OLIVIA
"Come on, Liv. You can't seriously want to marry the very same man who has been against the business for the longest time," Liam said, touching my arm.
I glared at his fingers, my gaze going to the photo and how these very same fingers had been wrapped around Emily's throat, around her breasts.
He had some nerve to touch me.
"Already married," I corrected him, making sure to keep my tone as cool as possible.
"I am already married to Enrique."
"Say something," he turned to my father for help.
My dad turned to me.
"Olivia, think about it. I know Liam has done something extremely grievous, and I am going to make sure he pays for it, but—"
"Grievous?" I stopped him. "He was cheating on me with Emily on our fucking wedding day."
I could feel the beginning of a headache.
"It's not what you think," Liam whined. "She came onto me."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I chuckled.
"Stop this," my father snapped.
"You are both adults, and this can be sorted out as adults. Liam is going to resign, and—"
"Rob," Liam started.
"You are going to resign," my father reiterated. "And then this will be sorted out as a family. Olivia, you will be granting an interview to dispel the rumors, and then we would—"
"I will be doing no such thing," I stopped him.
"Listen, I know you are hurt and angry, and this should not even be happening, but I am going to need you to put the company and our family first before any petty feud you might have with Liam."
I could not believe what he was saying.
My own father.
"Petty feud?" I scoffed. "He cheated on me with my best friend! And God knows how long they have been going at it, and you think I am being petty because I do not want to be engaged or married to his cheating, lying ass?"
"Olivia," my father began.
I got to my feet, not wanting to hear anything else from him.
"I will be granting an interview," I told him. "But it will be to announce my marriage to Enrique to the world, not to save your business and most definitely not to save this fucking asshole."
I heard my father call out to me, but I chose to ignore him.
In the past, I would have believed he loved me.
Granted, I wasn't the son he had always wanted, but he found that respite with Liam, and everything had been perfect until yesterday.
I felt a hand grab and spin me around.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Liam spat, his eyes angry.
This was the real him.
I was finally seeing the asshole he was.
"Let go of me."
"You are going to ruin everything with this," he spat. "I know you are angry, but think about the business and what you are about to do to it before you go on to make a fool of us in front of the whole world."
"Are you even listening to yourself?"
He rolled his eyes, his grip tightening on my arm.
"You're being emotional, Liv, and I can understand this. I will give you space, time… take as much as you want or need, but for the love of God, do not do this."
"You know, since all this began, I haven't heard a word of apology from you. You are not sorry for this, Liam. You are only sad that you got fucking caught," I stated.
He stared at me, not saying a thing.
"I didn't think so." I retrieved my arm from him, walking away and out of the building into the waiting car.
Enrique turned to me as soon as I slid into the seat.
"Are you okay?" he asked immediately.
"I am fine. Can we leave?" I muttered, my voice shaky.
He gestured to the driver, who started the ignition and backed away from the office building. It was the one place that wasn't swarmed with reporters.
"You should have let me come in with you," he commented.
"It would have been a fiasco, and that's what I was trying to avoid," I told him.
"What did your father say?"
"He wants me to do an interview and clear up the misunderstanding, and in exchange, he asked Liam to resign."
"Maldito cabrón," he muttered under his breath.
I had no idea what it meant, but I assumed it was offensive, judging by the way his eyes flashed as he said it.
"What do you want to do?" he asked, his voice gentle.
I turned to him, my eyes glistening with tears.
It was shocking how, out of all the men in my life, it was this stranger who would ask me for my opinion.
Not even my own father had wanted to know what I wanted.
"An interview," I said.
His eyes darkened at this.
"You are going to go ahead with what your father says," he stated, a tinge of disappointment in his tone.
"No," I corrected him. "I am going to announce our marriage."
I watched his lips curl up into a grin and his eyes flash with admiration.
He put out his hand, and I placed mine on it, watching as he gently squeezed.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Doing this would mean not being on the best of terms with your father, and I know you do not want that."
He was right, I did not want it, but my father had not chosen me.
All my life, I wanted to be that child for him… the heir he never had, and at the first sign of trouble, he had gone ahead to pick Liam.
It did not matter.
From that moment on, I made a pact to live for myself.
This marriage was only a contract… one year, and in that year, I was going to make a name for myself as Olivia and not the daughter of Robert Baker.
"My father has made his choice," I cleared my throat, my eyes steady on his face.
Enrique flashed me a dark grin.
"You look so fucking sexy when you are being rebellious, Olivia."
That caught me by surprise, and what was even more surprising was the way my body reacted to his compliment.
It was like a quiver that shook my legs and ricocheted up my spine.
What would one year of being married to this man look like if just his words had this much effect on me?
One could only wonder.
I cleared my throat, and he cast me a knowing look that had me blushing to the roots of my hair.
"I am open to it too, mi querida," he said, chuckling low in his throat.
Did he just call me his darling?
"In your dreams," I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest to hide the sudden jut of my nipples that showed my arousal.
Stupid lace bra, I thought.