40

OLIVIA
It’s just 6 pm, and my eyes have been seeing a lot lately. I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the next few minutes.
One minute, I was close to helping Cyril regain his lost memory and save my marriage. The next minute, I am on the verge of losing my marriage by inviting a demon in the person of Rene.
I thought inviting her over was doing the right thing. I guess I was wrong. As long as Rene lived, she would continue to be a threat to my existence.
“You have been relieved from your duty as my secretary. I never want to see your ugly face anymore. I would find your replacement immediately,” the words from Cyril still echo in my eardrums, reminding me that my days are numbered. It was almost an hour when he said that, and it still hit differently.
“If Cyril kicks me out of the company, it equally means that he is going to appoint Rene as the next CEO, wouldn’t he? He adores Rene and would be willing to do anything just to please her.” I pondered on my thoughts since there was nobody around I could share my problem with.
“I am not letting that happen. Not now, or eternity. I must stay and fight for what rightfully is mine.” I quickly rejected the possibility of Rene taking over the company.
It wasn’t enough for Rene to share Cyril with me; now she wants to take over the company that I spent ten years of my life nurturing.
“I am never going to let that happen,” I said to myself.
“Of course, it’s not going to happen under your watch. Rene can’t take over the company while you are still alive. She will be stopped very soon,” a masculine voice spoke to me from close range. I looked behind me and found Kate and Adrian both wearing their large frowns.
They pitied me.
Being pitied is what I detest the most, and that’s precisely what they’re doing to me.
I couldn’t speak further. I had absolutely nothing to say in my defense. They both witnessed how Cyril humiliated me back then in his ward. In the process of defending myself, I might as well sound stupid.
After a prolonged silence, I was unable to handle the humiliation anymore and decided it was best to run away. Perhaps it could reduce the shame hoarding in my face.
I ran back to my car, hoping to drive off to a safer place and cool off with a bottle of vodka.
Before this moment, I wasn’t a staunch advocate for alcohol until Rene showed up and messed up my whole life beyond amendment.
“Please wait a minute. Don’t you dare hit the road. In that condition,”
Adrian and Kate ran outside the moment they saw me enter the car. They both knew it wasn’t the best time to hit the road, especially in my pathetic condition when it felt like I wasn’t mentally balanced.
“Get the fuck out of the way, you all, before I knock you both off. This is me being serious,” I warned them with a loud voice that could make a building collapse.
Unbothered, they still stood in front of my car with an upraised arm, begging me not to drive.
“We are not leaving until you listen to us and stop what you are about to do. Remember how you accidentally knocked Cyril off? We all understood that it was a mistake. Do you want to repeat the same thing and tag it as a mistake? Think about it!” Kate uttered the words that pierced my heart like a dagger.
I never expected such powerful utterances. Let alone being said by someone like Kate. I’ve always known she was smart, but not to the extent where she begins to portray the traits of a philosopher.
It was at that point I knew I should let go. My senses were restored. For once in a while, I felt like a normal person.
I turned off the car engine, rested my head on the car steering, and nursed my pain.
My heart was bleeding from the inside. I forgot what it feels like to be alive.
Slowly, I pushed the door open and stepped outside the car. It was the best decision I ever made in recent times.
Staying back inside the car would be dangerous. I don’t trust my guts. I might get overwhelmed and knock them off the same way I did to Cyril.
With speed, they both rushed to where I was seated on the ground to console me like a pathetic widow.
I couldn’t look into their eyes. The whole time they spoke, I had my face buried to the ground.
I lost my confidence.
I lost my aura.
What was left inside of me was my fear, inflicting me with severe torture as though I were a prisoner.
“Olivia, you can’t continue this way. You can’t keep letting the situation overwhelm you like this. You’re a strong and resilient woman, and you know that.” Adrian advised me. He was the first to speak while Kate kept mumbling on her utterances. She wasn’t certain how I was going to react to them.
“A strong and resilient woman, huh?
I am not sure you know the meaning of what you just said. What do you want me to do?” I raised my head to gaze at Adrian.
“Stand and fight for what is yours.
You’re not letting this slide, are you?” Adrian added. His words were filled with motivation, yet I never felt motivated.
I forgot what it feels like to stay strong. I just wanted the ground to swallow me and end my mysteries. I don’t feel human again. Life has completely become meaningless to me.
“Did you just advise me to fight? What exactly am I fighting for? Can’t you see that I’ve already lost the battle even before it began?” I chuckled.
“You’re still missing the point ma’am. All Adrian is saying is.”
“Shut the fuck up, Kate, and stay out of this,” I shunned Kate immediately, even when I shouldn’t have. A few minutes after I did that, I felt guilty. I couldn’t apologize to her. I had to maintain the energy to cement my superiority over her.
“You were there when Cyril kicked me out of his ward as though I were his slave, weren’t you? He still had the guts to terminate my employment. So I ask you again, Adrian. What exactly am I fighting for?” I returned my focus to Adrian.
He went silent for a while, trying to process his next utterances. Deep down, he knew my hopes were gone.
He was just playing along to make me happy.
Unfortunately for him, it’s not working. I still feel miserable. Some parts of me have lost all hope of becoming victorious again.
“We both know Rene isn’t going to take over the company. It’s just a matter of time before Cyril regains his memory again,” Adrian came with yet again another piece of advice that was worse than the first.
“And how do I stop her without having access to the company?” I hissed and stood up from the ground.
I went back inside the car, and they followed me immediately.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Adrian asked me, looking surprised.
“What does it seem like I am doing? Of course, I want to drive home. Would you rather I stay back to witness another humiliation?” I responded harshly.
“Who’s gonna watch over your husband? Are you going to leave him alone with Rene? You do know how dangerous she is, don’t you?” He lamented.
“You meant to say Rene’s husband?” I giggled.
“This is no joke.
I am being serious here,”
Adrian fumed
“I wasn’t joking either.” I clapped back immediately.
“Cyril himself addressed Rene as his wife. Why should we come in between them? I paid Rene to help Cyril get to shape and that’s precisely what she’s doing,” I explained.
“You must be the greatest fool on earth to believe that she’s ever going to do that for you. Coming from someone who has been having a romantic affair with your husband before he lost his memory? Think about it, girl,” Adrian ended the argument with the wise words that left me speechless.