“I’ll have one of my guys come over and sweep your apartment for any bugs,” she said. “In the meantime, please call me before you do anything rash. Do you understand?”
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“Sure,” I replied, even though I was still looking around to make sure there we cameras I hadn’t noticed.
“Our first court appearance is scheduled in three days,” slup said, grabbing her purse. “Come to my office tomorrow by 10am so we can start prepping you on what to expect. We have a lot of work to do before you’re ready to appear in court.”
“Who is Marcus’s lawyer?” I asked.
“Micheal Bernard,” she replied. “He’s a cutthroat attorney, and we have our work cut out for us. But we stand a chance if we keep our heads on our shoulders. Just remember what I told you, and don’t do anything stupid.”
But that was exactly what I did. As soon as she left, I swept the entire apartment looking for hidden microphones or cameras. I checked through my clothes, my shoes and even the groceries. But there was nothing, and I ended up back in the living room with the entire apartment in a mess I felt miserable knowing that I hadn’t accomplished anything, and I still couldn’t shake the feeling that Marcus might be spying on me at this exact moment.
A knock suddenly came on the door, and I jumped at the sound. I rushed forward to open it, thinking Ciara had returned for something. But when I pulled the door open, my eyes widened in shock.
It wasn’t Ciara.
It was my mother in–law.
“Hello, Olivia,” she said. “It’s been a while.”
For a moment, I almost couldn’t breathe. Elizabeth Reynard was the matriarch of the Reynard family, and she had as much input in turning their company into an empire as her husband, Michael Reynard. She looked like she belonged on a throne somewhere in a European castle, which sharp grey eyes that could cut right through steel. She wore a simple white dress, and her silver–grey hair was packed neatly in a bun. I barely ever saw her, but whenever I did, I was reminded of how much power and authority this woman commanded.
“May I come in?” she asked.
“Um…. of course,” I said, stepping aside and letting her in
She paused to give me a kiss on the cheek as she stepped into my apartment, and I shut the door in disbelief and turned to face her.
“Nice place,” she said, although I could detect a hint of disgust in her voice. “I didn’t expect to find you in a place like this.”
I couldn’t even say anything, and I mentally kicked myself for tearing the whole apartment apart before she arrived. If I had known she was coming, I would have cleaned up a bit. Or at least tried to make the place look more presentable. Or maybe even gotten a fresh coat a paint, new curtains, new furniture and better clothes.
“Please sit, dear,” she said. “You and I have a lot of things to talk about.”
It felt weird being told to sit in my own house, but I made my way to the couch beside her and sat down. She regarded me with a curious expression, as one might admire an art piece at a museum they didn’t quite understand. I was just too confused to say anything, so I awkwardly asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you,” she replied. “There’s no need for formalities, dear. We’re family after all.”
The way she said it made a twinge of sadness slither down my spine, and I stared down at my hands as she leaned forward.
“No, thank you,” she replied. “There’s no need for formalities, dear. We’re family after all.”
The way she said it made a twinge of sadness slither down my spine, and I stared down at my hands as she leaned forward.
“I must confess that I was a bit disappointed when you didn’t even think to call me when this happened,” she said. “I considered you a daughter, Olivia. I still do.”
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“I’m sorry,” I replied. “It just didn’t cross my mind.”
“I understand,” she said. “Given the circumstances, I’m sure you wanted to get as far away from anything related to Marcus as possible. It’s only fair that I–being his mother–will also be a painful reminder of the past.”
She sighed and crossed her legs, then she looked out the window and continued, “I was shocked when I saw the news. I mean nobody told me anything. I found out at the same time as the rest of the world, and I was surprised when I started getting calls from people who are trying to get an inside scoop of the divorce. The vultures are circling already, as I’m sure you’ve already seen for yourself.”
She wasn’t wrong. There were a few unopened messages on my phone from friends who seemed to be wishing me well, but most of them were just trying to get more information and material for gossip at the next cocktail party. I wasn’t about to indulge them, so I chose not to respond.
“I know what Marcus did,” she said, causing me to look up in shock. “I know that he’s responsible for ruining your marriage. And I must sadly confess that even though I saw this coming, I did not think to stop him. I thought my word alone would be enough to keep him in check. But he has always been a difficult person. Even as a child, he always found a way to go against my wishes. Unlike his brother, Ethan.”
I’d only ever heard about Ethan a few times since I met Marcus. He strictly forbade everyone from even mentioning the name around him, and he instructed the servants in their home to take down every picture of his brother whenever he was coming. I always wondered what he could possibly have done to warrant this much hatred from his own brother, but I knew better than to ask questions. The one time I asked him a question about Ethan, he ended up not talking to me for a week.
“Ethan was always the more responsible one of the two,” she continued. “If he was the one who I instructed to work on his marriage, he would have done so without a question. But Marcus has always been difficult to control. And now, he has destroyed everything the two of you built together.”
She reached over and took my hands in hers, and her smile was so warm and genuine as she said, “I can’t pretend I can fix any of this, Olivia. I can’t look you in the eye and tell you that everything is going to be okay, because there’s nothing to prove that it will be. All I can offer you is my sincerest apology, and I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive an old woman for not seeing the error in her ways.”
“You don’t have to apologise,” I said quickly. “You had nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, but I did,” she said. “I should have seen this coming, and taken more drastic steps to ensure that it didn’t get to this stage. Everything I’m doing right now is nothing more than damage control, and the only thing we can hope to do is to make sure that he doesn’t destroy things any further.”
She reached for her purse, where she pulled out a cheque and handed it to me. I stared at it in disbelief, and my mouth fell open as I simply blinked at her.
“This is a cheque for five million dollars,” she said. “I know it’s not enough to fix even half of the things that Marcus has done, but it’s a start. Please take this and sort out your legal fees. Get a better place to stay,
and at least try to get back on your feet. It might all be for nothing, but I just hope that it will be enough to fix a little bit of what went wrong.”
I can’t deny that my mouth began to water at the sight of the cheque. Five million dollars was an unbelievable amount, and it would be enough to make most of my problems disappear. I could get a better apartment, or maybe even a house in somewhere like Colorado. I could start a business, and never have to worry about finances again. I could make everything better again, and all it would take was to reach out and take the cheque from her.
But I couldn’t do it.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I can’t accept that money from you.”
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Chapter Thirteen
“Olivia,” she gasped, “please don’t think I’m buying you off. Think of it as a gift from a mother to her daughter. I’m not telling you to forget everything that happened. But think of this as something to get you back on your feet.”
“I understand,” I said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that will still be betraying a part of myself if I accept this money from you. You say you’re not buying me off, but that’s exactly what it seems like to me. And I can’t ignore the fact that if I accept this, it’s like I’m accepting defeat.”
“Think about what you’re saying, dear,” she said. “Think of what you’re turning your back on.”
“I understand what I’m saying no to,” I said. “But that doesn’t change anything. I really appreciate it, but I’m still going to have to say no.”
She stared at me in disbelief for several minutes, and in those few seconds, I wondered whether I was making a mistake or not. But she shook her head and stashed the cheque back in her purse, smiling weakly at me.
“You’re a very
brave girl, Olivia,” she said, standing up. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.
“I hope so too,” I replied, also standing up. She made her way to the door without another word, and I didn’t bother to follow her. Only after she shut the door did I sit back down, suddenly feeling lightheaded. Five million dollars was a mind–blowing amount. I’d never even owned half of that.
I just hoped that I wouldn’t come to regret my decision in the future.
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