Chapter 3: A Father’s Bargain

Olivia’s POV

Dawn scratches the room through the slightly parted blinds. Birds chirp beautifully, hanging on the low branches of the tree right by the window. With the morning sun cascading its warmth into the room, it looks even more beautiful than it did last night.

The book holds most of it in, the lights bouncing off them. My gaze turns to Mr. Hill, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Most of the guests should have gone right now and…

I sit up suddenly when I remember. My friends! They would be looking for me.

Slowly getting out of his bed, I search for my dress on the ground, but when I find it, it is in no shape to be worn. I remember last night, and red patches burn on my cheeks. I have to put on something if I want to leave now.

My eyes scan the room again and I see his discarded slacks on the floor. Shrugging into that, I walk into the closet and find a row of perfectly organized t-shirts. They are all in the same color. Black.

Taking the one at the top, I shrug it on, grab my heels and slowly peel out of the room. The hallway is quiet, with most of the guests gone. When I make my way downstairs, and out of the house, I find my friends waiting in the driveway, worried expressions in their eyes.

“Where the hell have you been?” Angela begins, then halts, doing a double-take. “And what is that you’ve got on? Olivia, did you…how…”

“It is a long story,” I sigh, avoiding their gazes as I race towards the car. They follow closely behind, saying nothing.

Nothing to me.

But they whisper amongst themselves, trying to figure out what I have been doing all night. I ignore the red patch on my face and the head it brings as I slide into the back seat. Just as we pull out of the driveway, my phone rings.

I want to ignore it. It is such a beautiful day to ruin it all with a phone call. But I hit the green button and press the phone against my ears. My friends regard me from the rearview mirror when my countenance drops.

“Olivia,” my mother whispers. “Don’t come home. Don’t go anywhere people can see you, okay? Your father…” She swallows and the line crackles with a choked sob I have never heard. “They have him.”

***

I find myself in Los Angeles that evening, with the only available flight left up for purchase. I am going to be missing my valedictory service and all the partying and celebrations that usually follow, but all of that is inconsequential where my parents are concerned.

We might not be the best of friends but I know they care about me in their own way.

But when I roll my suitcase into the living room, my feet falter as I take in the scene before me. My lips part open then shut again. I try to wrap my head around what is actually going on, but instead, I get a migraine that teases the entirety of my being.

“Dad,” I whisper, abandoning the suitcase by the door and sauntering in. “I thought...Mom said…”

“Honey,” my mom gushes, getting on her feet and walking into my arms. “Oh my God! I am so relieved to have you here.”

“I don’t get it…”

“It’s been hell since you’ve been gone.” She smells of pine and floral powder, and it brings back memories of when life was a lot easier. When there were no expectations and no changes that took me hours away from home.

“I don’t understand,” I breathe, pulling away from her embrace slowly. “You said Dad was in danger. You said they had him. He is sitting right here.”

“Not for long,” he cuts in, walking over to me. “But we don’t; want to overwhelm you with everything that has been going on so why don’t you just go upstairs, have a warm bath, and then, we’ll talk.”

I shake my head. “No, Dad. I just travelled all the way from France because Mom was frantic on the phone. I thought something bad had happened.”

“Something bad happened,” my dad murmurs as my mom comes to stand by my side, placing a hand on my back. I have a feeling I won’t like what will come next.

“The company…I…”

“Dad?”

“I have been accused of fraud and corruption, and I am losing everything.”

A loud silence pierces through the living area. The words feel so strange to me. The Osvaldo family has never lacked.

Never.

We don’t bother about things the average person frets about, and some words never tumble out of our lips, like loses.

“How?”

“I was picked up by the authorities.”

“I was so scared honey,” my mother whispers beside me. “They came in here and turned the whole place upside down. They took our devices, documents…”

My eyes scan the space. It doesn’t look a hair out of place.

“How did you get out, Dad?”

Something falters in his gaze. “Honey, we can talk about that later. You have just had a long flight and you need to…”

“Did you make a decision on my behalf, Dad?” It won’t be the first time. It was the reason I ran away in the first place.

“You’ll like this one,” he says earnestly, as if trying to convince me. “You remember my friend, Booker?”

Everything in me halts. “What about them?”

“He helped me get out of jail. He used his connections and…. I guess what I am trying to say is that you are to…to get married to his son, Teddy.”

An awkward chuckle falls from my lips as I look at my mother. “Is this the reason you sounded so frantic on the phone? Was Dad sitting next to you when you made that call?”

“Olivia…”

“Of course, you knew I would come running home the minute you say something like that! Oh my God! It has been years but I am still such a fool.”

“No honey,” my dad drawls, pulling closer to me. I flinch away from his touch. “At least, consider it. I am going to return to jail if you don’t marry him and then, every single thing I have worked hard for…think about your mother and how heartbroken she will be.”

Of course. It is always about them and not me.

“I’m not doing this, Dad,” I whisper, shaking my head.

“Mr. Brooker has requested dinner tonight for his son to meet you,” he announces, his tone going from pleading to serious. “Olivia, get your bag upstairs and prepare for it. I am not going back to jail.”