Chapter 74: Chapter 74

“What? Did he do that?” She heard Sana’s voice from the other end. She sighed.

She had gotten up after having a few hours of sleep. Sana called her when she was going to leave for her mom’s place, but she had told her she was not going to.

Sana knew that she had decided to take a break from everything. She had told her that she would leave his house for a while and live with her mom. She was quite surprised that she was not going to leave.

Olivia had to tell her everything. She knew Sana would not let her be if she did not spill the beans. Besides, she wanted to let everything out. Her heart and head felt heavy.

She hummed on the phone while massaging her forehead. She had not gone out. She knew it was time for the scheduled breakfast, and James must be looking forward to having her on the table. She had been regularly and punctually going to the dining table. But now, she did not care.

Nothing was more important than her mental health at that point. She would deal with James’s wrath later. She just had to take time for herself.

“I can’t believe he would say that when he is the one who left you.” She said with a mixture of surprise and angry tone. She knew Sana was so possessive of her. As much as she wanted to share her worries with her, she could not trouble her.

“It’s okay, Sana. I have got this.” She said.

“No, you don’t. I saw how he treated you the other night at the club. I can imagine his behavior as he must have said that to you. A piece of advice? Don’t let him control you. You are strong, but I don’t want you to endure everything he throws your way. It is a contract performed by both parties. You are not his slave.” She angrily said over the phone. She was right. Olivia shook her head.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that.” She assured her. She knew that she could get over the situation at hand. She always had difficult situations, and she had always gotten through them.

“That I know. Take it easy, okay? Call me if you need to talk or something. I am here for you.” She said making her let out a breath. She was controlling herself from being emotional again. She did not want to cry.

“Thank you.” She said and ended the call. Sighing, she got up and contemplated how to get her clothes from the other room. She did not want to that room ever again. She did not want to see him. She was not this hurt even when he left for the whole month. His words had cut deep.

At the same time, she heard a knock and then another.

She was debating whether to open the door or not. She feared it would be Thomas. But then, he would leave around this hour for the office.

“Ma’am? I have brought breakfast.” She heard a maid’s voice. Relieved, she opened the door. Thank God, it was not him.

“Thank you.” She said truly thankful. She was starved and did not want to go downstairs or out until she knew Thomas was out. It was so nice of her to bring her breakfast knowing well that James disapproved of such ‘unethical’ behaviors.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Mr. Thomas told me to bring you breakfast here.” She informed her with heart eyes. Olivia thought she saw admiration in her eyes. She must have been truly impressed by his sweet gesture.

Nobody knew how selfish and arrogant he was behind the doors. To everyone, he was such a good husband despite them knowing that he was away from the house for a long time leaving her all alone.

She could not say anything else as she saw her walk out of the room. If it was some other time, she would not have the breakfast sent by him, but she was starved. Her stomach demanded food while her ego screamed at her to send the tray downstairs.

She chose the former’s well-being as she sat down and downed the coffee and toast. The pancake tasted extra delicious that day. It was amazing how she felt so much better after eating.

Now that she knew Thomas was out, she decided to go to his room to fetch her clothes. She did not want to live in the same room with him after everything that happened the previous night. She did not even want to see his face.

She opened the door quietly hesitating for a while. It was as if she was entering a stranger’s room. That was how she felt actually. After the previous night’s argument, she felt so out of place in that house. that was how Thomas made her feel at that moment. She did not belong there.

She went to grab her bag from beside the bed, but there was no sign of any bag. She was confused as to where it had disappeared.

She checked every corner of the room. When she did not get her bag, she opened the closet to see if it was there.

She sighed as she saw her clothes neatly tacked and hung just like before. She did not know if Thomas had done it or if it was the maid who did it. Nevertheless, she did not like what she was seeing.

How dare he act like everything was normal when it was not?

She yanked her clothes and took them to the other room. She also grabbed a few pairs of shoes, bags, and other items which she knew would be required. It was late for her class. She had already lazed around for breakfast. She had to attend the class if she did not want James to scold her again.

She quickly showered and put on a beige chiffon shirt and white pants. She was fed up with wearing dresses and heels inside the house. Like, who did that? She would never get used to the lifestyle that was demanded of her in that house.

Just a few more months, and she would be free from all the drama.

Why did the thought feel her uneasy just as it made her happy? It was beyond her to think of the reason.

“You finally decided to grace us with your presence.” It was a statement made by the tutor as she took her seat after greeting politely.

“Who is ‘us’? All I see is one person here besides me.” She said with a bit of sarcasm. She was in no mood to take taunts. She was always polite to her, but it was obvious that she did not like Olivia. She did not know why though. She did not do anything wrong.

She heard her clear her throat with a look of dismay on her face, but she did not say anything.

“We will learn about how to maintain good posture.” She said in a curt tone.

Olivia sighed. Her lessons seemed ridiculous to her. Sure, she had a lot of time on her hand to learn about such useless things.

She missed her mom terribly. Instead of going with such foul lessons, she could have visited her mom. But now! Mr. Thomas would not like that. She could not wrap her head around the idea that her life was being dictated by two Thomas.

After her lesson, she went to supervise the kitchen as the lunch was getting prepared. It was another one of James’s orders that she saw the affairs of the household. It was like she had been pushed back to the nineteenth century when the wives and the ladies of the house took care of such things when men would go to earn bread. She was not allowed to work. She was to attend etiquette lessons. She was not to step out without the head of the house’s permission.

She knew she was living her worst life; it was about time until everything erupted. But every time such thoughts occurred that day, she would remember Thomas’s words. He thought that she was behaving that way because his part of the deal was done. He thought she wanted to back away now that her mom’s surgery was done. It was so hurtful to think he did not know her.

She had grown to think that they were getting close. Despite the contract and her putting up a front, she had grown a liking toward him. He seemed so different from how she had perceived him initially. But now, she thought that she did not know him at all. He was probably the same heartless and cold person she knew before.

None of those mattered anymore. She was right about never letting her heart sway. It was all a temporary act by him to act nice and all.

Shaking her head, she went to the kitchen where the cook and the maid were preparing the lunch. Although the men rarely showed up for lunch, they would still prepare.

“What are you making today?” She smiled after greeting the cook.

“I am thinking of making lasagna today, ma’am. We can change it if you want.” Thompson said displaying his good manners.

“No, I am okay with it. Do you need any help? I have a lot of time on my hand today.” She said hoping he would let her help him. She did not want to intervene in his work that was why she did not impose.

“Oh… Ma’am, I don’t think Mr. James will approve of you working in the kitchen.” He said with hesitation in his voice while scratching his head.

“Who will tell him?” She grinned as she tied her hair with the band she was wearing around her wrist. Thompson and the maid exchanged nervous looks.

“Don’t worry. He won’t know. Even if he does, I am going to handle it. By the way, my name is Olivia. Quit calling me ‘ma’am’, will you? It makes me feel old.” She joked to ease their worries. They smiled as they relaxed and let her help in the kitchen.

It was strange that James had forbidden her from cooking while the tutor was told to teach her basic cooking—not that she needed it, to be honest.

She wanted to get her mind off the things that were bothering her, so she put complete attention on preparing the lunch. It did the trick. She felt relaxed.

But not for long though. She returned to her room after having lunch. Nobody joined her as they both were in office. She was glad about that.

In her room, she was reminded of the bitter reality again. She did not know how those months were going to pass. She was busy with her thoughts when she phoned tinged indicating a text.

“Dinner at 7. Be ready!” She had gotten a text from Thomas. She released a sigh. She wished she had him blocked, from her phone and her life. However, she knew that was not possible at that time.

She did not want to attend the annual dinner, but she knew that she would be graced with further harsh words from Thomas. She would not let that happen. It was time to act professionally.

Only if she was a professional at hiding her emotions…