Chapter 1

Olivia sighed for the nth time as she leaned on the cool metal wall of the elevator. She was sleepy and exhausted. It was raining so heavily that she decided to stop at her boyfriend's house to rest before going home. She spent the night at the hospital after receiving a call telling her that her old caregiver’s condition had suddenly worsened. After a tiring night, all she could think of was sleep.

The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open before she walked out. She was feeling excited about seeing her boyfriend Samuel before he went to work. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, confirming that he should be sleeping at this time.

She input the password and silently stepped into his apartment, afraid to wake him up. She took off her shoes and looked for her slippers, but she didn’t find them in the shoe cabinet she normally put them in. She figured that she must have forgotten to put them back and just continued barefoot into the living room.

She didn’t turn on any lights, so the moment she got to the hallway, she easily discovered that the door to the study was slightly ajar, since some of the light was pouring into the hallway from the slit of the door.

She thought Sam had forgotten to turn off the lights, but those thoughts were dispelled when she heard a soft moan come from the study. Olivia didn’t even realise that she had moved so quickly towards the study.

She could hear wet smacking sounds from outside, combined with well-timed moans and grunts. She placed her hand on the door, hesitating on whether she should push it open or pretend she didn’t know anything and just go back home.

After debating with herself for a few seconds, she pushed the door open, and it opened just enough for her to see what was going on inside. Clothes were scattered all over the place, and Samuel, who was supposed to be sleeping, was currently thrusting himself into a woman she couldn’t see clearly, since she was bent over his desk.

Olivia was rooted to the spot, and even the fatigue she had been feeling was swept away entirely. In those few seconds, a plethora of emotions had gone through her, but what she found hard to stomach is the betrayal she felt.

She stood there, watching and listening to the two people having sex, her disgust being provoked again and again. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed every time she heard one of them moan. It was so unbearable she felt like she might just pass out, but her body wouldn’t let her. She was frozen on the spot, as if she was meant to burn the image she was seeing deeply in her brain.

She watched everything to the end, and continued to stand in place even as Samuel pulled up his pants, seeming ready to go.

“Are you just going to up and go? I’m still not satisfied,” a familiar voice said, and Olivia felt like someone poured a bucket of ice water over her head. She thought it was bad enough that Samuel was cheating on her, but to think that the other party would be her own sister Chloe.

“Get lost if you are done here. I don’t have time to waste,” Samuel said, clearly not holding Chloe up to much regard.

“You talk as if this was a one man show. After doing this with me for half a year, why won’t you break up with her?” Chloe asked, her previously flirtatious voice becoming aggrieved. Samuel didn’t even bother answering her. He wanted to take a shower. He was sick of the sickly sweet scent of her perfume. It was too strong and still clung to his skin. He picked up his shirt and went to open the door, only to freeze in place.

“Olivia, let me explain,” Samuel said desperately and stepped out of his study, closing the door behind him, forcing Olivia to take a step back. She didn’t argue with him and just stared straight at his face. Sam felt like he was about to lose his mind.

“How long have you been standing here? Let’s go talk in my room first,” Samuel said softly, and tried to hold her hand to pull her away, only for her to take another step back, distancing herself from him even more.

“Please Olivia, I know I’m wrong, just give me a chance to explain,” Samuel tried to persuade, unaware that the scenes Olivia witnessed were currently replaying in her head over and over again.

“Let’s end this,” Olivia said coldly. Her heart had already frozen over. She wasn’t going to wrong herself and give him the chance he was asking for.

“No, I don’t agree. It was just a mistake. Please forgive me this one time,” Samuel said desperately and reached out for her hands again, only for his own to be swatted away. He knew that if he let her go it would really be over between them.

“Please Oliv-” Sam continued to beg, only to be interrupted by a stinging pain on his cheek.

“Heh, a half year mistake?” Olivia asked and Sam, who hadn’t expected to be slapped, looked at her dumbly.

“It’s over Samuel, don’t look for me anymore,” Olivia said and walked away from.

“Olivia,” Sam stupidly called out. He didn’t have the courage to go after her after what happened, but he had some hope that maybe she would turn around just once.

“Olivia, please,” Sam continued to call as he took hesitant steps in her direction, but as he was busy hesitating, he heard the front door slam shut.

Olivia frantically pressed the elevator button while trying to hold back her tears and failing miserably. Eventually, a choked sob escaped her and a torrent of tears poured out of her eyes. When the elevator doors slid open at the ground floor, she briskly walked out of it. She felt like she was about to suffocate and she needed some air.

In her rush, she accidentally bumped into someone and apologised perfunctorily and quickly left the building without waiting for a response.

The moment she stepped out, she was completely soaked by the heavy rain but she didn’t care, she finally felt like she could breathe again, now that she was out of the apartment building. She tried walking away but she lost strength in her legs not long after. So she squatted at the corner of the building and hugged her legs as she buried her face in her knees and cried her heart out.

The rain was so heavy that she wasn’t really audible even though she was experiencing the biggest heartbreak of her life. She remembered how Samuel had chased her through university and she only accepted him after seeing him being so persistent even after he finished his senior year.

Besides the caretaker from her orphanage, no one had treated her better than him all her life. Even her adoptive parents couldn’t compare. He would take her out on dates, made sure she didn’t skip her meals, and always told her how much he loved her. The last thing she was expecting from him was to catch him sleeping with Chloe on a night when she almost lost the most important person in her life.

She suddenly felt the pelting of the rain stop and she paused her crying to see what was going on. With eyes blurred with tears and rainwater, together with the darkness of the early morning, she could barely make out the tall silhouette of a man the only thing she could perceive was the scent of pine trees. It was a sharp, sweet and refreshing scent.

“You look so miserable crying for others like this,” the stranger said to her, his voice a deep baritone. His tone was filled with the pity he felt for her but rather than get offended, she felt herself calm down.

“Don’t forget that you should be your own most precious person,” he finished and passed her a closed umbrella he was holding in his other hand. Olivia dazedly took the umbrella and before she could say a word of thanks, the man turned heel and left.

Her phone rang in her purse and she hurriedly opened the umbrella before pulling it out and taking the call.

“Why aren’t you home yet?! What have you been doing all night long?!” a shrill sharp voice shouted from the other side instantly making her cringe.

“I’m on my way back,” Olivia answered suddenly feeling exhausted.

“Hurry up! Argh! Can you be even more frustrating?!” her foster mother said in irritation and ended the call without waiting for a response. Olivia looked at her dark phone screen and laughed coldly. How can her day start so miserably? The problem is, she could already feel that everything was about to go wrong today!

Olivia wiped her teary eyes and hailed a taxi to go back home. She wanted to see what was going on since no one ever cared whether she slept at home or not before.

Chapter 2

The first thing she heard when she stepped through the front doors was her father yelling angrily in the living room. She closed the door behind her and sighed inwardly before going to the living room to join in the ‘fun’.

“What do you mean you are in love with Samuel?!” Peter, their father, shouted.

“I mean what I said. I’m not changing my mind about this!” Chloe screamed.

“How can you go fall in love with someone else?! You are engaged!” her father shouted, making Chloe roll her eyes in boredom.

“Who wants to marry him? What’s so good about such a useless person?!” Chloe argued back.

“That’s the Maxwell family!” Peter said angrily.

“So what? Isn’t he still a useless, illegitimate child?! Are you even thinking of me, or is your company more important?” Chloe countered, almost driving her father crazy.

“I don’t care about Samuel or whatever, you will still marry Alexander in two days!” their father said with finality. All this time they were arguing, no one had even noticed her presence.

“It’s impossible because I’m pregnant!” Chloe said and wanted to leave but came face to face with Olivia, who had been listening to the argument. She smiled condescendingly at her as the cogs in her mind started turning. She wasn’t really pregnant, and that is something that can be found out by a simple pregnancy test. She needed someone to substitute for her and divert her parents’ attention from her.

Meanwhile, Olivia was frozen in place when she heard Chloe say that she was pregnant. She suddenly wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of this whole situation. Even if they aren’t blood related, aren’t they still sisters? How could she proudly say this in front of her face?! Her heart boiled with hatred for the first time, but she did her best to look unfazed by the sudden news.

“You’ve finally returned. You didn’t even greet anyone. Did you expect us to stand up and greet you?” Julie, their mother, asked sarcastically with a scowl on her face. Olivia suddenly felt extremely tired. She didn’t even bother with a response and turned around, ready to leave.

“Dad, why don’t we get Olivia to marry that good for nothing? Don’t you think they’ll be well matched? An orphan and a bastard, isn’t that fitting?” Chloe said to her father and sneered at Olivia, who had stopped in her tracks after hearing what Chloe said.

“That’s reasonable. Besides, Chloe is already pregnant. What do you think?” Julie chimed in, helping her own daughter.

“You’ll marry that Maxwell boy,” Peter declared to Olivia, and she laughed with an expression of incredulity.

“Impossible,” Olivia said and was ready to leave.

“I heard your caregiver Sara is in critical condition,” Peter started, effectively stopping her in her tracks.

“We’ll provide the funds for her care, in return, marry Alexander Maxwell,” Peter continued, and Olivia sighed tiredly.

How could she refuse? She didn’t have money. In fact, she only recently graduated and hadn’t even found a job. She can’t support herself yet and still had to depend on this family even though she felt no affection for them. Sara was always there for and the only person she considered to be her family. But with her acute kidney failure, her medical expenses were piling up every day.

If the payments were delayed any longer, she feared that the hospital would discharge her and only one thing waited for her if that happen.

Peter watched Olivia, who had gone quiet for a while and was filled with hope. If Olivia married into the Maxwell family, that would be perfect! They would have a connection with the big family, even if it was through an illegitimate child.

“Do you promise?” Olivia finally asked.

“Yes, of course. Why would I lie about this?” Peter said eagerly. All she needed to do was agree!

“Fine, I’ll marry him. But make sure you keep your end of the deal, or you’ll regret it,” Olivia said and marched out of the living and up the stairs.

After taking a hot shower, she finally got the chance to sleep. With how chaotic it had been since the previous day, she fell into a dreamless sleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

*

The two days passed quickly and the wedding day had arrived. To show their family’s sincerity, her foster parents did not skimp on anything. In fact, she had been relaxing these past two days and all she had to do was pick out a wedding dress from the catalogue that was brought to her.

So on the day of the wedding, makeup artists, hair stylists, and their assistants were running around in the house getting her ready for the wedding.

“Wow, you look so beautiful,” the stylists gushed after helping her into her wedding dress. As someone who hasn’t been complimented much in her life, such simple words made her cheeks turn into an attractive pink which just made her look even prettier.

They helped her cover her face with a veil and escorted her to the car that was provided by the Maxwell family.

Everything had felt surreal until she was actually on her way to get married. Olivia started having doubts, about whether or not she was going to go through with this. With how Chloe kept talking trash about her future husband and calling him names. Added with the fact that she had never really met him, her nerves were about to get the better of her.

She was not given a chance to dwell on her thoughts as the car finally stopped at the venue. Everything happened so fast she didn’t even get the chance to ponder on her doubts as she was taken out of the car and escorted to the break room that was also beautifully decorated.

Her father came in, and gave her a lecture about how she was supposed to behave and not to do anything to shame their family. It was truly eye-opening especially since his own daughter was so unrestrained.

“It’s about time what are you two still doing here?” Julie who opened the door reminded. The guests were already waiting for the couple to enter!

“Okay, let’s go first,” Peter said and followed his wife out. Olivia also stood up and followed them out. She walked slowly because of her veil and stopped at the entrance of the hall where her future in-laws were impatiently texting and calling someone.

“Looks like even the bastard doesn’t want to marry an orphan,” Chloe who had walked over whispered and walked over to where Samuel was standing. Olivia didn’t even look in their direction and stood in place calmly in the midst of the chaos around her.

She could hear people complain about how irresponsible Alexander was to the point where he was even late to his own wedding. Olivia didn’t feel much. She only needed the Shaw family to pay for Sara’s medical expenses. Eventually, everyone was asked to go into the venue to calm the other guests as they continued to wait for the groom to arrive

Olivia stood in place as if what was happening was none of her business until she felt her surroundings stagnate.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” a familiar baritone sounds out in the hall making her raise a brow in surprise. Olivia turned her head to look at the person who was still at a distance but could only make out a vague silhouette because of her veil.

“Will you forgive me? My bride,” he continued with a hint of a smile in his voice.

Chapter 3

Olivia curiously lifted the side of her veil to see the man’s appearance and was stunned into speechlessness. The man was at least 190cm with jet black hair that was sleeked back to show off his clear forehead and amber eyes that looked like burning flames. His lips were a light pink colour and his smile exposed a row of straight white teeth and a dimple on one of his cheeks. He was truly remarkable.

Chloe had stayed back to continue to ridicule Olivia, but didn’t expect the man she thought was trash was actually going to be so stunning. Olivia looked at Chloe’s dazed expression and, for the first time that day, she wanted to laugh.

She watched as Chloe completely tossed Samuel out of her mind and rushed toward Alexander, and Olivia rolled her eyes as she let go of her veil. She did not want to partake in any drama that would occur because of Chloe’s stupidity.

Samuel was so angry at Chloe’s actions that he just turned around and went into the venue. At this point, it was too late for him to regret it. His Olivia was already going to be someone else’s and he didn’t have the right to ask her not to get married.

Alexander gave his things to the best man and went to Olivia’s side, completely ignoring Chloe, who had been chattering non-stop next to him.

“I’m really sorry for being late,” Alexander apologised again in a low voice and for the first time, Olivia felt some satisfaction for the groom. She had never met him before and the impression she had was what she had heard from her family, which wasn’t anything good. But it looked like there might be some misunderstandings, as he wasn’t as bad as she expected him to be.

“Then, shall we?” Alexander asked and offered her his arm.

Olivia nodded and placed her hand on his elbow cooperatively, catching a glimpse of a brooch on the lapel of his jacket.

As a fashion enthusiast, she recognised it immediately. It was a popular piece with insiders, and just by looking at it, she knew that the rumours that it cost two million should be true. But wasn’t Alexander a good for nothing with no job? How can he afford something at that price point if he is being shunned by his family?

Alexander noticed that her gaze lingered on his brooch and could guess the thoughts that were running around in her head. Just then, the doors in front of them opened, and they were required to walk in together.

The guests stood up to welcome the future couple, and the two walked slowly towards the altar. Alexander could still sense that Olivia was still thinking about the brooch because she kept stealing glances at it. With an amused smile, he bent his head a bit and spoke into her ear.

“Don’t worry, it’s fake. My friend lent it to me,” he whispered. When Olivia felt his warm breath on her ear, she flinched unconsciously. Alexander didn’t mind it and just stood upright again and continued walking with her to the altar.

Although it was a short interaction, Olivia had been able to catch the familiar scent of pine trees, slightly sharp, sweet and refreshing, a bit like the scent of winter. She couldn’t help but think that they have probably encountered each other before. It was elusive, but she knew for sure. His voice and scent were too familiar.

The two arrived at the altar, and the officiant started the wedding ceremony. The two of them repeated their vows to each other, an action that cemented their relationship with each other. Alexander reached into his pocket and took out the rings that he had prepared and the two of them finished going through the motions.

“I now pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the officiant said and Alexander lifted the sheer white veil from her face. Olivia saw him pause for a moment before he smiled gently at her and she quickly looked away from him.

Feeling amused, Alexander hooked his index finger and used it to lift her chin so that she would look up at him. At this moment, Olivia could feel a hot gaze burning the side of her face and she could guess how indignant Chloe was for missing out on such a handsome guy.

As she was busy amusing herself with her thoughts, the distance between them closed. Seeing his unreadable eyes, Olivia nervously closed her own before Alexander’s lips connected with hers in a gentle kiss, and as if on cue, her cheeks blushed red with shyness.

Chapter 4

Alexander had no plans to get married in the near future, so when the sudden engagement was brought up, he was quite dumbfounded. Apparently, this had been something that his mother had wished for. For him to marry the eldest daughter of the Shaw family. Since they were the ones who proposed the marriage, he figured that to make sure it was unsuccessful, he might as well behave in a way that would completely put off his fiance.

Hence his decision to act like an idler. So, for a long time, he didn’t go to work and made sure he was seen in all kinds of places. He frequented bars and clubs, and in no time, news of his behaviour had spread in their circle. What was surprising, however, was the fact that even with such a scandalous life, his future in-laws weren’t taking the initiative to break off the engagement.

He had been hopeful that they would cancel up until the day of the wedding, but after waiting for a long time, there was no news. It looked like his in-laws and the future bride did not have a bottom line, so he reluctantly attended the wedding, hence his tardiness.

But after arriving at the venue, he was surprised by her quiet nature and shyness. She thought he didn’t notice her, but he saw her when she was stealing looks at him through her veil earlier. And when he lifted her veil off her face, he was almost struck dumb by the beauty in front of him.

A pair of hazel eyes shyly looked at him before they were hidden away when she looked down once more. Being looked at like that made his fingers itch.

He wanted to see her face again, so he lifted her chin, tilting her face up so that she looked at him once more. Her lips were plump and full. They only put some gloss on them since her makeup was delicate. With a pair of hazel eyes that looked pure and innocent, he almost fell into a daze looking at her.

When he softly kissed her lips, his heartbeat quickened, so he didn’t linger for longer, even though he was tempted to do so. After pulling back slightly, he saw her blushing cheeks, and he didn’t notice the hint of a smile that was playing on his lips.

He had heard that the eldest daughter of the Shawn family was quite unrestrained and wanton, so seeing her become so shy just from a kiss was quite the surprise for him.

Their intimate moment didn’t last long as loud cheers rang out throughout the hall, with the guests clapping and whistling enthusiastically. This just made the bride blush even harder and look down at her toes.

“Who knew you’d be so shy?” Alex teased Olivia, making her glare at him. Rather than being a deterrent, he was tempted to see how far he could go. But he wasn’t given the chance to do as they were already surrounded by people who had come forward to congratulate them.

As this was happening, Olivia caught Chloe looking at Alexander like a starving man who saw a piece of meat. She already felt embarrassed on her behalf. She could only imagine how Samuel, who was walking with her, felt inside. She didn’t know that from the moment Alexander had lifted her veil, Samuel’s eyes never left her.

“Olivia,” Chloe called when she saw that the couple was about to ignore her to deal with other guests. Olivia had no choice but to stop and wait for her ‘sister’ to reach them.

“I just thought we should get an introduction,” Chloe said and this time Olivia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. When alexander saw this, he couldn’t help but think that his new wife seemed to have a cute side.

“Hi, my name is Chloe, and this is my boyfriend Samuel,” Chloe said to Alexander, not even glancing in Samuel’s direction as her eyes remained fixated on Alexander.

“Oh,” Alexander finally responded, not bothering with her anymore. When he saw that Olivia also looked bored, he planned to take her away with him.

“I’ve just heard about your circumstances, and I thought as your sister-in-law I should help out,” Chloe said, drawing Alexander’s attention back to herself. Now Alex was intrigued. He wanted to hear what this brazen woman had to say.

“You see, my boyfriend here is from the Floyd family. If you’ll ever need a job, he can get you a position at their company, maybe you could try to start with the position of security guard, then maybe you could move higher up. Of course, it’ll depend on your abilities,” Chloe said, and looked at him from head to toe suggestively.

Alex felt like worms were crawling on his skin just from her look and was extremely disgusted. Rather than the eldest daughter, isn’t this adopted sister even more unrestrained? He felt like there was something wrong with the information he had received about his wife.

“I didn’t know you started working with the Floyds. You now have the ability to hire security guards?” Olivia asked Chloe, making her nervously look at Samuel, who was unimpressed by her actions.

“You should learn to control her, don’t you know your girlfriend well enough?” Olivia said to Samuel whose eyes had been fixated on her the whole time. She was feeling bored with the two of them so she grabbed Alexander’s hand without thinking and left with him.

Alexander watched the course of events with interest and wondered if the reports he received were accurate. The research on the eldest daughter of the Shaw family showed that she was very promiscuous, but this trait didn’t seem to exist with his bride.

He also wondered what was up with that Samuel guy. Although he looked nonchalant, he actually noticed his gaze when he looked at his wife. There was embarrassment and shame in his eyes whenever Olivia looked at him but she was very cold in contrast, as if she was looking at a stranger.

It looked like his wife seemed to be hiding quite a few things. So far, he didn’t even know if the wife he had researched and the one he had married were the same person. It looked like his life was about to get even more interesting!

Chapter 5

Olivia sat stiffly on the passenger’s seat with her hands on her lap while nervously fiddling with her own fingers. Her thoughts were racing and she didn’t even know where she should start stressing about.

The fact that she was now a married woman, and somebody’s wife was finally dawning on her. Especially since she just met her husband today? There was a row of question marks in her head that she didn’t even know how to start to address.

“We’re here,” Alexander said as he turned off the headlights and turned off the car. The soft purr of the engine disappeared, plunging them into deafening silence.

Olivia looked at the apartment complex in front of them without much reaction and then turned to look at Alexander who was studying her expression.

“Shall we?” he finally asked and Olivia nodded tiredly.

The two got off the car and Alex went to the trunk to take out Olivia’s bags. Olivia held the train of her dress in her hands and slowly followed after Alexander who was effortlessly carrying her luggage.

They got into the elevator and stopped on the fifth floor. Alexander stopped in front of his door and input his password.

“Watch carefully and remember it,” Alex reminded Olivia before he put in the code. The door unlocked and he let her go inside first.

He closed the door after also stepping into the apartment and turned on the lights. Olivia finally got a first hand view of the apartment. It was more like a bachelor pad on a budget.

From where she was standing she could see a small living room and an open kitchen with a round dining table on one side. The only other thing there was a small balcony at the front and two doors. She automatically assumed that they were bedrooms but became disillusioned when Alexander opened it.

“This is the storage area, all cleaning supplies are stored here. You can also use the washing machine freely,” he said introducing her to the other room. At this point, Olivia was screaming internally even though she was maintaining a neutral expression on her face.

“That’s the kitchen, living room,” Alexander pointed out with his fingers before opening the door to the other room.

“This is going to be our bedroom,” Alexander finished and beckoned for her to come over.

“Just sit on the bed,” Alex said and felt a bit sorry inside. If they had gotten the opportunity to meet before today, maybe she wouldn’t be so awkward and nervous around him.

Olivia was still uncertain but she did as she was told. Alexander shrugged off his suit jacket and pulled off his tie before he started unbuttoning his shirt. The silence in the room was almost deafening.

Olivia didn’t think Alex would start undressing in front of her out of nowhere. He was acting as if he was completely unbothered by her presence. The issue was, that she couldn’t just walk out now since she had been called to sit on the bed.

She noticed that not just his living space but his bedroom was also well organised. There was no clutter or anything on the floor. The bed wasn’t too big but she figured that two people could sleep on it comfortably. When her eyes circled back to him, Olivia almost choked on her spit.

Alexander was standing in front of his wardrobe with no shirt on, he was rummaging through his things so she could clearly see how the muscles on his wide back flexed with each movement. It wasn’t like she had never seen a man naked, she had seen Samuel when he was busy with Chloe… She suddenly shook her head to prevent her straying thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” Alexander asked with a raised eyebrow. Olivia looked up at him and then immediately turned to look away. She couldn’t have guessed it before, but his body was really sculpted. His muscles were well defined and not bulky, from his pectorals to his abs. Even his obliques were clearly defined.

Alexander looked at her now red cheeks and ears and smiled in amusement. It looked like she was really shy, there was no way she was this good of an actress.

“I’m going to take a shower first, care to join me?” Alex asked and laughed when he saw her reaction. Having enough of teasing her, he picked up his pyjamas and went to the bathroom. It was only when the bathroom door clicked shut that Olivia was able to release the breath she was holding.

She pat her cheeks as if to help herself recover her senses and opened one of her suitcases to take out her pyjamas and some of her skincare products. She took off the wedding dress while carefully listening to the running shower through the bathroom door and wore her robe before closing her suitcase. She’d have to talk to Alex about where she can put her things.

Alexander didn’t take long in the bathroom and soon came out. He was wearing his pyjamas but didn’t bother to button up the shirt, so Olivia kept catching glimpses of his lean torso.

“Are you hungry?” Alexander asked her as he towel-dried his hair. With his damp hair covering his forehead, his features looked much softer and boyish than they had before.

“Hungry?” he repeated with a smile and Olivia almost got dazed by the appearance of his dimples.

“Yes, a bit,” she finally answered.

“Is there anything you want? I’ll order in,” Alexander said and went to take his phone that was on the bed.

“I’m not picky,” Olivia said and Alex nodded.

“You take your time, I’ll be in the living room,” Alexander said and left the room to her. He could see that she was still not comfortable around him.

After Alex left, Olivia went to take a shower too, although it took her longer since she had to remove her makeup and wash her hair. By the time she was done grooming herself, the food had already arrived.

“Food is ready,” Olivia heard Alex say through the door after a brief knock.

“Coming,” she responded and quickly finished braiding her hair and went to the living room. Alexander was already waiting for her at the dining table. She only saw him typing something in his phone while looking serious. She went ahead and sat across from him and he promptly put down his phone.

“Let’s eat,” he said and picked up his cutlery, and the two of them started eating. He didn’t get too much, it was too late in the night to have a big meal anyway.

Alexander watched Olivia as he slowly ate and the cogs in his brain turned as he tried to figure out how he could reassure her of their marriage, since both of them weren’t willing to marry each other anyway.

“I know that you didn’t want to get married,” Alexander said when they were almost finished with their meal. Olivia wasn’t expecting him to bring this up suddenly so she raised her brows in surprise.

“Honestly, I also didn’t want to marry you either. I don’t really need a wife right now,” he continued and Olivia put down her fork to listen to him. Seeing that he had her full attention, he went straight to the point.

“We both aren’t in love with each other, but since we are married, we should atleast try to make this work somehow, right?” Alexander said after he too put down his cutlery.

“I agree,” Olivia said and rested her elbows on the table, she was visibly more at ease after hearing his words.

“So, what do you think a nominal couple to outsiders?” Alexander asked her and Olivia thought about it carefully.

“Of course, we won’t interfere with each other’s private lives,” Alex added.

“Okay, I can play the role of a wife for you, but you can’t meddle with my affairs,” Olivia said in agreement. This was the only way they could live comfortably with each other.

“I’ll also play my role as your husband well. Of course, if you have other physical needs, I can help you out,” Alex said to her, his eyes filled with teasing.

“That won’t be necessary,” Olivia said seriously and a spark of interest lit up in his eyes.

“You are the eldest daughter of the Shawn family, right?” Alexander suddenly asked, startling Olivia, but she continued to maintain a calm expression.

“What makes you think I’m not?” Olivia asked him wondering what she had done to alert him.

“According to the rumours, you should have quite the appetite for men, but when I offered to help you out with your… urges, you refused so quickly,” Alexander said while carefully studying her expression. Olivia felt so wronged she wanted to throw something. She complained inwardly about how Chloe couldn’t keep it in her pants and resisted the urge to sigh tiredly.

“You really won’t need my help?” Alexander asked her and received a firm no once more and his expression grew serious.

“Olivia, I’m not expecting you to be keeping men outside when we are married,” Alexander said seriously.

“Me neither,” Olivia responded just as seriously and Alex’s expression eased immediately.

“Are you sure you won’t need my help though?” Alex teased once more and received a snort from Olivia which made him chuckle. The atmosphere between them had eased out significantly.

Olivia was only worried that the marriage might fall through once Alexander found out that she wasn’t actually the eldest daughter of the Shawn family. Knowing her family, they might renege on their promise to provide the funds for Sara’s treatment.