Chapter 7

Something was odd but I couldn’t pinpoint it ,the air was filled with a spring of disappointment and I could sense the coming trail that would await.

“Where is Katherine”I asked one of the event manager.Ofcourse they wouldn’t know,how would they,their job was just to decorate and get paid ... .well with free food.

I had kept walking through the halls till I stumbled on my family doors,I heard arguments chirping in,from Olivia back to her mother before I finally heard my fathers ruthless voice.I had heard it all,and I refuse to let that happen,never to her.

“Whatever plans you have in mind Father,call it till zero”I barged in…speaking without fear to my dad.

To him he was the emperor,filled with wrath,I was nothing like him…but I could borrow some characters when needed.

To me,he was just a spoiled parent ... .Yes, that was the right word to use for someone who would use their children just to gain a business collaboration.Like we were some scale that marked his profit and loss.

“You have already done it son,no questions asked”My father,Adrian said.

“I would not allow the future of Olivia to be tied down to mine…she is only twenty six”I said because I was so worried about what could become of her if we get married.

“Twenty six is quite ripe for marriage if you asked me”

Her mother had let her tongue in on the matter.I was so irritated I swear I could spite her.

“Nobody asked you now did they?”Mrs Dorothy had a way of subduing Olivia in every possible chance she gets,and each time I had the urge to give her a piece of my mind,because she was a good mother only to Katherine.

“I will so appreciate it if you keep your concerned thoughts to yourself ma’am “I was fed up ... .this was deception at the highest rate.

I saw Olivia’s face changing,from grief to amusement then to agony once more…every rinse of her face,every up and down in pout of her lips,her eyes and hair.She was beautiful…too beautiful not to notice.

She was too beautiful for me,and I wouldn’t allow her to be tainted by me.

“Xavier”She had called out to me,I felt her hidden tears underneath that sad yearn.Like a plea to finally live in the moment with her.

And oh God I wanted to give in,to pull her close and pull a strand of her hair,kissing her worries till it fades slowly.But not with her,it will never be with her.

“Olivia I can’t marry you”I said to her brutally,brutality was the most understood language by her.I had to end it harshly so she would never have a reason to come back,but yet she comes back fully

She said nothing,but the silence was louder than any words she had ever spoken…I was still angry with my father for this,so I took her hand tightly and dragged her to the hall corridor.Leaving the rest of the audience in awe.

“Let go of me “she said,I could feel every frustration in her body.

“You don’t want this”I said to her.

“No,you don’t want this….i don’t just want to be the source of your missed fate ”She said again,getting confident and yet shy with each breath

“I can’t go through with this ”I said again sternly.

I saw a hesitation in her before she lashed out.

“I’m I not a woman too?….what did you ever see in Katherine that you don’t see in me ... .why can’t you love me and look at me the same way I have always done for you”This was not love,it was desperation,and she needed better choices not me.

“Olivia, would you stop with your pity charade?”I said harshly to her.I was done with her looking down on herself.

Is she a woman to me?….she is a sister that is fair enough

Is she beautiful…if I had to sit and explain her beauty,you would know angels exist

But the one thing I hated was how she shrinks herself just because she wants to be seen by me

“Stop it already,you're not a child and neither I’m I your mother…you are not my leash, grow up !!”

“If you had looked at yourself well enough,groomed and had the ability to say no and stand on your ground,you won’t even have baited an eye towards someone like me.Would you stop with this act of desperation you call love”

I said it all in one breath,this girl was really getting to me,not because of how she clings to me now,but because of how she lowers herself ... .it was like I was the reason for her insecurities.

“Desperation ?….are you serious?”She asked but didn’t give me the chance to reply.

“Then fine I am desperate…I am desperate enough to see the man you are,a thing my sister will never do for me”

“You had eyes for her since I could remember,I wasn’t even an option….but to me, you were everything I needed for myself as a woman,but I know I could never be your woman…so yes I am desperately in love with you”She said with little drops of oceanic tears settling down her eyes.

“Find someone who would take care of you,not me”I had given her a dose of heartbreak and I felt guilty with each one.

I walked away.

“Young man!!”A shadow figure has called out to me,it was enough to see who it is.

My father.

He stepped closer with superiority. He held the weight of something that will make me give in to his demands.

“You coward” he said.