Chapter 12
Leonard's anger flared. His hand twisted into a fist and his face tightened, "How dare you talk back at me?!" He made an angry move to lash out at James, but Olivia stopped him.
"Stop, Dad. Please, stop." Olivia said calmly but Leonard's anger didn't cool down. His face remained contorted with anger.
"I'll handle this." She added and walked to James, pointing her finger at her, "Did you realize you're talking to my father? Or have you gone crazy or something?!"
James only looked at her, his chest tightening. He didn't want the whole situation to linger further so he sighed annoyedly and walked away.
"Such a dirty pig he is," Leonard sneered after him, "no wonder, he's been given a gate guard post." He added, his face filled with disgust.
James heard him but didn't turn around.
A few minutes later, when he got to his room, he slammed the door gently and fell on the bed, shaking off the words of his family.
As he lay on the bed, his face staring at the ceiling, a small smile played softly on his face. Just then, he sat up on the bed, his smile not fading away.
He reached out his hand into his pocket and brought out the black card, his smile now widening, "$900,000 in this?" He asked himself, disbelief crossing his eyes. "That's a huge amount of money to spend," he added.
There was a moment of brief silence in the room as he flipped the card continuously. He then said, remembering how everyone had been treating him, "They will regret treating me badly when they get to know that I'm way richer than all those guys they constantly compare me with."
As he muttered, the knob of the door twisted, and he quickly shoved the black card into his pocket and jumped up from the bed.
Olivia walked in and seemed to notice something. She eyed him suspiciously, "What were you doing?" She asked, closing the door behind her.
James looked at her, shaking his head, "Me? Nothing."
Olivia frowned at him. She sighed and said, "Okay," before retrieving her laptop from the table and sitting quietly on the bed, navigating through the laptop.
James glanced at her for a brief moment without saying anything. Olivia, on the bed, noticed he was looking at her but she chose to remain quiet, engrossed with her laptop.
Still standing there, James removed his clothes, which exposed his smooth body. He gently placed it down and then held his trousers, about to unzip it.
But Olivia shot him a sharp look, "What are you trying to do?" She asked, frowning.
"Going to take my bath," James replied, feeling neutral.
"And you want to undress in my presence. Are you okay?"
James raised an eyebrow at her, "What do you mean? Is there anything wrong with me undressing in your presence?" Confusion etched on his face. "What's wrong with you seeing my body? Aren't we married?"
"Married, my foot!" Olivia scoffed and got up from the bed, her face filled with irritation. She then added, her tone sharp, "We are just husband and wife on paper! Nothing more than that! And that act so foolish because of the privilege of letting you share my room."
She barked and paused. James smiled, "Continue," he teased, "you really look beautiful when you're angry."
Olivia found it funny. She wanted to smile but she composed her demeanor, remaining furious.
"I only made a harmful comment and you're already displaying anger. Too bad," he continued, shaking his head.
He walked to Olivia, his bare body leaning toward Olivia. She looked at it, her body shaking uncomfortably. She felt something she couldn't tell.
"Why not close your eyes and let me undress or you kindly exit the room?" James whispered lowly to her ear, his voice carrying warmth.
Olivia wanted to push him backward, but realizing he was barely wearing a shirt, she shifted backward and warned, "This is my room, and I give you twenty minutes to finish whatever you're doing!"
Her hand moved swiftly, retrieving her laptop from the bed. With that in her hand, she exited the room, slamming the door and heading downstairs.
As she left, James smiled, shaking his head, "Love is undeniable, Olivia. Although, you act like you don't love me but I can feel it from both your words and actions."
He paused and resumed after taking a deep breath, looking at the door's direction where Olivia exited from, "You're only acting coldly towards me because you still think I'm poor. But you're just clueless about my true identity and you will love me like never before once you realise who I am. However, not today nor even tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Olivia descended downstairs gently with her laptop held carefully in her hand. It was an iPhone laptop, which she got at $ 2000.
But currently, it has been sold at $6,000 and she didn't want to lose it.
As she stepped down, she noticed all her family members were still seated in the living room, watching TV.
Evelyn, her mother, was the only person who wasn't in the room. She took her seat quietly, not wanting to disrupt the calm moment in the room.
As Olivia began to operate through her laptop, her eyes focused. Grandma Aurora watched her from the opposite seat, nodding impressively.
"You look busy. Working on something?" Grandma Aurora asked, her voice calm.
Olivia paused, looking up from the laptop and she nodded. "Yes, Granny. I'll be paying a visit to young Master Joshua Arthur tomorrow. And I'm trying to connect with him via Zoom."
Grandma Aurora and Leonard were over the moon. "You mean the popular young Master Joshua, the only son of the influential family? You're going to meet with him tomorrow?"
Grandma Aurora and Leonard couldn't believe their ears.
"Yeah." Olivia nodded, "we crossed paths today when I was returning from the office, and he invited me for a dinner night this evening by 5."
Grandma Aurora's eyes flew open with surprise. And she was also elated. She was about to talk when a voice that irritated them spoke up, interjecting, "And you wholeheartedly accepted without declining?"