تسجيل الدخولOlivia Barnett POV
Josh carried me out of the hotel and into his waiting car. This was different from the one I borrowed from him.
“What about the car I used?”I panicked when the driver started the engine, and the car was pulling out of the entryway.
“I already ordered it to be taken by one of the staff. It&
Olivia Barnett POVOur entire conversation had been cut off when Lucy called me.“Hey, the kids are dying for their ice cream, so I already let them order. What has been taking you so long?” The intrigue in her voice was unmistakable.She even tailed it with a laugh that was meant to embarrass me.“We’re coming,” I told her in a serious tone. My hand reached for the pull handle to open it. I hurriedly got out.I was already walking to the entrance of the ice cream house when I heard Josh’s footsteps behind me. He snagged my hand and linked our fingers together.I would have protested, but he was begging me. “Please. Just let me hold your hand for a while.”Something in his tone made me relent. We walked toward the entrance holding hands. It would have been just a normal act. Two people entered an establishment with their fingers interlaced, but I had forgotten that the man beside me was no ordinary man.He commands attention as the sole heir of the Sterling conglomerate.His face was
Olivia Barnett POVWhat is he playing at?Why is it that he was still in possession of my ring after all these years? Don’t tell me he had clung to it. For what? Remembrance?“Wow! The rock is big!” Zoe’s eyes grew large when the diamond twinkled in the light cast by the moonlight.“Let me see,” Ivy said and scooted closer so she could look more closely.“That is the ring I gave your Mommy when I married her,” Josh told the children, and they all looked awed.“It’s even bigger than the ring Uncle Zeke gave you.” Leo announced, causing his father to look at me with that hated smug smile of his.
Olivia Barnett POVI wanted to reject the idea right away, but it died down the moment I heard Ivy and Zoe shout out in glee. They were giggling and clapping their hands, too. Their faces were flushed. It does not take a genius to conclude that they were both happy with how things are unfolding.They also hugged Josh’s neck approvingly. Their arms are looping around him.“Thank you, Daddy!”“That’s cool, Dad!”They both cried out in unison.I was silent the whole time, watching them and their father.I believe that I could not be a buzzkill. They were all happy, and I could not take that happiness away from them just so I could make my point.From above their heads, I met Josh’s smug look, but it only earned him an eye-roll from me. I didn’t like that he was using my children against me. And the glare I gave him was enough to make him realize that.The smirk died on his lips when he saw the murderous expression on my face.If it were five years ago, I would have been delighted to see
Olivia Barnett POVMy phone buzzed.Actually, it had been buzzing for a while now. I was sure it was Lucy. Knowing the triplets' impatience, I was sure they put her up to it, and demanded she call me.I ignored Josh’s statement and made a beeline for the door, not caring whether he followed me out.“The children are getting restless,” Lucy said when I answered her call.“Coming,” I told her, and heard Josh’s heavy footsteps behind me. He grabbed my arm. I thought he would pull me back to resume our argument, but to my surprise, he only linked our hands together.“Josh.”He nudged toward the waiting elevator. His hand was still holding mine like he did not want to let go. It was the same thing he did back at the hotel.“Just let me hold you like this, please.”I did not respond. But I did not snatch my hand back, either, allowing us to hold hands.When we arrived at the hospital entrance, Josh’s Rolls-Royce was already there, waiting. The engine hums steadily. The back passenger door w
Olivia Barnett POVHe pulled me close and pressed his forehead to my forehead. Our chests rise and fall at the same time. Our breaths mingled.His eyes hovered over my face, watching, waiting.It made me feel self-conscious. And I hate to admit it, but Josh Morgan Sterling is the only man who can affect me like this.Even as the years passed. He still has power over me.And that scares me right out of my skull.So, I pushed him, rejecting the offer.I can’t be vulnerable again to the man who had repeatedly hurt me in the past.That would be stupidity.I already got out of the spiral. I shall not go back there again to be buried alive.“How can you fix what’s been broken?” I don’t see any way around it, except by trusting him again, and right now, I can’t.My heart was still fragile from all the pain that I had endured from him.“Try me. Give me a chance, Olivia.”I shook my head because until now, I couldn’t do that.The trauma he left in me shattered me. If it weren’t for the three c
Olivia Barnett POVI wanted to burst out in uninhibited laughter when I saw the expression on his face. He looked like he had lost an important deal at a meeting table.“Not fair.” He growled in my ear before he pulled back to help the kids while they jumped out of bed.Despite the distance he put between us, I could still feel my heart hammering in my chest. My breathing was uneven, too. It felt like I was back to the day when I realized I had special feelings for Josh Morgan Sterling.I shook my head no. It can’t. Josh was just a part of the past. He was someone whose presence I needed to tolerate for my children’s sake.I bent my head. The exhaustion of the day was catching up to me. Apart from that
Olivia Barnett POVMy hands flew to my mouth in shock.So she was still around? That Daisy Cobbs?I inhaled a deep breath. Every indrawn seemed to be agonizingly painful. Not because I learned that the person who proclaimed herself my nemesis is still around Josh, but more because I do not want the
Olivia Barnett POVJosh’s attention was all on Grandpa Jonathan that he failed to notice the presence of his lawyer and two other people in the room.“Grandpa, y
Olivia Barnett POVAt the entrance, one of the guards did a double-take when he saw me. He was one of the oldest employees of the company.“Olivia?”“Carl?” I bit my lip when I recognized him.He clutched at his chest, and his eyes reddened. “You are back!” He exclaimed, and then his eyes swept ove
Olivia Barnett POVA look of pure hatred crossed over my features. This time, I did not try to cover up the knowledge that I knew of his plans for the children and me five years ago.“No, Via. You don’t understand.”A bitter smile curled my lips spitefully. The look on his face as he tried to implo







