Chapter 65

OLIVIA

"HOW'S my beautiful wife doing?"

I smiled, hearing Chase's familiar voice over the phone. It was already past midnight when he called, and I guess he forgot about the different time zones we currently had. It was afternoon in his time, and he mentioned that he had just finished a conference meeting in Singapore.

"I am fine, Chase. How are you?" I asked as I yawned. I shifted my position and hugged the pillow beside me, imagining it was him while I had my phone in my right ear.

"I"m kind of bored here and I miss you so much already," he answered.

"I miss you too, Chase. When do you think you can go home?" I curiously asked, given that three days had passed already.

I heard him sigh on the other line. "I might stay here for a week, my love. The deal hasn't been signed yet, and I need to formally meet with some business partners here."

"That's too long." I said, a bit sad that I had to endure another four days without him by my side.

With all the mess I've been dealing with, I wanted to see him badly to shove my worries away.

"I know, my love. Don't worry, I'll check if I can pull some strings so I can go home as soon as possible."

"Don't even try, Chase. Just focus on what you need to do there, and I will be here patiently waiting for you. In the meantime, I'm going to cuddle with your pillow."

He chuckled. "I wish I was there to cuddle with you."

"Yeah, I miss your warm body. It's so huggable."

"Just huggable?"

I smiled. "And tempting..."

"What else?"

"Desirable?" I giggled.

"Is that a question?" He laughed too. "You're naughty."

"I'm not! You're asking me questions and I simply answer them!"

"God, I miss you, really..." he said huskily. "Are you sure there's nothing bad happening right there that I have to know about?"

"Nothing, Chase..." I bit my lower lip and for a split second I recalled the mess I was currently in and I couldn't tell him because I wanted to protect his feelings. "Everything is good. I can manage!"

"That's a relief, Reese. Don't forget to call me whenever something happens. Mathias is there to also assist you twenty-four by seven," he reminded me, as if he was a father, intoning some rules set for his daughter.

"Aye aye, captain!" I said and kissed the speaker of my phone. That was enough for him to hear.

"I wish I could taste those lips of yours..."

"Yeah, it's been dry ever since you've gone."

"I'll wet it when I get home. I'll kiss every part of you..."

"And I look forward to it, baby," I said while I bit my lower lip.

"Go back to sleep now, my love. Don"t forget that I love you very much," he said sweetly to me.

"I love you too, Chase. Good luck!"

I was the one who ended the phone call. I yawned once again, and hugged the pillow tightly. My eyelids felt so heavy that I instantly fell asleep.

My sleep was interrupted by a call. I absentmindedly answered it with my eyes still shut. It was probably Chase and he might've forgotten to say something.

"I know your secret..." an unfamiliar and faint voice of a woman spoke from the other line before the call ended.

****

BULLET SWEATS were formed on my forehead. My breathing was ragged and my chest tightened as I answered a call from none other than Reese Jones.

"You've stolen everything from me! You're a fraud, Olivia! No matter how you try to be me, I know the truth... and everyone will know about it in no time. Chase will hate you! He will do anything to put you in jail!" Then she laughed.

I gasped. I forced my eyes open and got up immediately. My eyes widened as I thought about that nightmare.

It was Reese... and she was furious at me!

"F*ck..." I cursed under my breath and quickly grabbed my phone to check on my call logs.

My mouth ran dry when I saw an unknown number who called me after Chase. I remembered answering a phone call right before I slept, but I couldn't recall what the call said at the time. Running my fingers through my hair, all I felt was deep horror, thinking that my instincts could be right.

It may have been Reese Jones, and she was trying to mess with me...

I dialed the phone number, but I only heard a busy tone.

My heart raced so fast, like it never had before. It was as if a big stone was put in my lungs, making it impossible for me to breathe properly. I ran to the bathroom and took the medicine for the panic attack and immediately drank it. Then, I washed my face to clear my head a bit.

"She can't come back... She can't take Chase away from me... I'm not going to let her," I said to myself.

Tears pooled in my eyes. I knew it was insanity for me to think this way, but I loved Chase so much and I couldn't afford to lose him. If I had to beg and kneel in front of Reese, I'd willingly do it.

My entire body trembled, and I had a feeling that this would only be the start of the real nightmare I had to face.

****

I WAS COMPLETELY out of focus the whole period of my first class. The professor gave us a quiz, and I failed it. All I could do was sigh as I stared at my test paper with a red mark on it. I crumpled the test paper and put it inside my bag.

"Reese, are you alright?" Mia asked me. Her tone sounded worried.

I stared at her. "I am."

"I'm surprised that you didn't pass the quiz. I mean, you've always wanted to be good in class. That's why I thought maybe you had a problem..." she explained carefully.

I wished I could tell her what has been bothering me. However, I didn't want to take a risk and include her in my trouble.

"I'm alright, Mia. I'm just in a bad mood, perhaps because of my period," I lied.

"Oh, that sucks."

I sighed. "I know."

During our free time, we went to the library as I needed to borrow a couple of books for my written report. I still couldn't get Reese out of my mind. There were so many thoughts whirling around my head, and it added to the anxiety filling my chest.

I inhaled heavily, trying to stay focused on my report, but my hands were shaking so badly, to the extent that I couldn't write properly. Mia saw that, but I was glad she didn't say a word or ask about it because I didn't know how I could answer her at all.

"I don't really know what's bothering you, but I want to tell you that everything will be alright, Reese, and I am always here to help and lend a shoulder if you need one," Mia said during our lunch break.

"Thanks, Mia..." I offered her a thin smile and tried to eat my pasta.

My phone chimed, and for a split second, I felt so excited to see that I had received a text message from Chase. But my skin turned pale when I read it.

From: Chase

Mia texted me saying you're not alright. What's happening, Reese? Please do tell me if there's anything that's bothering you.

"Mia, how could you!" I couldn"t help but raise my voice and stare at Mia angrily.

"What?" she asked, totally dumbfounded by my sudden reaction.

"You told Chase!"

Anger went through me, realizing that she had just meddled with my life without my permission. I shot her a glare. Her eyes widened as if she had just realized something and then she looked away.

"I'm sorry, Reese. I thought Chase had to know about what's happening with you. He is your husband and I am only concerned—"

"I didn't ask you to tell him about it!"

"I'm only worried about you, Reese. Look, I'm very sorry..."

I shook my head, still pissed off about what I had learned.

"I have to go," I said, as I wanted to end this argument. I didn't want to say hurtful things to her.

"Reese, I'm really sorry. Please—"

"Not now, Mia. Please, leave me alone," I said, cutting her off and walking away.

My eyes went teary as I rushed into the nearest comfort room. I quickly went inside of one of the cubicles and sat on the toilet while pulling my hair in frustration.

"Damn it..." I said as tears started to stream down my face.

I thought I was strong enough to deal with all the mess coming my way. But this one... this freaking one that included Reese herself, was hard enough for me to face. Since Mia told Chase that there was something bothering me, I knew he'd start nagging about it and it would later cause a conflict between us because there was no way I could tell him that.

I was totally pissed off at Mia for telling him.

After crying, I went out of the cubicle and retouched my makeup. I was about to go to my next class when my phone chimed.

It was none other than Chase's father, who was asking me if we could meet because he'd tell me something important.

And I wondered what could it be?