Chapter 21

About the scholarship, I didn't return it to Aileen, meaning, she thinks it's a scholarship, but the money comes out of my pocket," he explained.

"Why are you deceiving her? A marriage that starts with lies won't last long."

Oliver sighed and wished he had more patience to explain everything in great detail to Mark.

"Look, Mark, I love Aileen," it was so strange for Oliver to say the word "love"; he never said it, let alone told a girl "I love you." "She's the only person who matters to me. I want to take care of her, make sure she's fine, that she doesn't worry about anything. She'll be my wife in less than a month, and I just want to do what's best for her. Or tell me, if you had money and Sofia didn't, wouldn't you support her as her husband? Otherwise, why get married if you'll live like strangers?"

Mark understood Oliver's point; deep down, he knew he was right. He wanted to soften up a bit with the guy since he had treated him poorly from the start. He saw himself in Oliver, talking to Sofia's father and telling him how much he loved her. After all, he had been a teenager and fallen in love. There he was with Sofia, the love of his life, despite the twists of fate. Even though he suffered so much when she was away all those years, he came back for the two of them. His loves.

"I understand. That's what I would do—support Sofia and give her everything I had. Forgive me, it's just that Aileen is my girl, and I don't want anyone to harm her," Mark looked serious. "I'm giving you my most precious treasure, Oliver Price, I hope you know how to take care of her."

"Don't worry, Mark, you won't have any complaints about me."

Aileen had spent almost the entire day studying and finishing up the last overdue tasks. Finally, she had finished, tired but relieved to have completed all the pending work.

"Finally!" she exclaimed to herself. Her parents were not home; they had gone to meet some old friends. Maybe they would come back late, she thought. Aileen put away all her things and dialed Oliver's number.

"Hello," the guy answered.

"I finally finished everything I had overdue, now I just have to wait to get in. I can't wait to wear that gown again," she said excitedly.

"I'm happy for you. How about we go to the mall to celebrate?"

Aileen frowned because Oliver wasn't the type to go to the mall.

"Do you really like it?" she asked him.

"It wasn't so bad; I feel like being in that atmosphere. I'm a bit stressed about work."

"Will you tell me what my father said to you?"

"Hmm, all right, I'll tell you. I'll pick you up at seven, okay?"

"Sounds good, Mr. Price, as you wish."

The doorbell rang, and outside stood a tall girl waiting to be attended to: Anna. Aileen hurried down the stairs and opened the door. The smile on her face vanished at the sight of Anna in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Aileen questioned, showing her displeasure.

"Can I come in?"

"No. Tell me what you want and leave."

"Why are you so aggressive with me? Come on, Aileen, are you jealous that Oliver and I used to be a couple? Because we were together for five long years."

"And what do you want? Do you want me to applaud you?" Aileen clapped. That gesture infuriated Anna.

"I just want to know the truth," she murmured. "Because I don't buy that story about them meeting months ago and falling in love at first sight. I know Oliver too well to believe he's into romance. That's not him. Besides, no one had seen Justo until two weeks ago. Tell me, what are you blackmailing him with? You must have done something to make him marry you, right? You hungry little thing."

Aileen grabbed her by the hair.

"What did you just say? How dare you come here and insult me in my own house. You have a lot of nerve."

"Ouch! Let go of me, you cat," Anna struggled.

Aileen laughed.

"I see, you're like a barking dog that doesn't bite. Be careful with what you say, Annita, because if you don't, you'll have to deal with me. And now that you call me a hungry little thing and a cat, guess what? Hungry little things like us have enough value to give you a good beating. Got it?"

"Let go of me!"

Aileen released her.

"This isn't going to end here, filthy cat. You'll pay for this. I swear you'll pay," Anna turned around and quickly walked to her car, feeling defeated for now. Anna had so much hatred and resentment inside her that she felt the urge to kill Aileen.

"Stupid," Aileen retorted, closing the door. She picked up her phone and thought about calling Oliver to tell him what her little friend had come to say, but she held back.

Oliver was working in his office when he received a call.

"Hello, Anna?" he answered while typing an email on his laptop.

"Oliver, guess what your girlfriend did to me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Aileen hit me."

Oliver frowned.

"That's right, that savage hit me. I'm not lying, look, she gave me a bruise," Oliver received a message from Anna with an attached photo. It showed Anna's face with a reddish mark on her cheek. He couldn't believe that Aileen had done that; Anna was probably lying.

"I don't believe you," he told her.

"What do you mean you don't believe me?!" Anna exploded.

"You know me, Oliver. I just went to her house to congratulate her on her wedding and let her know she could count on me for anything. Dress shopping, venue selection."

"No, I know you didn't go for that," Oliver closed his laptop and stood up. "You said something to her, didn't you?"

"Why are you so distrustful? But you know what? Don't believe me. Go and ask your girlfriend, and you'll see it's true," Anna hung up. Oliver sighed deeply and left his office. He couldn't believe that women troubles were starting to appear.

Aileen took a shower and then came out in a towel. She had to choose a nice dress for her outing with Oliver tonight.

Oliver parked in front of Aileen's house and got out. He was going to ring the doorbell, but the door was slightly ajar, so he simply walked in and closed it behind him.

"Aileen?" he called but received no response. He went upstairs, thinking she might be in her room. He heard some music from the other side, so he opened the door.

"Oliver!" Aileen exclaimed when she saw him standing in front of her. Aileen was naked, she hadn't even put on her underwear, and Oliver stood there, mesmerized, looking at her. "Oliver, please leave," she asked.