Chapter 75: Chapter 75

“Mr. Thomas is here.” Rosie, the house help, came to inform her. She nodded and turned around to look at herself in the mirror. She refused to get her makeup and hair done by the lady whom Thomas had sent her way. She did not want to make a big deal out of the event. She sent her away telling her she would get ready herself.

She was still angry with Thomas. She was compelled to attend the dinner, but that was all. She could not entertain him any further.

She did her hair and makeup. She had a bit of talent because of working as a stripper. It was not that difficult for her. It was just that she did not like to put on makeup that much. That night though, she did that. She was wearing elegant makeup and her hair was tied in a side messy bun. She had learned a bit of hairstyling from Sana.

Her dress was a floor-length silver sequin lace-up maxi that had a slit from the right to the knee. It had spaghetti straps and fit her body like a second skin. It was the dress he had sent to her that same day through the makeup artist that she had sent away. She was sure he did not like her stunt. It was obvious considering his text asking her why she did that—as if he did not know the answer. There were a lot of things she did not like either, but she was keeping up with everything. He would have to get used to it.

She matched the dress with nude stilettoes and gold ear studs. She loved the way she looked. Only if it was for some special occasion, she looked forward to…

She left the room and went out.

Descending the stairs, she saw him. He had his back toward him. Despite that, she could feel her heart beat faster. It had just been a day that she had not seen him, but she could not deny how much she missed seeing his face.

It was before he showed his true colors. It should have been before he showed his nasty side. However, she still felt her heart squeeze inside her chest. There she was pretending to be strong and dealing with him professionally while the mere sight of him was enough to send her heart into a frenzy.

It did not help that he turned around at the exact moment of her observing his back. Their eyes met as she kept descending the stairs. It was as if time froze. Her feet were moving, but her eyes were fixated on him. On the other hand, Thomas felt like his heart would leap out of his mouth.

He was speechless, to say the least. his mouth was probably hung open with surprise--a very pleasant surprise.

She looked like an angel. Her innocent and expressive eyes were looking at him the same way he was looking at her. He felt like nothing mattered more than what he had in front of him at that moment.

She was his. He could not believe that she was his. He could not believe that the former statement that he kept chanting in his head could have been true if he had not messed up.

But even if he didn’t, would she have given him a chance? Would she have ever considered opening her heart to him?

He knew that she did not think highly of him for solid reasons, but he had messed up everything even more. He wondered if she would ever forgive him for his harsh words which he did not even mean that way.

She felt like all the hard work she had done in lecturing herself for hours had gone to waste. She had decided she would not speak a word to him or look at him unless it was required. And now, she was ogling him.

She removed her eyes from him which was very difficult. He looked so handsome.

He was dressed in a grey tux. It was as if they had matched their outfit. He must have done just that as he was the one who had selected the dress for her. She hated that their outfits were matching.

She hated that he was in front of her having his way when she did not want to even look at his face.

“Liar!” Her inner voice taunted which she ignored.

She stood at a feet’s distance from him once she was down the stairs and waited for him to say something. He did not.

Annoyed, she slightly raised her head to look at what he was up to when she noticed him staring at her with deep, intense eyes.

He quickly looked away once he saw her looking at him.

“You look lovely.” He commented with a small smile. Her face hardened despite her heart reacting the opposite way.

“We are getting late.” She said without responding to his earlier comment. She saw his face change colors, but he nodded and walked ahead of her. she sighed following him.

His shoulders looked less wide than before. She could not ignore his growing stubble and the fact that he looked a little thinner than before. It was not like he had suddenly gotten slim. He still had that impressive build, but it was different. Something was different about him.

She did not have to think about it all. She had a pressing matter to think about.

Her mom had thrown up again. It was the first time she had had her surgery. She was getting ready for dinner when she got a call from Mary. She wanted to leave everything and run to her mom. She was worried sick. She debated leaving the dinner and everything and going to her mom, but then she remembered his mean words. Not a day had passed that she heard such hurtful words from Thomas. She could not forget even if she tried to. What other blames would he put into her name if she left to check on her mom? She did not want to imagine. However, she could not shake off the worry.

She was still thinking about what to do when she got Mary’s call again after some minutes telling her she did not need to worry as her mom was alright now. She was relieved but not completely.

Even when she got inside the car, her thoughts were directed at her mom.

The car ride was silent. Thomas did not know what to say, and Olivia did not want to say anything.

Her sweet feminine smell filled the inside of the car. He had missed it so much. He inhaled deeply a few times as her scent overwhelmed his senses.

Gosh, he was never this whipped. She had him wrapped around her fingers. The thing was that she was unaware. She thought he did not have any feelings for her, but the truth was that she was wrong. He had never felt that way about anyone.

It sucked though. He could not display his feelings in motion. He would surely not be reciprocated.

But what Mike said rang in his head multiple times a day. He knew he was attracted to her and liked her, but love? How can HE love anyone? He was incapable of doing that.

He stole a glance at her side and saw her looking out the window. She looked ethereal as the soft breeze ran through her hair. A few stray strands of her hair had freed from the bun. He had underestimated her by sending the stylist her way which she had blatantly sent away. He was angry at her action, but he now realized that she did not need anyone to style her. She was perfect at everything she did.

She was still mad at him, but he could not blame her.

“Tonight is important. This is the first time I am hosting the dinner as the CEO of the company. We should appear happy and in love before everyone.” He tried to make small talk. He hated the silence. It was uncomfortable. Besides, he wanted her to say something. It was dumb, but he missed hearing her voice.

She did not say anything. She did not even move.

He sighed keeping his eyes on the road. She probably did not want to talk to him.

“I know my duties.” She said curtly after a while. He turned to look at her, and she was still looking out of the window. He could not help but smile.

There was something he had noticed. She would never be silent when she felt she should speak. One of those moments included when he would “order” her as she put it. She would never silently accept whatever he said. She always had something to say in return in those situations.

For the first time, he was glad she did not stay silent.

He hated when someone argued with him or dared to defy him. She always did that. She was no exception to others as it would irk him whenever she did that although he did not want to treat her harshly. At that moment, he was happy that she had said something albeit talking back at him.

It was amazing how he would feel like that. If he did not have special feelings for her, why would he be glad she had just argued with him? There was no explanation as to why he was changing.

It was because of her.

'Damn Olivia, what have you done to me?' He thought to himself, his expression suddenly getting serious.