"The moment you promised me, the agreement between us took effect, and now you're mine," he continued.
Olivia's palm was resting on his broad, powerful chest, and she could feel his heartbeat.
In the dark, she could not see his face clearly.
However, she could feel that this man was tall and slender, with a well-proportioned body. She could also feel his breathing getting heavy.
"At least let me know who exactly you are," she said.
"You'll find out, but not just yet," he answered, kissing her again. His kiss intensified, moving to the corner of her mouth and the small wound on it. "Sorry, I was careless last night. I bit you."
His breath was hot, and Olivia felt dizzy, gradually losing her will to struggle. With her last bit of rationality, she asked, "If I don't know who you are, how am I supposed to fulfill our agreement? What if I confuse someone else with you? That wouldn't be good."
"That won't happen," The Sniper answered in a bewitching voice. "I'll personally watch over my woman; no one will touch you."
Another intoxicating night.
When Olivia woke up, Mr. Sniper was no longer in the room.
Once again, the previous night's events seemed like a dream, confusing and mysterious. But the faint blue and purple marks on her body clearly showed that she had not imagined it.
Mr. Sniper was real, and she had really sold herself out.
When Lyla Jonas arrived, she handed Olivia a box of pills and said, "These are the contraceptive pills you asked me for. Do you want some water?"
Olivia shook her head and directly swallowed a pill.
The two nights she had spent with Mr. Sniper had fallen during the riskiest part of her cycle. Even though she had found out at the hospital that her fallopian tubes were blocked and she could not have children, she still didn't want to risk it.
Lyla bit the arm of her sunglasses while flipping through the text message conversation between Olivia and Mr. Sniper. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Dear God," she asked, "is this Mr. Sniper the same age as our parents?"
Olivia looked up and shook her head, saying, "No, he's young. He's about the same age as Freddie."
Lyla snorted, "Then he's really old school. Who still sends text messages any more? Even my dad uses WhatsApp."
Olivia's heart was in a mess, and the pill had left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Hey," asked Lyla, "what does he look like?"
Olivia frowned. "It was too dark," she answered. "I couldn't see clearly."
"What's his body like?" inquired Lyla.
Olivia recalled the siege from the night before: his strong arms, his well-defined chest, and his powerful legs.
Letting out a shy cough, Olivia answered, "He's all right."
Lyla giggled and said, "I was just asking about his figure. Why are you blushing?"
"I'm not…"
Lyla continued flipping through the messages, clicking her tongue. "He must be pretty rich," she said. "He gave you almost a million dollars, just like that. It looks like he really likes you."
Olivia's fingers were restless, rubbing her clothes and pinching the fabric. "Lyla, this might not be a good idea," she said.
"What's wrong?" argued Lyla. "I say hurry up and divorce Freddie. Whether or not you want to be with Mr. Sniper in the future, you can't continue to be entangled with Freddie, that piece of trash. Listen to me. Clear the mess and get the divorce certificate already. After that, you won't have to have anything to do with each other."
Yes, thought Olivia, we must get divorced as soon as possible.
She had already done what she could for Freddie's family and Janet. After the divorce, the world would be open to her again, and she wouldn't have to worry about seeing them anymore.
"Hey," asked Lyla, "it really seems like Mr. Sniper has already fallen for you. He's just waiting for you to draw a clear line between you and Freddie, and he can't wait to get his hands on you."
Olivia was startled. "How is that possible?" she asked.
Lyla folded her arms and said, "Why wouldn't it be? Think about it. If you were really just some random stranger, there's no way he would have given you so much money after just one night together."
Olivia bit her lip and asked, "But what can he possibly like about me? I'm married, and I can't have children, so why would he like me?"
"Who knows?" replied Lyla. "Rich people have such strange habits. Maybe he only likes beautiful wives."
Upon hearing Lyla's words, Olivia became a little upset.
Judging by her brief contact with Mr. Sniper, he was not one of those perverts with strange habits.
On the contrary, he had an innately noble aura. Although his words and actions had not been threatening or aggressive, he had exuded an imposing attitude, like a natural-born leader.
"Okay," said Lyla, "stop thinking about it. Anyway, now that your uncle has had his surgery, you can relax."
Lyla still had work to do, so she only stayed with Olivia for a little while before receiving a phone call and having to leave.
Olivia tidied herself up so she could deliver food to her uncle.
The hospital food was not very palatable, so she bought some light and nutritious dishes and rushed to the hospital.
Her uncle was obviously overjoyed to see her, and he also looked much better.
David asked, "When Freddie came to see me yesterday, it didn't delay his work, right?"
Olivia smiled gently as she fed him and said, "It's fine, Uncle. Just take care of yourself. He knows what he's doing."
"That's good, that's good," said David, "and you two must have some time for yourselves. You don't have to waste time in the hospital with this old man. Let Janet visit me. After all, she's my biological daughter."
Janet? thought Olivia. She scoffed silently. Now that Janet was pregnant and about to enter Freddie's family, even Brenda had started treating her like a princess. She would never come all this way to deliver food to the hospital.
"Well, she's busy with her work too," Olivia said.
David got angry, saying, "What is she busy with? You gave up your chance at a prestigious school and started working to earn money so that she could study abroad. When she got back, you asked Freddie to let her work at his company. She should've compensated you, but it's still you doing all these things. You come to me every day, but she—I don't even see her shadow."
Thinking of the past, Olivia felt a dull ache in her heart.
Yes, she had done everything to help her beloved cousin. She had given up her promising future so Janet could achieve her goal. She'd had to beg Freddie for a long time until he had finally agreed to let Janet work at Waterfront Technologies.
How could she have known that Janet would ruin her marriage?
"Let's not talk about it anymore," Olivia said with a smile. "Your only job now is to take care of your health. Besides, you raised me, so it's only fair for me to take care of you."
In front of her uncle, she pretended that nothing had happened, but after leaving the hospital, she could not smile any longer.
In just three days, her life had turned from stagnant and boring to unbelievable chaos.
Her marriage had been a mistake from the very beginning.
It was better for her to get divorced than to continue living in a hopeless situation.
As for Janet…
The path she had chosen, she had chosen herself. As her big sister, Olivia had done her best.
A bell rang.
It was her cell phone.
She answered, "Hello?"
Freddie sounded harsh and impatient. "Olivia," he demanded, "were you fooling around with a man last night?"
Anger rose from the bottom of her heart. "Freddie," Olivia said, "I have time now. Let's go to the courthouse and get a divorce."
"I asked you a question," he insisted. "Answer me!"
"What's the point of you pestering me now? Yes, I was with a man. Are you satisfied?"
Freddie became even angrier. "What did I warn you about?" he reminded her. "Did you forget?"
"Then what do you want me to do?" answered Olivia. "You wanted a divorce. Okay, I promised. Your mother wants me to take nothing. All right, I don't want a penny. You want to be with Janet. I won't stop you. I've done everything to help you in the four years we've been married, and I've cooperated with whatever you've asked me to do. Freddie, we're almost divorced now. How else are you going to torment me before you decide you're satisfied?"