Bradford University
The next morning I woke up to find Liam by my side, I had no idea where he went yesterday, or what he wents
to do.
All he said was that he was going to fix everything and that was it. A part of me was worried that he had gone to confront Aiden again but then he promised me that he wouldn't do such again.
Oh wait, what he said was he would try.
Either way, I highly doubt that Liam would do something like that, again. I peeled the duvet off me and got on my feet.
My movements must have woken him up because he grumbled a low "good morning."
"Good morning honey. When did you get back yesterday?"
After he had left yesterday, I went to the children's room to read them bedtime stories before going to the master bedroom to sleep. I remembered falling asleep while waiting for him to return.
"I didn't check the time but it was past midnight. Did I keep you up waiting?" He sounded guilty and I didn't want to make it worse for him.
"No, I went straight to bed, I didn't wait up…" I lied. Technically, it wasn't a lie. Although I stayed on the bed waiting for him when I got tired I slept off,
I headed to the wardrobe and began browsing through to find something suitable for today. Miranda had informed me that we're doing a site visit so I had to be there, and I knew Aiden was going to be there too.
"Are you going to work today?"
"Yes, for a site visit," I replied holding out a caramel coloured suit.
"Is he going to be there? If he bothers you-"
I moved close to him and pressed my lips against his, holding his jaws with my hands as I rubbed them with my thumb.
"I'm going to be okay, I can handle myself."
I freshened up in the bathroom, brushing my teeth and then having my cold shower before changing into my clothes. I wore a white inner top which had some beads lining the chest area and the a caramel suit jacket and suit pants.
By the time I was making my way down the stairs, everyone was already at the dining area and Maria was serving some food.
Her face brightened when she looked at me. "Come, have something to eat."
"I can't, I don't want to be late. It's not nice to give a bad impression on the first day of official duties you know."
"How about I pack it?" She countered. I couldn't argue with that.
"Sure."
She's scampered about trying to pack some of the fried rice with fish and sauce for me. "Mommy I want to come with you," Skye said.
As if we had telepathically communicated, Liam and I shared a look. For any reason whatsoever the kids couldn't be around Aiden, I couldn't risk it.
"No Skye, you can't come with me, I'm working."
Lorraine folded her hands. "But daddy brings us to work all the time." She poured.
I leaned forward, my hair cascading over my shoulders as I caressed her cheeks. "Well that's different baby, your dad owns the law firm. He can take you guys there whenever he wants. Mommy is working for somebody and I can't have you two out there okay?"
They seemed to reluctantly accept my half-baked explanation and Maria arrived with my packed food just in time to bail me from this situation.
I peeked Liam and the twins, whispering a "love you" before I left.
At the site, the beeping sound of heavy machines met my ears as I walked towards Miranda, the soft breeze blowing against my face.
"Ah, there's our project manager, just in time," she remarked.
We took a tour of the property. She explained to me the type of luxury apartment complex they were going to build here.
The proximity of this area to the airport and its connection to the main road which leads to many important places in New York made it the perfect residential area.
"New York millionaires would scramble for this project once it's completed."
I smiled, "I can tell." Truly the facilities promised were one of a kind, and the apartment sizes were just marvelous.
My smile however quickly faded once I noticed Aiden approaching. I tried to look in the opposite direction as he and Miranda exchanged pleasantries.
"Good morning Mrs Black," he said, his voice void of any other emotion. He extended his arm for a handshake and I took it.
"Good morning to you too Mr Tan."
This was it, this was how things were supposed to be. Strictly professional.
It was hard to have him within proximity but at least he was tolerable now that he was no longer bugging me.
The tension between us was palpable and it was pretty clear that things were still very awkward but we just pretended to put all that aside so we could focus on the project.
He filled me in on all the progress, the stubborn tenants had evacuated the building and the demolition was going to start tomorrow. "If the team is fast you can bring everything down and clear this place within one to two weeks."
Aiden and I have done everything we're supposed to do and we were ready to leave, even Miranda was leaving the site.
Tomorrow the demolition would start, and it wouldn't even require my presence nor Miranda's, Aiden's presence was optional and it completely depended on him.
So I heaved a sigh of relief knowing that for at least the next few days I wouldn't need to be here and be around him.
Miranda and I bid each other goodbye and I made my way to the car. There was a strange car park beside mine and I quickly realized it was Aiden's when I saw him approaching.
Great! How convenient.
I opened my door quickly and slipped into the driver's seat, before I could close my door, he spoke.
"Wow, I didn't know you could drive now."
My lips straight into a thin line, "there's a lot you don't know." I shut my door and drove off, without giving him a second glance.
My hands were wrapped around the steering wheel as I made my way through town. I had a quick flashback of the time when Aiden was trying to teach me how to drive.
I shook my head to dispel the thoughts. I arrived at the school, Bradford university. It was a university where my mother used to work at when she was alive.
She really put her heart and soul into her job, so I wanted to find a way to honour her, so I decided that I'd drop by and donate something to the school. I also wanted to meet an old family friend of ours.
I was a teenager when my mother passed away mysteriously. Nobody knew what happened but all I knew was that I came back from school, I found her dead.
The doctors reported that she died of an overdose but I found it very hard to believe, and I still do till date.
Then there was nothing I could do, I was barely 13 at the time, shortly after her death my sister and I got sent to a boarding school and only came back home to be with our father during the holidays.
He too was also very distant and cold, most likely still struggling with our mother's death. There was growing rift between us, especially between he and Ava.
Just when I was about to enter college, news reached me that he had committed suicide. It broke me into pieces. My sister and I got accepted into different colleges all the way at two different ends of the country.
I was lucky enough to get accepted into Bradford university, the same one where my mother taught when she was alive.
Ironic isn't it? I rapped my knuckles against the door. "Come in," his voice bellowed.
The door clicked open and I walked in. He was so preoccupied with the paperwork that he didn't even bother to look up. "What do you want? Don't ask me for a makeup test because I'm not giving one."
"Not even for your favourite student?"
He froze, then slowly raised his head. "Holy mother of God!" he exclaimed, colour draining from his face like he had just seen a ghost.
"Olivia… you're alive?" He breathed.
"It's a long story Mr Maxwell. But there was no way I could be in New York and I wouldn't come say hi."
He got up from his chair and pulled me into a hug. "I can't believe it, it was all over the news. They said you were dead I - I attended you funeral."
"Somebody was after my life, I had to go on the low for a while."
He adjusted his glasses. "Oh my God that is terrible," his voice was shaky and filled with worry.
The sound of approaching footsteps met my ears and somebody opened the door. I turned around to see who had just entered and it was none other than my sister Ava.