defeat. "...and I love you so much. Take care of yourself, please."

His last words made my heart race so fast and loud. I swallowed so hard and shut my eyes. "Thank you, Chase. I… I love you, too."

After that, I ended the call and heaved a sigh.

Lara narrowed her eyes and continued staring at me. "Is that Reese talking or the real Olivia?"

I held my breath with her question. She wiggled her eyebrows as she waited for my answer.

"Of course, it was me pretending to be Reese. You know, I can always say those words if needed just to get his trust and, later on, his money…" I rolled my eyes.

My eyes automatically glanced at the wall clock hanging above the television. It was already seven o'clock, and Chase usually went home around eight.

"Why are you staring at the clock? Are you thinking about what time he'd be home?"

I couldn't help but be stressed with Lara. This bitch would not stop nagging me about my feelings for Chase! And wait, since when did she become a mind reader?

"Don't push it, Lara. The only reason why I checked on the clock is because I wanted to know what time it is right now. It's nearly eight and I can't miss my favorite TV series," I hissed.

She only shrugged her shoulders and didn't look convinced by my reason.

"Whatever, you fake ass bitch!" She then rolled her eyes.

It was a relief that she stopped nagging after a few minutes. I asked her to order some drinks, as I was confident that her champagne would not suffice. I wanted to drink until I got wasted tonight. Beers would be more appealing, especially if we were going to watch a series.

"I do have to work tomorrow, Olivia!"

"You can take a break. I can talk to Mike and ask him to give you a vacation leave. You don't need to worry about your paycheck. I can cover it. Just tell me how much you need."

Her expression softened, as if she had instantly become a cute puppy. She clung to my arms and kissed me on the cheek.

"You are so kind, Olivia. With that kindness of yours, I am confident that you'll become very successful in the future. If it's not too much to ask, why don't you hire me as your personal assistant instead?"

Her suggestion made me chuckle, but I had to admit that she gave me an idea as to how I could help her.

"You are such a genius, Lara. You just gave me an idea," I told her.

She stared at me in confusion. "Does that mean I will become your assistant from now on?"

I shook my head and offered her a grin. "No, even better than that…"

The thought of having a business with Lara on my side who would help me build it sparked my interest. I couldn't wait to get back home and discuss it with Chase.

Chase…

For some unknown reason, as I thought about him, I couldn't help but feel sad.

Not wanting the negative emotion to knock off the little positivity in me, I urged Lara to go out and buy some beers.

She said, "I'll be back, your royal highness," and bowed her head.

I shook my head and grimaced. When Lara finally went out, I remained still on the couch and was left to ponder. No matter how I tried to shove all those things Lara told me, they just whirled around in my head.

I sighed and gazed at my phone resting on the center table in front of me.

"Don't call or text him," I told myself. But the urge in me was battling against my order. "He is not your real husband…" I whispered, and then palmed my face.

Out of frustration, I grabbed the pillow next to me and looked at it as if it was Chase.

"Chase, I am sorry to burst your bubble, but I am not Reese Jones. I am Olivia Miller, and let me tell you this, I'm going to leave you soon. I only married you because I wanted your money. I am not in love with you, Chase. It sucks to be with you!" I said it with all confidence.

But then, my expression softened and I ended up throwing the pillow on the other couch. I took a deep breath as I palmed my face.

I whispered, "It sucks to pretend to be a person that I am really not."

I thought about how I could tell him the truth when the right time came, or if all else went south... Do I really have the courage to confess to him?

Should I act as if I was a villain and tell him that I had just played with him? I only used him because I wanted my life to change, and that it was his fault because he was the first one who approached me, claiming that I was his fiance?

Should I act so heartlessly like those antagonists in books and movies?

I thought it would be so easy to play along with this pretense. But as the days passed by, it started to become so difficult. Even if I didn't want to be so attached to him, I found it impossible given that we only lived under the same roof. We slept in the same bed and did everything mostly together.

This was harder than I expected. I wish I could escape this mess easily when everything becomes so unbearable.

It didn't take a while for Lara to come back. I was shocked that she bought a lot of beer and snacks! It was like there was a party going on here.

"What the heck? You bought a lot of beer!"

She laughed. "Of course! We only have this night to spend with each other. You will be so busy by next week, so we might as well get wasted until dawn"

She swayed happily and put all those beers on the table. She prepared some new shot glasses and handed me a can of beer. I also took some chips and tasted the roasted chicken she bought.

We started drinking and kept shrieking in glee. We were like single ladies who had all the time in the world to have fun. Lara then grabbed the remote for her television and turned it on.

"It's already eight o'clock. You said you wanted to watch a series, right?" She chuckled, and I rolled my eyes.

She knew that I was lying, but she kept pushing it.

She scanned some channels until she settled on one specific one that aired a classic soap opera. "This one is too popular. I bet it's really interesting."

"Since when was the last time I watched television?" I asked myself as I drank my beer.

Both of us were watching the TV drama when the scene became so disturbing.

"I have just been lying all this time. You see, I am not the woman you've been looking for. I underwent surgery that made me look like your first love. I am so sorry…" the female lead confessed while looking at the male lead.

Lara and I gasped while watching as the guy responded, "How dare you lie to my face all this time! You're so wicked and I can't believe you went to this extent! Let's get a divorce! I don't want to see your face ever again!"

"What the hell? Can't he see that the girl is on the verge of tearing up?" I commented and kept drinking my beer.

"But how can I stay away when I have already fallen in love with you?"

"Shut up! How can you play with my feelings? I want you to leave this house as soon as possible. You are nothing but a fraud!"

The scene was so intense, but Lara grabbed the remote and turned off the television right away. "I knew it. It is a terrible drama. Geez!"

I blinked several times and swallowed the lump in my throat.

"That's why I hate watching television nowadays. The entertainment industry can't come up with great stories to air as a drama." She clicked her tongue and glanced over at me. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Lara, I am totally fine. Why did you turn it off? We can watch it. Come on. I want to know what will happen next."

"Nope!"

I stole the remote from her hand. I was about to turn on the TV when she tried to snatch back the remote.

"Fuck, Liv. That's my remote!" she yelled and rose to her feet.

I got annoyed when she was able to get the remote from my hand, then she ran to the foyer, laughing out loud.

"Hey, just turn on the TV! I don't want to resort to violence, Lara! Give me the remote and let's watch that show!" I tried to get close to her, but she'd run every time.

"I don't want to! Stay out of those things that would only stress you, Liv. I am just concerned!"

"Whatever!" I gave up on her and just sat down on the couch as I felt a bit dizzy.

She continued laughing, and all I could do was roll my eyes at her.

"Fine, you can take it." She then handed me the remote. Finally. But I no longer had an interest in watching that TV drama.

"No, thanks!" I said as I just took a chip to eat.