Chapter 29
Olivia was jolted awake by the loud vibration of her cell phone. She yawned and reached for her phone on the bedside table, still half-asleep. After fumbling for a moment, she finally answered the call and held the phone to her ear, waiting for the caller to speak.
“Baby,” Kiel’s voice filled her ear, causing her to sit up in bed.
“What do you want?” she asked, rolling her eyes. It was clear that she didn’t want to talk to him, as she had been avoiding his calls for the past few days.
Kiel was confused by her response. “Are you avoiding me?” he asked, puzzled by her behavior.
Olivia let out a soft, surprised chuckle. “I’m glad you understand my message so well,” she muttered under her breath.
Kiel’s lips stretched into a smirk as he realized Olivia was about to dump him. “Have you found someone else?” His fingers clenched into a fist as jealousy surged through him.
“Not your business!” She spat and ended the call before he could reply.
Her gaze unexpectedly landed on the wall clock, and she was stunned to see that it was already 8:28. She quickly stood up when she heard a knock on her door. She walked over and opened it, revealing four girls, which made her furrow her brows.
“We were assigned by Mrs. Helen to help dress you up for your engagement party. If you don’t mind, can we come in now?” the eldest lady among them asked.
Olivia’s lips stretched into a wide smile as she felt butterflies dancing in her stomach. She couldn’t believe the day had finally come, just a few steps away from spending the rest of her life with Javier. It was finally becoming a dream come true for her.
“Yes, you may come in,” she rushed, making way for them to enter Javier’s room. She then made her way to his wardrobe, retrieved his long white robe, and ran into the bathroom, humming excitedly.
Within minutes, she came out, clothed in Javier’s white robe, her face beaming with excitement. She sat down in front of her dressing mirror and motioned for the ladies to come and do their job.
Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing Carlo dressed in a purple suit, leaving a few buttons unbuttoned, revealing his hairy chest. His hair was neatly dyed silver, and he looked incredibly handsome. His hands were tucked into his trousers as he walked into Javier’s room with a bold smile on his lips.
Meanwhile, Olivia had already spotted him in her mirror and turned around to face him, smiling widely.
“I can see you’re already getting ready,” he nodded, looking around.
“Yes, I’m getting my makeup done,” her cheeks were heating up as she blushed, taking a quick glance at the mirror to see how neatly her half makeup was done.
Carlo smiled and leaned over to her, placing a soft kiss on her hair. “You look stunning,” he complimented, leaving the makeup artist shocked as their jaws dropped at his gesture.
As Carlo raised his head, he noticed the suspicious glares the artists were giving him, so he quickly excused himself with a small cough. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he stylishly walked away, leaving the ladies to continue their work.
Olivia turned back to the mirror so the artists could continue their job. After two hours, they were done with her makeup and moved on to styling her hair.
The door suddenly burst open, revealing Kiel in a dashing black suit with neatly gelled hair. Olivia, who had been blushing at Carlo’s compliment, turned to see Kiel and immediately frowned. She approached him with a murderous glare.
“No one invited you here, Kiel,” she said.
Kiel glanced around the room and noticed the artist whispering with each other. He quickly guessed they were talking about him. “Leave us. I’m her cousin. Go wait outside,” he said, then sat down on the nearest couch, crossing his legs. The artist nodded and left, waiting outside the door.
Olivia walked over to where he was sitting and asked, “What are you doing here? I never called you,” in a low voice, wary of eavesdroppers.
“You were avoiding me, so I came to find out what was wrong,” he replied, standing up and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, trying to kiss her cheek.
Olivia pushed him away and he fell onto the bed, shocked by her reaction. “Why the attitude?” he asked, confused. “You should be all over me because it’s been a while since we’ve been together.”
“You’re a fool,” she snapped, glaring at him. “I’m done with you. Leave,” she said coldly, her face devoid of emotion to emphasize her seriousness.
Kiel rose from the bed and pulled her towards him and lock lips with her, kissing her forcefully before she could object.
Olivia quickly pushed him away and slapped him across the face. “Leave!” she ordered, pointing to the door.
“I won’t let the guy who’s causing you to treat me like this get away with it. I’ll be back,” he threatened before storming out of the room.
As he opened the door, he was surprised to see Jesley standing there with her arms folded. He tried to hide his anger and forced a smile before walking past her without saying anything.
Jesley entered the room in a stunning, well-tailored violet gown. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on her sister, who turned to see her.
“Jesley!” Olivia exclaimed, running to her sister and embracing her, as she was shocked to see Jesley in her engagement party. Jesley returned the hug with a forced smile.
“Congratulations, sis,” Jesley said, mustering up a convincing smile.
Olivia let go of the hug and took Jesley’s hand, looking at her with guilt written all over her face. She felt the need to ask for forgiveness.
“Jesley, I’m sorry,” Olivia murmured, bowing her head.
Jesley smiled and shook her head. ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Olivia. What you did to me is unforgivable,’ she thought as she looked at her sister.
She lifted Olivia’s face and looked into her eyes. “You shouldn’t be sorry. Your actions helped me see the true nature of the person I thought I loved. That ungrateful jerk!” Jesley seethed through clenched teeth.
“I ended things with him,” Olivia confessed, pulling Jesley to sit on the bed.
“Why?” Jesley asked, feigning surprise.
“Let’s talk about it another time,” Olivia said, dismissing the conversation and went to her wardrobe to pick out three dresses that Javier’s mom had given her. “Help me choose one to wear. I can’t decide because they’re all beautiful,” she said, dropping the dresses on the bed.
Jesley smirked, wondering why Olivia had broken up with Kiel. “I…” she started to say, but stopped when the door burst open and Carlo walked in, his hand in his pocket.
Jesley was shocked to see him and couldn’t believe how handsome he looked.
“I saw the ladies outside your door, and you haven’t finished dressing up,” he said, standing so close to Olivia that Jesley wondered who he was to her sister.
She found their closeness intimate and didn’t fail to see the affection in his eyes as he stretched out his hand to touch her hair.
Olivia smiled. “I asked them to wait because I was talking with my sister,” she responded, moving away from him.
That was the moment Carlo noticed Jesley for the first time, as his attention had been on Olivia when he stepped in. He couldn’t deny the fact that both sisters resembled each other so much. He instantly flashed Jesley a smile and stretched out his hand for a handshake. “I’m Carlo, Olivia’s brother-in-law to be,” he introduced.
‘Oh, a new catch,’ she thought, nodding her head. ‘Now I understand why she broke up with Kiel.’ She looked away from Carlo and turned to Olivia before extending her hand to shake his. “I’m Jesley, Olivia’s younger sister,” she introduced.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Carlo said, attempting to pull his hand away, but Jesley held on.
“You’re good-looking, I like you,” she murmured, surprising Olivia.
******
Natalie showed up at the party venue in a simple, floor-length dress. She promptly phoned Elvis to let him know she had arrived and waited for him to join her outside.
Within half an hour of the call, Elvis dashed outside with a small designer bag in hand, scanning the area for Natalie. Just then, a text message appeared on his phone; it was from Natalie.
“Meet me in the garage,” the message said.
Not wanting to waste time, as Javier would need his help getting ready for his engagement, Elvis hurried to the garage to ensure Javier wouldn’t notice his absence.
After a few minutes, he reached the garage and spotted Natalie hiding behind one of the cars. He grinned and quietly approached her, gently tapping her on the shoulder.
“Who the heck…..” She was surprised by his touch and she turned just in time to see him standing behind her. Giving him a glare, she scolded, “Why did you do that?” faking a frown.
Elvis burst into laughter,”You’re funny. You specifically asked me to meet you here, so you should have been expecting me already. Why are you startled?” he teased.
Natalie rolled her eyes,”Whatever.” She scoffed.”Did you bring the waitress uniforms for me?” she asked, peeking at the bag in his hand.
Elvis sighed softly, “Yes, I brought them along. But first, you should never forget these two things: keep your cellphone close to you because Javier might call at any time. Secondly, be careful not to let Javier see you, please.” He instructed, pleading.
“I will try,” she responded and collected the bag from him. As soon as Elvis left the garage, she began dressing up.