Chapter 67

OLIVIA

I WOULD never forget how Ernest Maxwell treated me...

My tears streamed down my face as I waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. It was as if my heart had been slammed and crushed into pieces. I gasped for thin air and wiped my tears away, thinking that Mathias would notice my swollen eyes and report it to Chase.

The elevator door finally opened. I went out of the company and heard my phone ringing from my bag. I answered it when I saw it was Lara.

"Lara, I have to tell you something..." I said and swallowed so hard.

"You sound so tense. What's wrong, Liv?" she asked worriedly. "I called because I wanted to ask you if you wanted me to come over for dinner since you're alone."

"Got it. Please come over. Talk to you later," I replied, and ended the call.

I went to where the car was parked. I immediately noticed Mathias, who was standing outside and waiting for me. He glanced my way and opened the passenger seat's door for me.

"Let's stop in a nearby convenience store, Mathias. I want to buy some beers," I commanded when he started the car engine.

He looked at me through the rearview mirror. "Is there something wrong, Madame? I know I'm not in the position to ask you this, but Mr. Maxwell wanted to make sure that you're doing fine."

"I'm absolutely fine, Mathias. And you can report to Chase that I'll be spending the night with Lara. She'll come over to the house. We're going to celebrate something. That's why I want to buy some beers."

I let out a heavy sigh and turned my gaze to the window to ensure that Mathias would not see my teary eyes.

"If you don't mind me asking, Madame, may I know what you would be celebrating? So in case Mr. Maxwell asks, I know what to tell him," Mathias asked.

"Yes, I... I aced the examination we had earlier. Ernest had learned about it and complemented me. Lara and I would celebrate my simple achievement."

There, I lied once again. I wondered how many people I should lie to just to conceal the truth. I thought I could live with these lies I made up, but they were starting to haunt me at night, giving me the creeps.

"Understood, Madame. I will let Mr. Maxwell know about it, and congratulations," he said.

I nodded and looked at him from the rearview mirror. He didn't seem convinced, though. It was like he knew everything that happened in Ernest's office.

In less than thirty minutes, the car stopped in front of the convenience store. I went in there and filled my shopping cart with some snacks, beers, tequila and ice cream for hangovers. I quickened my pace and was about to go to the cashier when I noticed a small shelf loaded with the latest issued magazines. One of them had Chase on the cover.

I couldn't help but smile, seeing how charismatic he was in his formal suit.

"You're mine, handsome..." I said and put the magazine in my cart.

While I fell in line for the cashier, I recalled the conversation I had with Ernest Maxwell. My chest started to feel heavy thinking about how low he thought I was for offering me some huge amount of money to stay away from his son.

"Bastard..." I shook my head and shoved my negative thoughts aside.

"Looks like you're going through a difficult breakup, huh?" The lady cashier commented.

My forehead creased at her statement. "No, it's not a breakup. In fact, it's a celebration because today is my birthday. "

"Oh, my bad. Well, happy birthday, dear. I hope you enjoy your special day," she said.

"Thank you so much," I replied.

I bit my lower lip, and couldn't run from the awkwardness I felt in explaining why I was buying a lot of liquor myself. Even from her face, I could tell that she didn't buy my explanation. Luckily, she was a stranger.

I took the grocery bag, went out of the convenience store and placed it in the back of the car. Mathias was quick to maneuver the car and we were back on the road again. I was patiently glancing at the side streets we passed by when I noticed a black car that was following us.

"Mathias, is that the same car that followed us before?"

"No, Madame. Mr. Maxwell had stopped his men from tailing you after the yacht party."

"Then who is it?" I curiously asked.

"Don"t worry, Madame. I'll observe the car and make sure it's not going to cause us trouble."

"Are you sure about that?" I inhaled sharply as my anxiety started to engulf my chest.

"Yes, Madame. Please, don"t worry."

"OK," I said in defeat, leaning my head against the backrest of my seat.

****

LARA WENT to my house and bought a roasted chicken for us to eat for dinner. I couldn't remember the last time I ate such a simple ready-to-eat takeout in a simple chicken store, but I missed it so much that I had finished almost half of it.

We then went to the swimming pool area and started drinking the liquor I bought.

"I haven't been sober ever since you became my friend." I giggled.

Lara opened another bottle of tequila and poured it into our shot glasses.

"Now, just to make sure I got everything processed in my head, Chase's father asked you to divorce his son for seven million dollars?" she asked, and then laughed out loud before she finished her drink in one shot.

I rolled my eyes at her. She noticed that my expression went serious, so she held her laughter.

"Yes, that's right. I didn't expect it to happen. I thought highly of him, Lara."

"I can't believe it actually happened either." She shook her head. "I thought he had already accepted you as his daughter-in-law."

That's what I thought too...

"He's so upset with me and Reese's family. He thinks that I'm not a better fit to be Chase's wife even though I"m trying my best." I finished my drink and Lara poured my glass again. "He told me that Chase is losing millions of dollars because of Reese's parents. Apparently, the investors didn't like it. That's why they are pulling out their shares... I don"t know what to think, Lara. He's offering me millions of dollars just to leave his son. I only saw that scenario in f*cking soap opera!"

"That only means he's a d*ck!" She stood up and opened a bottle of whiskey and drank it. "You know what? How about we celebrate that insane offer?"

I shook my head. She looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows. This girl was already drunk.

"Just accept the money offer and then step out of that family... It's as simple as that, and you'll become stress-free, Olivia! This is your big day. Your jackpot! If I were you, I'd take it and leave them alone!"

We continued to drink while talking about how much of a douchebag Ernest was. I lost count of how many bottles of liquor we had. Drinking was the only thing I could think of that would relieve the heavy feeling in my chest.

I thought about Lara's advice. Even though she wasn't in her right mind because of her tipsiness, I couldn't deny that she had a point.

Lara wrapped her arm around my shoulder and stared at me with her chinky eyes.

"Hear my advice, Liv. I'm after your well-being. Take the offer and go somewhere else. Have some plastic surgery and move on. With that huge amount of money, you can have a boyfriend every month!"

"Do you think it's possible? How about Chase? If I left him, I'd feel bad for the rest of my life. He's so caring, lovable, and thoughtful. Not to add that he's handsome, has nice abs, is a good kisser, and great in bed. I mean—"

"Liv, do you hear yourself?" She hissed. "Wake up! Chase Maxwell is a billionaire. He can easily move on and find a new wife! Just divorce him and that's it. Run away from him and don't ever look back!"

I let out a huge sigh. Hearing that I was replaceable brought a pain inside my chest. But, Lara made sense. Perhaps it was a harsh truth that I needed to hear.

Chase, indeed, had a name to protect. If I didn't take that offer from Ernest, then Chase would live his life in misery because of me and Reese's parents.

"For the record, he doesn't love you for who you are. You have to face the fact that he needs the real Reese. Whatever happened to them, I guess that isn't your problem anymore. At the end of the day, you just need his money. It's time for you to stop loving him, because you're the only one who will suffer in the end. Do you get me?"

I nodded. I recalled the conversation I had with Ernest. Some of his statements actually gave me a hunch that he probably knew what happened to Reese Jones.

"It's really odd. Something's off with Ernest, Lara. The way he delivered his statement earlier, and told me stories about Reese Jones, telling me that she didn't like his son from the start and that she only agreed because it was what her parents wanted her to do, it was clear that he only made it up."

"Come on, Olivia. I"m not drunk yet!" She then leaned her head on the sun lounger. "So... you mean Ernest has something to do with Reese Jones' disappearance?"

I rolled my eyes as Lara was already so wasted. "Yes, that's right. I just had a feeling that Ernest was only doing this because he doesn't like Reese at all."

Lara giggled. "And he probably kidnapped and killed her, don"t you think?"

"That's nonsense. What the hell are you blurting out, Lara?"

Luckily, Chase wasn't here and there were no other staff or helpers around in this house, because I'd be screwed if we got seen like this...

"Or, Reese, was kidnapped by Ernest, then he put her on an isolated island so she can no longer go back here," she added and chuckled.

"Ernest doesn't like Reese Jones. That's a probability based on the tone of his voice earlier, but kidnapping or killing? I don't think it's possible. If he had done that then he should've done something bad to me."

"You're right, smarty pants! Of course, he wouldn't do that. But it doesn't matter to us. Whatever happened to Reese Jones or their family feud, it would be safe for us not to involve ourselves anymore in that matter. Ernest doesn't like Reese Jones, period. Take his offer and leave. Do you understand?"

She then fell off her seat and the glass that she was holding broke on the floor.

Lara was right.

That night, we both slept on the floor. I had a dream that I broke up with Chase, took his father's money, and we flew to Hawaii. I changed my name to Taylor, had complete face surgery, and then I had three ex-boyfriends who kept chasing me.

The next day, I woke up with a terrible headache and I saw Lara, who was still unconscious on the floor.

I tried to call the school to inform them that I'd be absent for today because I had a very awful headache, but I ended up calling Ernest.

"Hello Reese, this is Ernest... I guess you're calling the wrong number."

My headache just disappeared in an instant, and I suddenly thought of excuses for me to respond.

"Hi, Dad. I'm sorry... I contacted you by accident. We'll talk soon about your offer..."

"No rush, Reese. Actually, I want you to forget about it. The truth is, I was just upset and emotional... I'm so sorry."

I wasn't able to process what he was trying to convey. He ended up hanging up the phone because he told me he would attend a meeting.

I guess he was playing a trick on me. But I was sure that Ernest was serious yesterday. His eyes couldn't lie. It was furious as hell. His words were also menacing. The fact that he went into detail about Reese Jones's past relationship, her parents' business, and discussing Chase's failures in his business, it became clearer that he had probably known where Reese Jones went.

Whatever it was, I needed to be careful. I had to lay out a perfect plan for me to escape, and I was afraid that whatever happened to Reese Jones, would also happen to me.

It appeared that Ernest Maxwell was someone I should protect myself from.