Chapter 23: Chapter 23

“Olivia,” asked Eve with her soft voice, patting Olivia’s shoulder.

“Hmm,” it took Olivia a while to make sense of who was talking to her.

“Are we going to ride the horses today?” she whispered into Olivia’s ear, with her doll under her arm.

“Of course! I promised you, didn’t I,” replied Olivia, suddenly wide awake and excited for the day.

“Yes!”

Eve ran down the hall, dragging her doll behind her.

Olivia got dressed in denim jeans, a red T-shirt and pair of boots. Eve barely gave Olivia enough time to finish her breakfast, just as Olivia used to do with her father when she was younger.

They hurried out to the barn, where Olivia saw that Poppy had already been saddled up, with a few daisies placed in the sides of her saddle.

“You like it,” Eve asked Olivia, standing beside Poppy.

“I love it!”

Lilly was looking out the front door at them, snapping a few photos.

“Well, I think if you decorate her, you get to ride her,” said Olivia to an excited Eve.

“Okay! Who are you going to ride then?”

“I’m just going to follow you. You're the princess here.”

Olivia helped Eve on to Poppy and followed closely beside her holding the rein. They entertained each other so much throughout the day that they didn't even want to stop to have lunch.

“You two seemed to be having fun,” said Lilly as they sat down at the table.

“Eve, did you thank Olivia? She helped you a lot,” said Gilbert.

“Yes, Daddy. It was so much fun!”

They all smiled and laughed the whole lunch through, as they all caught up with what the other were doing when they were apart.

When Olivia had finished, she excused herself from the table and went to her room to check if Kate had left her an important message. Like always, there were many missed calls. Olivia dialled Kate’s number, but the phone didn’t ring long before Kate picked up.

“Olivia, don’t leave!”

“Kate, I’m already at the ranch.”

“Why is my timing so bad these days? You got everything wrong!”

“What?”

“Blanca was arrested for embezzlement.”

“I thought….”

“You got it wrong, my friend. Please don’t tell me you broke things off with Tyler Brown!”

“I can’t say that I’m surprised it’s her,” said Olivia, “but you make it sound like we were engaged or something; we were not even dating. Ugh! Well done, Olivia! I jumped to conclusions. Too quick. I mean, wouldn’t you’ve done the same?”

“I can’t say anything; I can’t imagine the circumstances. All I know is that you need to do something about it. Knowing you, I don’t think you handled it in the best way.”

“Yeah. Thank you for letting me know; I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. I know you would've done the same for me. Enjoy your time with your family, you deserve a break.”

When Kate ended the call, Olivia sank to the ground, with a sigh. She sat with her back against the side of the bed. What is going to happen now? Did I really mess things up beyond repair? Questions ran through her mind and guilt started building up inside her.

A quick knock on the door and then Lilly sat across from Olivia, looking her in the eyes.

“You know where Eve got her name from,” asked Lilly.

Olivia looked at Lilly like she was speaking Greek, “Adam and Eve?”

“No.” They both laughed at Olivia’s joke. “Christmas Eve. The time we spend together as a family. The time when we are strong together, with you. There is a love between us that no one can break. That’s why her name reminds me so much of you. It's a pity it's still a while until Christmas.”

Tears started to roll down Olivia’s cheeks.

“Olivia, you’re strong and beautiful and confident, even though you can’t see it. If this man makes you even more so, like Gilbert does for me, he’s worth it.”

“How did you…,” Olivia began.

“Oh, I know. I hope you like the present I have for you. I know it is almost a month too early, but this year we celebrate Christmas a month earlier than usual.”

Lilly pulled Olivia to her feet and wiped away Olivia’s tears with the sleeve of her sweater.

As they all sat together that night around the fire, Lilly never mentioned anything about a gift again.

“Want your present,” Lilly asked, noticing Olivia looking all over the room with her eyes searching for her present.

“The anticipation is killing me!”

“I hope this one has meaning,” said Lilly.

There was a knock on the door. Olivia frowned at Lilly inquisitively and then got up to open the door.

“Well, I hope so too,” said Olivia, looking back at Lilly, while opening the door. She swung around and there it was…or rather he. Olivia was frozen from shock.

“Flowers for my side chick,” said Tyler, laughing at his own joke.

Olivia laughed too at the stupid comment she had made previously. Tyler kissed her on the cheek and then greeted her family inside. Everyone seemed to like him instantly. Olivia gave Lilly a thankful look, already forgiving Tyler.

“I just want to speak to Olivia quickly and then we’ll join you.”

“Go ahead,” her father replied.

Oliva closed the door behind them. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Tyler’s neck. He lifted her feet off the ground and swung her around with joy. All anger was gone and forgiven.

“Don’t leave me again, Liv,” Tyler said, kissing her.

“I’m sorry. I won’t. Promise. What really happened?”

“First of all, it wasn’t me,” said Tyler, as he put Olivia down and took her hand in his.

“I know, but you don’t sound very convincing,” said Olivia, with a smirk followed by a joking smile.

“I should’ve known you wouldn’t forget about me that easily. Anyway, I quote you if I say, ‘It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it’,” said Tyler.

She couldn’t help but look into his eyes. “Continue,” she said, smitten in love with a smile.

“I didn’t steal money from the company; I invested more money into it. Blanca changed the business’s books to make me look more suspicious, pretending that I stole money instead of giving it. She saw the opportunity to work for me to steal most of the money she wanted. I never suspected her, because people at the accounting department only had good things to say about her. She even dragged Mr Smith into it to help her. I’ve sold most of my properties around the world to get enough money to save what was left. Tristan wasn’t very happy about that because most of the property had been carried over from generation to generation.”

“I heard you fighting with him. You said you still had money somewhere; that’s why I got mad.”

“That's not what I intended it to sound like. I just wanted to show him that I can take control.”

“It’s fine. Elena also told a different story.”

“Don’t bother. Many people think they know what is going on, but they usually don’t. I still love Elena, though. Safe to say, I won’t be trusting new assistants anymore.”

“And this one?”

“This one, I love with my whole heart. She makes me a better person every day, and gives me a good view every night when I work in my office.”

“You look into my apartment? That’s how you knew where I lived! Well I couldn't say that I didn't do the same. Luckily we never saw each other looking!”

They both laughed at the other for having admitted to spying on each other.

“Thank you, Mr Brown, for making me feel more beautiful and confident. Mostly I am grateful for someone like you that truly makes me happy.”

“Ms Acker, you are my heart’s greatest desire. I love you. I want to wake up late every morning with you, and spend every day with you. I even want to get you coffee.”

“Hey, that’s my job,” Kate said from behind Tyler. “Aren't I good at secrets? Although one of the flight attendants on the airplane's intercom almost gave me away.” Olivia laughed from joy when she saw her friend.

Then Tyler went down on both knees, opening the front door with his one hand and stretching the bouquet with his other hand in front of her. Her whole family watched in excitement.

“I already asked Lilly’s permission, but there’s just one question left. Olivia Acker, will you go on a date with me?”

“Yes!”

They hugged with pure joy. His arms found their way down to her hips, while she placed her hands around his neck. They kissed under a thousand stars where the moon could also catch a glimpse. Everyone around them clapped their hands and they celebrated over a feast.

Her heart burned from overflowing love. She finally understood her grandmother’s words.

What the heart wants, the heart gets.