“Aria… Aria, wait!” Rosie called as she went after Arianna. The former Mrs. Gomez was in no mood to wait and chat, she kept moving till she got into the kitchen, then she paused and relaxed her back on the counter.
Rosie caught up with her and stood in front of her with folded arms. Aria wiped off the few tears that had formed in her eyes with her right arm. “It is Okay Rosie, I am fine,” she said in a whisper.
“Are you sure? Because you don’t look fine to me?” Rosie queried.
“Yeah I am good, if Oliver wants to go ahead and marry Susan like I had always suspected he would, then he can go ahead and do that, I don’t give a fuck!” she half-yelled.
“If you really don’t care, then why are you so pissed off?” Rosie queried.
“Stop it Rosie, I already told you that I am fine, I don’t care if Oliver chooses to remarry, it’s his life and his choice to make.” Aria retorted. “Look, I am only worried about my daughter; I don’t know what that witch had done to her, why would she of all people be so cool with Oliver’s decision?”
“Well, she did say that she loves Susan, and since her dad loves her too, then she is in for this, I guess. You being worried about that tells me all that I need to know, but if you insist on denying it, then it is fine. You are like a sister to me Aria and I would never watch you make a horrible mistake without warning you, so think about this again, don’t make a costly mistake that you will regret for the rest of your life.” Rosie said in finality and turned to leave.
Aria stood upright and sighed; she was at a roadblock, a bridge that she had no idea how to burn. What was her heart saying right now?
She put her hand into her pocket and brought out a ring, it was the ring Oliver had used to propose to her, she had kept it safe for the past seven years and had only brought it out this morning. Memories of the day he proposed flashed through her mind as she stared at it and she chuckled.
She felt a tear roll down her eye as she remembered how she had run out on him like a psychopath, she had run into the first cab she found without even giving him her destination, the shock and excitement coupled together sent waves down her body.
Here now, seven years later, he was about to propose to another lady and she was doing nothing about it. Was she supposed to stop him? But why should she? He didn’t belong to her again, right?
** * * * * * * * * *
Oliver and his squad arrive at the National Park in their limousine, they find a good spot to Park the car and then they alight.
“Alright everyone, welcome to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, it is an American national Park here in the U. S. state of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii.” Damon said with a smile.
“Hmm… that is a funny description,” Lena said and chuckled.
“Oh, is it? Well you might also want to know that this Park encompasses two active volcanoes: Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world’s most massive shield Volcano. That is the one you can see over there,” he explained while pointing to what looked like a mountain top.
“Hmm… that looks like a hot pap to me, can we go close to it?” Lena queried again.
“No, definitely not… it is safer to watch from a distance, Volcanoes can be unstable at times and might erupt, you don’t want to get melted in hot lava or get injured in an earthquake, do you?”
“Oh… No, I think I will pass.” She said, with a look of fright on her face.
Damon seemed excited to take them around the Park but Oliver decided to lead the tour today, he had plans of his own.
“Come on guys, let’s go to the little field over there,” Oliver instructed.
“Huh?” Sammy muttered. “I don’t see anything worth sightseeing over there,” he added.
“True… but there will be something soon, just come along.” Oliver said with a smile on his face.
Sammy and Aria knew what that smile meant, the billionaire CEO was up to something again, he was keeping something from them and they were more than eager to find out. Oliver led the way and they followed immediately.
When they got into the fields, they realized why Oliver had asked them to follow him there; Susan was standing in the fields with her back to them, she had not seen them yet.
Aria felt jealous once again, but her mind was not relaxed yet, even after seeing Susan. She had suspicions that this was something else, Oliver seemed too excited and this couldn’t be the only reason, there was something more.
As they were approaching Susan, she ended the call she was on and turned around, she smiled the moment she saw them. She must have been alerted by the sound of their footsteps.
She was putting on a brown skirt and fancy suit, with a brown hat to match. Her makeup was gorgeous just like her nicely packed black hair. Oliver always had a thing for ladies with black long hair.
Aria clenched her fist as Oliver’s words kept resounding in her head. So he really wanted to marry this woman, he wanted to move on and forget all about her? Was this fair?
She hoped that Oliver would change his mind regarding that, as much as she couldn’t bring herself to forgive him, she doubted that she would be able to live with the knowledge of him being with someone else.
“Hey, you are here late,” Susan said and hugged Oliver. Aria felt like taking a step to them and punching her on the nose.
“Yeah, we had a little hold up back at home, I hope you didn’t have to wait long, if you did… then I am sorry.” Oliver apologized.
“No… it is fine, I have only been here for minutes,” she replied with a smile, and then she turned to the others. “Hey guys, sorry I left without saying goodbye, it was fun hanging out with you guys yesterday.” She said and they smiled.
“You don’t need to apologize Auntie, Dad said that you had to leave in a hurry, also it was fun hanging out with you yesterday, I also did enjoy your company, I am glad that I would be spending more time with you now,” Lena said quickly.
“Awn… that is so sweet, wait… what do you mean? I heard that you guys are leaving tomorrow, I would also be heading back to Las Vegas after my stay here is over, but I live quite far from your dad so I don’t think we would see each other regularly,” Susan replied, she certainly misunderstood Lena’s words.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter because you would be staying very close very soon,” Lena said and smirked.
Oliver was quick to interfere before she revealed his plans and ruined the surprise. “Oh, don’t mind Lena… she is just excited about visiting here and so she is messing with your head,” he said.
“Oh… I see,” Susan replied and chuckled. “Alright, let’s start sightseeing already,” she uttered.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see around,” Rosie finally spoke.
Oliver took Susan’s hand and she smiled. “Hmm… What is up with you today, Mr. Gomez?” she asked and chuckled.
“I don’t know, I just have a good feeling,” he replied and chuckled.
They started to walk towards the exit of the field, hand in hand, while the others followed behind. Aria was sulking; she was starting to regret coming here. Only if she knew that the worst was yet to come.
Just before they would leave the field, Oliver paused and stopped Susan from moving further, and then he went down on a knee and brought out a ring from his pocket.
Everyone stood there stunned; Susan gasped and covered her mouth with her palms, a look of surprise on her face.
“Susan Malcolm, I know this seems a bit too early but I can’t wait anymore… Will you marry me?”
To be continued!!