Chapter 23: Chapter 23

“Mom, I have something to tell you.” She said with a beating heart. She never hid anything from her mother except when she worked as a stripper and now, the situation at hand.

What worried her was that her mom trusted her so much. She would think she had done all that behind her back. She knew that her mom would be happy that she finally found someone, but she would be probably shocked to hear about her marriage.

“Wait, is that a ring on your finger?” Before she could explain, her mom’s eyes zoomed in on her left hand. Amelia seemed so shocked.

She had almost forgotten that she had a ring on the finger.

She raised her hand and looked at the ring that had a small round diamond stone in the center and small pieces surrounding it in two layers. It was simple--Just like how she liked. She would have been over the moon if it was a real engagement. But now, all she could think was about Amelia’s reaction.

She took a deep breath. She thought to prepare herself for the night and talk to her mom in the morning. But she had to face the situation sooner than she had liked.

“Mom, I was going to tell you.” She said avoiding to look directly into her eyes. She felt guilty to no end.

“What? What were you going to tell, huh?” She was getting hyper. Olivia came forward worried that her mom was going to tire herself out. The doctor had instructed for her not to take stress.

“Take a seat, please. I am going to tell you everything. Don’t stress yourself.” She said making her sit on the couch. Amelia kept looking at her with narrowed eyes. She had the nerve to ask her to calm down when she had a lot of explaining to do.

She pretty much knew what she had done by the ring on her finger. But she wanted to hear her first.

“Okay!” She breathed taking Amelia’s hand in hers. It was funny that in a situation like that she needed her mom to calm herself.

“I am engaged. I am sorry for not telling you sooner. I was not sure about the relationship that was why I did not tell you. I did not want to concern you about myself. But he is a good guy. He proposed today, and I said yes.” She closed her eyes and started telling her mother calmly when in fact, she was having a turmoil inside.

She was surprised at how smoothly she was lying. Some moments in life requires one to do that. She had always hated lying, but she could not tell the truth to her mother.

She peeked at her mother to find her silent and deep in thought. The earlier anger was gone and an expression of concern had replaced it. She waited for her to say something, but she was silent.

“Mom?” She called snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked at her and squeezed her hand.

“I am not a child, Olivia. I know how to take care of myself. Why did you think that telling me about your life would worry me? I have always told you that I am here for you.” She said with tenderness and a tinge of complaint in her voice. Olivia’s tears threatened to come out.

She was the luckiest daughter in the world. She was scared that her mom would scold her and lecture her, but there she was assuring her like always.

“I am sorry, mom. I am sorry.” She said as the first drop left her eyes followed by others. Amelia wiped her tears tenderly and hugged her firmly.

“You don’t have to apologize. I was worried since it was so late at night and you had not returned. Besides, you neither called nor received our calls. Mary just left an hour ago. I told her to go and sleep. Now tell me, who is he?” Her mom asked with the same gentleness in her voice.

She let go of the hug and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Thomas. You met him the other day.” She said trying to smile a little. She wanted to show her mother that she was happy. She did not want to worry her more that she already did.

“Oh? The same handsome young guy who came here?” She asked with a pleasant surprise. Olivia nodded.

“I am so happy for you. He seemed like such a nice guy. I liked him as soon as we met.” Amelia squeezed her hands. It was evident from her eyes how happy she was. Only if it was all true…she would not have felt such an intense guilt.

But then, if it was true, it meant she and Thomas were truly in love and getting married to spend their lifetime together.

She could not imagine having her forever with a guy who considered her nothing. She was not the type to seek for cheesy romance, but she did require respect and love in her life. She was doubtful if there was someone who could give her that.

She had seen enough of the ugly side of men.

“Did you have a haircut? The color is also different.” Her mother asked with a pleasant surprise. Her hands automatically went to touch her hair. Her mother kept telling her to get a haircut, but she always refused. She was never focused on herself, so Amelia wanted her to enjoy life and take care of herself like other girls did.

“Yeah.” She smiled awkwardly, “His PA took me to shopping and do my makeover. I had no idea why she was doing all that when Thomas took me to a restaurant and proposed.” This time, she was telling the truth. She was glad that at least, now, she was not lying.

“He must love you a lot. I could tell the other day how he looked at you.” She commented with a genuine smile pecking Olivia’s hands one by one. Love? Yeah, right? Olivia thought wanting to laugh. They both disliked each other. That was for sure. And her mom was speculating existence of love between them.

“Tell me more about him. I want to know my grand-son more.” She asked excitedly. Olivia laughed and put her head on her mother’s lap, careful not to put a lot of pressure. She had gotten quite weak.

And so, she started telling her mom about Thomas—adding half-truths and half lies. It was not like she wanted to lie about how and what kind of a person he was. She simply did not know him enough to tell her about him.

Yes, she did not know the person she was going to marry in a few days.

Thomas’s POV:

“Grandpa, I want to talk about something.” He entered James’s room who was looking at something on his phone. Could it be the pictures? He wondered.

He had got up late, so he missed the breakfast with him. He had an amazing night with the girl, and so he returned late the previous night. It did take his mind off of weird thoughts about Olivia. He knew that it was all just because he had not gotten laid in a while.

It was Sunday, so the office was off. He purposefully picked that day, so he could make them both meet. But before the meeting, he wanted to talk to his grandpa first.

“Take a seat.” He tapped the spot on the couch beside him putting his phone away. He obediently went to sit like he had told him.

“What is it?” He asked. Thomas took a deep breath.

“I have found my bride, and I am going to marry her soon.” He said confidently. He could not afford making James suspicious. He had tried so hard to convince Olivia. He did not want his plans to be ruined.

“Okay. That is great. Who is she? Does she belong to a high class family?” He asked curiously. Thomas sighed. He knew the question was coming.

“Well, you told me to find a bride, and I did. Who cares what kind of a family she belongs to? I love her and that is all that matters.” He said being a little irritated at his question. He stressed on the statement that he loved her. He knew that his grandpa would not agree otherwise though he feared he would still not agree.

Apparently, his grandfather was still not over his high-class narrative. Thomas’s father had also married a middleclass girl--Thomas's mother, and James had thrown a fit over it. Thomas could not believe his old narrative was still intact.

He saw him stand up from the couch, “So you wasted my time and yours as well finding a poor girl for our family. Did you think I will accept her? I have a reputation amongst the high society. I cannot allow a low-class girl be my daughter-in-law. You are the grandson of a billionaire. When will you learn to act like one?” He said in his usual firm tone making Thomas pissed off to no end. He also got up from the couch.

“You told me to start working, I did. You told me to find a wife, I did. What else do you want from me?” He raised his voice a little making James turn around and glare dangerously at him.

“Have you forgotten who you are talking to?” James asked with anger.

“No. and I want it to remain that way. But, I love her. If you don’t approve of her, I will not think twice before leaving ‘your’ place and ‘your’ company.” He stressed on the “your” part because that was how James loved to say to him.

‘My company’ ‘My House’ ‘My wealth’ ‘My Reputation’

If everything was his, and he did not consider him anything. Then why did he want Thomas to take over the company and get married? Who was he to decide for him? He thought bitterly.

“If you don’t want to go with my orders and values, I will not give you a penny. You can go live on the streets.” He threatened Thomas after he threatened him.

Both the grandpa and grandson were testing each other’s limits. James had always told him not to raise his voice and listen to his orders. On the other hand, Thomas had always told his grandfather not to interfere in his life.

Thomas glared at the ground trying to calm himself down, but this time, it was difficult. The anger had consumed him into unimaginable depths. He had always gone against his wishes and desires to do what his grandfather wanted. But James never appreciated him. He gave up singing to go with the career path his grandfather liked. He gave up on his wish to live in a condo, his father had left him with, to live with James because he wanted him to. He now started working and agreed to marry just because James Walker demanded.

He was still not happy with him, and he would never be. He knew it.

“I am leaving everything…your wealth, your house, your company. I have my own place to live in, so I don’t have to live on the streets. Good luck with your billion-dollar business.” He gave him a last accusing glance before exiting his room. The baffled expression on James’s face could not go unnoticed.

He had had enough. James could not control him because of his wealth. He would do anything if it meant that he could live an independent life--without some dictating his every step.

He was tired of the life he had been living all the while.