Javier watched as Olivia ran to him with her arms spread, and she wrapped them around his neck. Javier turned and glanced back at his family, who were smiling broadly at Olivia’s drastic reaction.
Olivia took advantage of Javier’s calm expression and that of his family, and tried to lean over to kiss his lips. However, Javier was quick to stylishly push her away without raising any suspicion from his grandpa. Instead, he leaned over as if he wanted to kiss her chin and whispered softly, “Your breath stinks.” He smirked.
Olivia quickly moved away from him, feeling a little embarrassed, as her gaze shifted to Helen, who already had her arms stretched out, urging her to come for a hug.
“Olivia, the eldest daughter of Alverdo and the late Riley, right?” Grandpa Inder inquired, a smile spreading across his lips.
“Yes, father. And she is a very good and well-mannered girl. She is the girl Javier is getting married to,” Reyes disclosed, also smiling, and Inder nodded in agreement.
After a short silence between them, “I wondered why you never invited Marcus, your brother, to your son’s engagement party. Why?” Inder asked, even though he knew all too well that Reyes and Marcus had always been at odds with each other. However, he still hoped that things would work out between his two sons.
“Father, please, I don’t want any more trouble. The trouble his son is causing here is already enough. I don’t want any more,” Reyes muttered, his once-smiling face melting into an angry one as he tried so hard not to recall what Marcus had done to him in the past. It still hurt him to this day, and he couldn’t seem to forget it that easily.
Olivia quickly broke away from the hug and dashed over to stand in front of Inder. “Good day, grandpa,” she giggled as she greeted him and gave him a hug, which he returned.
Javier couldn’t contain the anger welling up inside of him. He was seething as he kept wondering what had brought her here.
“How are you, my beautiful daughter?” Inder asked.
“I’m fine, grandpa,” Olivia responded, giggling.
The door suddenly burst open again, revealing Alverdo. He walked in and respectfully bowed his head. “Good day, sir,” he greeted humbly, extending his hand for a handshake and smiling widely.
“Now that everyone is here, let’s have some snacks for refreshments. Shall we?” Helen announced as everyone nodded in agreement, and they all took a seat in the large sitting area. The servants began bringing out a tray of cookies and wines from the kitchen.
Javier was already feeling overwhelmed by Alverdo and Olivia’s presence, so he quickly moved to walk away. “Javier, come and sit with us,” his mother motioned for him to come closer.
Javier checked his watch. “Mom, I have to be somewhere right now,” Javier tried to protest, but his mother was not having it.
“You can’t leave on an empty stomach. Don’t worry, come, I will feed you,” she insisted, coming towards him with a tray of cookies in her hand, trying to shove one piece of it in his mouth.
“Come on, mom. I’m not a baby,” Javier objected, but he reluctantly opened his mouth for his mother to feed him the cookie, knowing that she wouldn’t let it go if he didn’t.
“No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my baby,” she said, playfully pinching his nose as the rest of the family laughed. Helen looked at her son, silently urging him to stay, and after a moment of hesitation, Javier nodded and joined the family.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Marcus, Reyes’ younger brother, entered the room unannounced. As everyone was so engrossed in their discussion, they never noticed his presence.
“Since no one bothered to invite me to my niece’s engagement party, I decided to invite myself instead,” he announced loudly, making his presence known.
The entire family turned in the direction of the voice, and their jaws dropped the moment they saw Marcus. Javier was the first to stand up from his seat. “Uncle Marcus!” he exclaimed, walking towards him for a hug, which Marcus reciprocated wholeheartedly.
“You look so big and handsome!” he complimented, ruffling Javier’s hair. “Come and show me the lucky….”
“I am the lucky woman. My name is Olivia, Javier’s wife-to-be,” Olivia stood up from her seat and interrupted Marcus, giggling childishly.
Marcus stood as his nose flared up in anger because he hates being interrupted when talking. However, the moment he raised his gaze, he was stunned to see who was standing in front of him. “The city whore?!” Marcus loudly exclaimed, as he quickly turned his gaze to his brother, and with furrowed eyebrows, he began approaching Reyes, who had been fuming in rage the moment Marcus stepped into his house. However, Marcus cared less about his threatened expression and stood in front of him. “Reyes, you aren’t getting your son married to that whore, are you?” he demanded, glaring into his brother’s eyes.
“Don’t you dare call my daughter a whore! Javier is marrying my daughter because he humiliated her in front of the whole world,” Alverdo angrily retorted, unable to stand by and watch someone insult his daughter.
Marcus chuckled softly and slowly veered, “What about those who shamelessly shared your daughter’s sex video online? Why didn’t you get her married to them for releasing her sex tape online, why my niece?” Marcus angrily fired back and stormed towards Javier, grabbing his hand and pulling him closer. “If anyone is forcing you into this marriage, talk to me….”
“Marcus, Javier is no longer a child. He agreed to this marriage, that’s why we fixed it. If you are here to cause trouble, you better leave,” Reyes interrupted, pointing at the door.
Marcus never looked away from Javier, waiting for him to speak. Javier, however, remained unmoved, as he had already set his plan in motion. He had paid some hoodlums to destroy and burn down Natalie’s shop, knowing that that would be the only way for her to accept his proposal, after losing everything.
“Javier, talk to me,” Marcus urged, but Javier’s phone rang loudly, interrupting him. Javier excused himself and went outside to take the call, leaving his uncle hanging.
As soon as Javier saw that it was Elvis calling, a wide smile spread across his face. He quickly answered the phone and said, “You croaky head. Why haven’t you been….”
“Hey man, chill! I have good news for you,” Elvis’s excited voice boomed on the other end of the line as he kept giggling.
Javier couldn’t help but notice the excitement in Elvis’s voice and wondered what the good news was. “What’s the good news all about?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you this over the phone. Come to my office. You’ll hear and see for yourself,” Elvis replied before ending the call abruptly.
Confused, Javier stared at his phone for a moment before deciding to head to Elvis’s office without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Marcus waited for Javier to return, but as time passed with no sign of him, he grew increasingly frustrated and went upstairs.
Alverdo then spoke up, “Olivia will be staying here to prepare for her upcoming wedding. I’m not a woman,” he explained, turning to Helen, “Please, Helen, I’m entrusting her to you. Teach her everything she needs to know about marriage, like a mother.” He looked at the family with a soft plea in his eyes.
Helen smiled and said, “That won’t be a problem. I’m happy to have her here already.” She then motioned for Olivia to come over and sit beside her, which Olivia did.
Carlo, who had been watching everything, leaned over to Fabby and whispered in her ear, “Your soon-to-be sister-in-law looks so sexy and beautiful,” as he gazed at Olivia with lust in his eyes.
Unexpectedly, Olivia turned and met his gaze, flashing him a smile and winking her left eye before blowing him a kiss when no one was watching.
Carlo instantly realized that she was a baddie and couldn’t wait to ride with her.
******
Javier arrived at Elvis’s office and got out of the car. He hurried to Elvis’s office, his mind filled with anticipation for the good news Elvis had for him. Without announcing his presence, he pushed the door open as soon as he reached it.
Elvis was already expecting him and stood up to greet him as soon as he entered. “Javier, you’re here already,” Elvis said, spreading his arms for a hug. However, Javier walked past him, his attention fixed on Natalie, who was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed.
A wide smirk spread across Javier’s lips as he realized that his plan had worked. “Look who we have here. I guess I should start getting used to seeing you every day, wifey!” Javier teased and sat down close to Natalie, who quickly shifted her body to avoid any contact.
“You know why I’m here. Let’s get down to it,” Natalie stated coldly, maintaining her emotionless expression effortlessly.
Javier let out a dry chuckle and shook his head in amazement, finding Natalie’s attitude amusing. He wondered if there were other women like her who weren’t swayed by flashy material things and rich men. “Yeah, I hate wasting time,” Javier agreed, suddenly opening his bag and pulling out a long file. “Sign here,” he said, pushing the paper in front of her.
“What’s this for?” Natalie asked, confused about why he wanted her to sign.
“This is a contract for our marriage. After one year, we will get a divorce,” he explained, satisfying her curiosity. “Now, sign here,” he pointed to the bottom of the paper for her to sign and handed her a pen.
Natalie snatched the pen from his hand, almost twisting his finger, before bending over and signing the paper without reading the contract. “Done!” she said, pushing it back to him.
Javier smirked when he saw that she hadn’t even read the contract before signing. ‘She isn’t as smart as I thought. Finally, I have caught her in my net,’ he thought.
“If only you knew what you just signed. I thought you were smart,” Javier taunted her as he reached for the file, but Natalie was quick to grab it before him.
She glanced at it, her jaw dropping and goosebumps covering her skin as she saw his endless terms and conditions. Instantly, she knew that she was in trouble.