Chapter 72: Chapter 72

“There is no need to leave,” Thomas said simply sighing. Olivia gave him a side glare.

“I was not asking. I was informing.” She said confidently. Thomas took a dramatic double-take as if what she said and how she took a firm stance for herself did not sit right with him.

Either she must have stopped standing up for herself or he had forgotten what kind of a person she was. Nevertheless, she was so angry that he had just come back and was already giving her orders. It was her fault. She should not have let him forget that concrete fact.

She could have reached out and brought him to the house if she wanted to, but she did not do that. It was because she was afraid. She did not want any proximity between them that would complicate things. She was scared of the way her heart had been acting seeing his face and sharing space with him. As much as she did not want to be in the same space with him for that same reason, she knew—or at least thought—that it was not possible until he proved her wrong. It was apparently possible for him.

“It is not included in the contract. You can’t leave.” He said challenging her to defy. He looked so smug that she wanted to smack that smug off his face.

“The contract did not include you leaving me alone to deal with everything for a month either.” She shrugged looking him straight in the eyes. He looked away after she said that.

She did not want to confront him. She did not intend on doing that. She had decided that she would just let everything be as it is. She did not even think of contacting him to tell him she was leaving. But he appeared out of nowhere and told her what she could and she could not do. She could not allow that to happen. She had already compromised a lot on everything. She had changed her lifestyle, quit working, and kept up with the grandpa and his ridiculous plans for her to leave her mom alone after her surgery. It was all she could do without getting anything in return.

Sure, he had paid for her mom’s surgery expenses, but she expected him to at least act a little considerate toward her. She refused to accept that his act was justified on basis of the things she said: that they had to be within their limits not to complicate their relationship.

He completely left her alone. That was not what she had asked and what he was required to do at all.

“Did you miss me?” He asked in a mischievous tone, all of a sudden putting a full stop to her train of thought. She looked at him like she had heard the most ridiculous thing in her life. In reality, her heart had skipped a beat upon hearing him ask that.

“My mind is not that useless to spend its energy on missing you. Besides, what’s there to miss?” She asked raising a brow. She had a little smirk that told him how ridiculous he sounded.

He shook his head with the same smirk and folded his shirt sleeve so his stupid strong forearms were on display. She could feel herself staring at those firm-looking arms. One of them looked about three or four of her arms combined. Not that she had more than two arms, but yeah…

She looked away but not before meeting his eyes. He had noticed her staring at his arms. Stupid!

“Anyway, tomorrow, we have our company’s annual dinner. We both are required to attend it.” He said casually as if he did not hear a word, she had been saying all the while. She could not believe him.

“What the hell do you want from me?” She said in a louder voice leaving her spot on the bed and standing in front of him. She did not want to beat around the bush while he was so keen on doing that.

Even when she was young, she hated ambiguity. She wanted a simple life with simple people who shared her ideas. He was far from the person she would have liked to be with. He always knew how to get on her nerves. He completely disregarded her identity and preferences. He was truly the grandson of James Walker. She had realized it that day.

“Sit!” He said trying to look calm. Olivia could notice that he was not in the mood to be confronted, and neither she was. But it was not about the moods anymore. It was about getting answers. He had been playing her for a long time now.

“I won’t” She spat in the same angry tone.

He sighed and stood in front of her.

“We will talk about it tomorrow. I am so tired right now. You seem tired as well. We should sleep, okay?” He said in a light tone despite her angry one. It made her angrier.

“Talk to yourself tomorrow coz I won’t be here.” She told him in clear words that she had no intention to change her plans. She had decided that she would leave, and that was exactly what she was planning to do.

He had the nerve to still think she would listen to him when he treated her like trash. Truthfully speaking, her self-respect had taken a big blow when she tried to contact him countless times, but he never responded. He ignored her in the club and reacted in such a cold way that she had never been treated before. If it was not for the contract, she would have left long ago and never look back.

“Olivia, don’t be difficult.” As he said that, he massaged his temple and the back of his eyes. Everything he said made her want to smack him even more.

“I am being difficult, huh? You leave for one whole month without looking back, and I stay. You treat me like I am an inexistent piece of shit, I stay. Your grandfather puts me through hell every day, I stay. I cannot even meet my friend or visit my mom without being lectured for hours on end. And I am the one being difficult. Wow!” She lashed out at everything that had been piled up for a long time inside her chest. She was not a weak girl that would cry easily, but she wanted to cry so badly. She wanted to let out everything.

Thomas saw her breathing heavily after pouring her heart in front of him. He never imagined it would be that hard for her. Instead, he thought that he had put her out of misery by leaving her.

He could feel how difficult everything must have been for her, but it was not easy for him either. Every day, he thought about how he was unwanted. For someone else, it might not have been a big deal, but he was never a guy who had been rejected so heartlessly by a girl before, especially the girl he had started developing feelings for. He did not have many occasions in his life before when he wanted someone as much as he wanted her. So it was a big matter for him.

He wondered about her well-being every minute of the day and wanted to ask her, but he never acted on it.

“You wanted me to stay away, so why are you complaining now?” He asked because he genuinely wanted to know. He had been trying so hard to figure her out, but he could not.

She got quiet for a few moments. She just kept staring at him blankly.

He raised his eyebrow and folded his arms. It was now her turn to be confronted.

“When did I tell you to leave the house?” She asked not knowing what else to say. It was still beyond her that he would act so childish just because she said that they should be cautious around one another.

“Every word is not necessary to be uttered. Sometimes, we get what the other person means without them saying it clearly. Besides, I thought that leaving the house was for the good just as you thought that putting distance between us was better for us. If you can decide for us both, I am sure I can also take that decision. Am I wrong?” He asked her taking a step closer and staring deep into her eyes. She was speechless. She could not even ask why he ignored her calls or why he was so rude to her the other day.

“Yes,” She said after a while making him raise his brows again in question, “You were wrong because you assumed what I meant. You could have discussed it with me before making that assumption just like how I put out my thoughts in front of you. I think that is how things should be resolved, not sulking like a child and running away from problems.” She said in a monotone, proud of herself for sounding so confident. His towering height and intimidating aura should have had the opposite effect, but she stood her ground.

He looked offended for a moment, but quickly masked his expressions like always. God, she hated that quality of his.

“Great! You have a great perception of life and its problems.” He nodded in appreciation. She was surprised at how easily he had acknowledged her talent. She would have smiled smugly, but he took another step toward her. He kept coming forward, and she took backward steps until her back hit the wall. Her heart had picked up its pace looking at his dark eyes that were staring deep into her perplexed ones.

‘What the hell was he trying to do?’ She asked herself.

“Then why are you running away from your problems, huh?” He asked in a serious tone but his smirk told another story. That bastard was mocking her.

Her anger saw no depth as she glared at him dangerously while he kept smirking down at her.