Chapter 33: Chapter 33

“Can we meet? I miss you already.” Olivia was talking with Sana on the phone. She had been bored to death. It was the second day of her married life.

Thomas had left for work early in the morning. She heard the main door being closed. She was glad that he left. After the previous night’s event, she was reluctant to see him in front of her.

She concluded that he might have been drunk although she did not sense it from his breath. He was basically so close to her that she could have sensed it if that was the case, but she did not. His behavior seemed so unusual. There was not any other explanation for what he did or what he wanted to do with her.

She felt a headache appear again. She was so bored doing nothing and laying on bed all day long. On top of that, she had not eaten anything since the morning. She did not leave her room at all. She knew Thomas was not there, but she felt hesitant to go out of her room.

“Aw miss you too honey. I just got back from college. Should we meet now?” She heard Sana’s excited voice. She smiled.

“Yeah why not? I am going to take a shower. Let’s meet beside my apartment. I am going to meet mom after that.” She decided that she would be gone and come to the condo late. That way, she would not have to face Thomas. Besides, she wanted to see Sana and her mom.

“Okay! See ya!” Sana said ending the call. She went to take a shower and wrapped a towel around her after being done. She looked through her clothes and found a pink sundress that reached her knees. She matched it with white sandals. Her hair was straight, so she did not feel the need to style it. After the hair treatment, she liked to let it down. It felt so silky and smooth.

She quickly put on some sunscreen, mascara and gloss. She did not like too much makeup. When she worked as a stripper, she was compelled to put on a ton of makeup which made her feel like her skin was getting rough. That was why she avoided it on normal occasions.

She got ready and grabbed her phone and purse. She was ready to get going.

It felt weird to live at such a luxurious building. Everyone around was looking a person of high-class. Although she did not believe in such things, she still felt it sometimes. Thomas did have a lot of money. He had a castle to live in, but he had his own condo as well at such an expensive neighborhood.

She shook her head at the unfairness of life. Some people were so well-off and some people were so helpless that they had to get into a contract marriage to be alive and not to live on the streets.

But then again, money is not everything, she thought. Thomas had everything, but he was also forced to get into such a silly contract. Everyone had their own matters to deal with.

She hailed a cab and reached the restaurant where they had decided to go. It took around half an hour to reach there. Her heart pained that she had to live so far away from her mom.

She wanted to meet Sana first as she had to discuss everything. Otherwise, she felt like her mind would explode. Everything was so weird and strange and Thomas’s behavior the other night did not help either. In fact, it added to her misery. She was even afraid to come out of her room.

She entered the restaurant and found Sana already there waiting for her. She smiled as she approached her.

“Boo!” She said from behind trying to scare her as Sana was looking ahead out of the window. Sana turned her head and gave a bored expression. But she was smiling.

“Really?” She taunted her but stood up to squeeze the hell out of her, “How are you Mrs. Thomas?” She giggled as she let go. It was now Olivia’s turn to give her a bored look.

“Really?” She fired back making her throw her head back and laugh.

“I can’t help it. You two look like you are made for each other, you know.” Sana commented as they took their seats. Olivia narrowed her eyes.

“And can I ask what gave you such a ridiculous idea?” She asked fluttering her eyelashes at her tauntingly. Sana shrugged while smiling.

“You know…it’s just vibes. I cannot put it into words. Besides, the way he kissed you yesterday in front of everyone--gosh, it was hot, hot!” She said with a glint in her eyes making Olivia’s cheeks go red.

“Look who is blushing! Awww!” She was the number one person who loved to tease her. She would not let an opportunity go without teasing her. How could she forget about the kiss? Or the fact that she would ask about it?

“Don’t be silly. Every couple kisses on their wedding. It was not a real wedding, but we had to show people that it was.” She said defensively while drinking water.

“Why are you being defensive? Don’t worry! I could feel that you were not kissing back.” Sana let out a chuckle. Her eyes widened.

“Really? Was it that obvious?” She asked with surprise.

“I doubt that. But I am your best friend, and I know the reality of this wedding. Besides, I have good eyes.” She pointed at her eyes smugly making Olivia laugh. She was so silly, and Olivia loved her for that.

“Enough of me. Tell me about Mike and yourself.” She wiggled her eyebrows. She noticed how he was looking at her best friend throughout the wedding.

Sana’s expressions soured visibly. She could not believe that she was asking her about that jerk.

“What about him?” She feigned ignorance making Olivia give a meaningful smirk.

The waiter came to take their orders. They gave their orders and Olivia looked at her again with the same meaningful smirk.

“Don’t act so ignorant. I bet you also felt his eyes on you. I think he has the hots for you already.” She said making Sana narrow her eyes at her.

“I don’t want to talk about that jerk. He had the nerve to give me his number on a tissue paper. I mean what the hell is he? Five?” She said with an annoyed expression on her face. Olivia was still for a moment, but she started laughing so hard that her stomach hurt. She felt tears build up around her eyes. Sana just kept looking at her with the same annoyed expression.

“I think that is sweet.” She said after her laughter subsided. She found it so cute that he would do that.

“You know I want someone who is traditional. A person who would sweep me off my feet. A shy guy who has only eyes for me. Not someone who makes you uncomfortable.” She huffed as she remembered the way he was ogling her.

“Wait! You want someone who only has his eyes for you. But he DID has his eyes on you the entire time.” Olivia said with a bit of confusion. She could not understand what she meant. It was true that shy guys were his type, and Mike did not seem like a shy guy. Instead, he passed his number the first time he laid his eyes on her. She wanted to laugh again at the cuteness of the situation.

“That is the problem. His gaze seemed experienced—like it is the part of his nature to ogle people like that. I am sure he has done that to a lot of ladies. I am not going to fall into his trap.” She said determinately. Olivia looked at her like her best friend had lost her mind.

“An experienced gaze? Are you for real?” She asked with an unbelievable expression on her face. She wanted to laugh out loud at her logic, but she held back. Sana did not seem to be in the mood for taking more laughter at her situation.

She sighed, “Yeah. Don’t give me that look. You are someone who almost gets a heart attack when a guy touches your hand. You have no right to judge me.” She fired back with a mischievous expression on her face. It was now Olivia’s turn to glare at her.

She had told Sana about the incident in school when she fell down and started crying because she scratched her hand. A boy from her class helped her get up and grabbed her hand to look at the scratch. She was so scared of the touch that she pulled her hand and ran away from him.

It was all because of a phase of her life that she wanted to bury forever. She got scared of the opposite gender easily. She did not know when she would get over it. Initially, she thought she would be okay when she grew up. But that was not the case, apparently!

She had not even told Sana about it. It was that personal. It was that traumatic.

“Um, Sana I want to tell you about something.” She began. Sana told her to continue, “Last night, I made myself a cup of tea and thought to bring a cup to Thomas as well. I took it to his room, but he was acting so strangely. We had an argument, and I was about to leave his room when he grabbed me and held me so tightly. It was so…not okay. We had promised not to be intimate with one another. It is included in the contract. He seemed angry for some reason, but he was leaning closer and closer. As if—as if he wanted to kiss me. But I know that was not the case because he did not seem like himself. I don’t know what had gotten into him.” She told the whole story that was bothering her. Sana was listening to her keenly when she let out a big smile.

“I knew it.” She made a high-five to herself. Olivia looked at her with a questioning look.

“Look!” She said linking her hands together and put it on the table. She seemed like a professor trying to make the student understand a complex topic, “I could feel the spark between you two the moment you walked the aisle. His eyes were fixated on you and he seemed so enchanted. And the kiss, the dance…none of them felt like an act. He seemed to be truly into you. I know for a fact that he has feelings for you.” She concluded her speech and Olivia seemed like she had just told her about the dumbest thing on the planet.

“Let’s eat.” She shook her head at her as the waiter placed their food on the table. She did not even want to comment anything on her assumption.

A billionaire? A self-centered person? A rude and arrogant guy? Having feelings for her?

She had to laugh. Besides, how long did they know each other for the feelings to take place?

One thing that she was sure of was that neither he nor she could fall for each other. Both hated the other’s guts. There was no way that would happen or she could let that happen.

She could never—never have feelings for a guy who ruined her life and forced her into marrying him. And she also knew that he would never fall for a “lowly” girl like her. There safe. She was safe.

There she was trying to find an answer of his behavior, and her friend was hitting her with the most ridiculous assumption. Talk about getting answers!