Chapter 110
Chapter 110
OLIVIA’S POV
C
I leaned my back against the cold kitchen wall, sliding slowly to the floor until I was curled up in a tight ball. Folding my legs in close to my chest, I buried my face in my knees, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. Julian’s words echoed relentlessly in my mind.
I don’t have any friends.
Did he really think that if I wanted friends, I wouldn’t have been able to make them? Did he believe I chose to isolate myself from the world?
The truth was far more painful. I hadn’t been allowed to have friends. Adrian made sure of that. Every time I tried to connect with someone, he’d either drive them away or accuse me of cheating. He didn’t want me talking to people, smiling at strangers, or even texting anyone unless he approved. Slowly, his control turned my world into a cage.
Julian knew that. Or at least I thought he did. So how could he have said that to me so casually? Like my loneliness was some flaw or choice I made?
I squeezed my legs tighter, trying to keep my emotions from overflowing. But the realization stung deeply–maybe coming here was a mistake.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps descending the stairs, soft but deliberate. There was only one person it could be. A part of me wanted to disappear into the wall, to hide, to avoid this conversation entirely.
Julian walked into the kitchen and spotted me on the floor. He paused for a second, letting out a small sigh, before he quietly walked over and sat down beside me. His presence was gentle, not pushing too close.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier.”
I didn’t look at him. Instead, I turned my face to the right, away from him. He sat on my left, and I wasn’t ready to meet his eyes.
“I truly am sorry, Liv,” he continued, his voice low and sincere. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”
“Then how did you mean it?” I snapped back, my voice sharper than I intended. “Because it was pretty clear to me.”
“Calm down, okay?” he said gently. “There’s just been a lot of pressure on me lately. Mom and Dad won’t stop pushing me to take over the company, and I just… I don’t want that life. You’ve seen it. That’s why I cut them off for so long.”
“So that’s your reason?” I asked, finally turning to face him. “You want me to leave behind my life, no matter how broken it is, to go to Mexico and fill your shoes? Be the Blake heir so you can live your life freely while I take the burden?”
“It’s not like that, Liv,” Julian said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I just–there was no easy way to say it. And it’s not like it’s your fault you don’t have friends. It’s because of him. Adrian. He isolated you, and the only reason we stayed connected all these years is because I refused to leave you alone.”
I felt the lump in my throat tighten.
“You still didn’t have to say it out loud,” I murmured. “It hurt.”
Julian sighed deeply. “Is that really what you think? That the only reason we were happy to find you was so you could take over the company?”
I didn’t answer right away.
He shifted closer, turning to face me fully and placing a hand gently on my knee.
“Come on,” he said. “I said I’m sorry. Do you want me to go on my knees and beg?”
I glanced at him in disbelief. I thought he was joking, trying to lighten the mood. But to my surprise, he started to move. I saw him begin to rise slightly, then drop to his knees in front of me, his expression entirely serious.
“Julian…stop! It hasn’t reached that extent,” I said quickly, reaching out and grabbing his arm before he could fully kneel.
But I’m pretty sure he heard the anger in my voice.
He sat back next to me and nudged my shoulder lightly with his, trying to lighten the mood.
“I knew it,” he said with a smug grin. “You couldn’t stay mad at me forever.”
I opened my mouth to respond, a mix of sarcasm and emotion lingering on my tongue, but before I could get the words out, a faint creak caught my attention. I turned my head slightly and noticed a shadow near the kitchen door. My eyes narrowed.
“Mom?” I called out, suspicion heavy in my voice.
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11:36 AM
Chapter 110
She stepped out slowly from her hiding spot, sheepishly wearing a small, amused smile.
“You got me,” she said lightly, brushing her hair back as if trying to look innocent.
My eyes widened slightly. “How long were you standing there?” I asked, both embarrassed and curious.
“Since Julian walked into the kitchen,” she replied with a shrug, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to eavesdrop on your grown children.
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I blinked in disbelief, but before I could say more, she stepped forward and spoke, her tone softer now, maternal, yet persuasive.
“I know this isn’t easy for you, sweetheart. Believe me, I do. But this opportunity–it’s the best thing for you right now. You said you wanted to leave that marriage, right? When you finally walk away from him, what’s your next step? Have you really thought about that?”
Her words made my chest tighten. I looked away, ashamed that I hadn’t fully considered what would come after I left Adrian. Freedom sounded good, but freedom without direction could be chaos.
“Don’t you want your own life, your own wealth?” she continued. “Don’t you want to stand tall and show that man you were never just a housewife clinging to him for his money? That you are and have always been capable of building something on your own?”
Julian nodded beside me, his expression turning more serious.
JAnd weren’t you the one who said you wanted to bring Isadora down to ashes?” he added. “You know as well as I do–you’re going to need real
power for that. Money, status, influence. We’re offering you the foundation to get all of that, Liv. You just have to take it.”
I let out a slow breath as I processed their words.
So now they were working together–double–teaming me with logic and heartstrings. But the worst part? They were right. Every word.
From the beginning, my goal had always been revenge. Revenge against everyone who wronged me. Especially her–Isadora.
My fingers instinctively went to my stomach, gently resting on the small curve that held the life I was fighting so hard to protect. A life that should have had a twin. A child who would one day ask about the sibling they had never met.
The pain hit me fresh all over again. The weight of grief and rage wrapped around my chest like vines, thorns digging deeper every time I remembered the way Isadora smiled through her lies, the way she tore my world apart without remorse.
She had to pay. And maybe this–this–this offer to go to Mexico and become CEO of Blake Enterprises–wasn’t a trap or a burden. Maybe it was the weapon I needed.
I had a family now. A real one. People who believed in me, who had no hidden motives, no knives behind their backs. With them, I didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
“To hell with it,” I muttered under my breath.
My mother, as if she had been reading my thoughts, reached out and gently helped me to my feet. She didn’t speak right away. She didn’t have to. Her eyes were already gleaming with hope.
I looked at her, and then at Julian,
“I’ll do it,” I said, steady and clear.
A radiant smile broke across my mother’s face. She pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly, wrapping me in the kind of love that promised strength, not suffocation.
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