9
Olivia
~•~
My chest tightened as I read the headlines. "Billionaire Alexander Burke Spotted Cozying Up with Ex-Flame Tricia: Rekindling Old Flames?"
My eyes scanned through the article, they even mentioned the fact that I wasn’t present at the dance during his party. The photo accompanying the piece showed Alexander laughing with Tricia.
My eyeballs shot out when I noticed Tricia was also wearing the necklace from the auction. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut and I couldn’t breathe. My mind was racing with different thoughts I couldn’t process.
My father and siblings were staring at me, their faces mixed with shock and curiosity. “What’s the problem?” David asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Before I could say anything, my mother answered. “Her husband is having coffee with another woman.” Her voice was laced with a mixture of disdain and disappointment. She sounded like it was my fault. Like I was the one who drove him to his ex and asked them to meet up. “You can’t even keep your marriage together.” My mother added and stood up angrily before storming away.
I was confused because I was still trying to process what I had just seen. Alex was meant to be at work having a meeting. He wasn’t meant to be with his ex-girlfriend.
Even if things had been weird between us the past few weeks, we were still married and he had no right to meet up with her.
I was also dumbfounded because she had the necklace on. He claimed he hadn’t seen her in years, so why did he give her the necklace that he had gotten days before he even knew she was in town?
“Olivia, what is the meaning of that?” My father asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I wiped off the tears that welled up in my eyes with the back of my hands.
I didn’t want to break down in front of them. They didn’t even care how I felt, they just blamed me for my husband’s infidelity.
“I have no idea, Daddy,” I replied, my voice cracking slightly. Amanda and David just stared at me sympathetically without saying anything.
“What’s happening in your marriage? You better apologize to Alexander and fix whatever the problem is.” He warned sternly and left the table to meet his wife.
I wasn’t surprised by their actions. That was the reason I kept the initial news about the divorce papers a secret from them.
They treated Alexander like gold and always made me feel like he was doing me a favor when he got married to me. He was a billionaire and they didn’t want their benefits to be cut short, so they always made sure I didn’t do anything to make him leave me.
My parents weren’t poor. They lived in a nice house and were comfortable, so I didn’t see any reason why they would always try to impress Alexander because of his money.
Amanda stood up from her chair and moved to the empty chair beside me where my mother was sitting. “I’m so sorry about their behavior.” She apologized on their behalf.
“You don’t have to apologize, I expected it from them.” It was becoming a routine. My parents would treat me badly and Amanda and David would be the ones apologizing on their behalf.
They expected so much from me and it was draining. No matter how hard I tried, nothing I did was good enough in their eyes. Unlike my younger siblings who had always been the favored ones, I had always felt like I was walking on eggshells, trying to meet their crazy standards.
“You don’t have to take them seriously, it isn’t your fault your husband went out with another girl,” David added, his voice barely above a whisper. “For all we know, it’s just a friendly meeting.”
I couldn’t help but laugh after David said those words. He had no idea what was going on. David’s concerned expression changed into a puzzled one.
“What’s so funny?” He asked with furrowed brows.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about,” I replied with a loud sigh and rested my head on the table. “Amanda should tell you everything.” I didn’t want to talk about it.
Amanda started telling David about everything that had happened. As she spoke about it, I realized I was still wasting my time with Alexander. He was always going to choose Tricia.
I had no idea why I still lived under his roof but I wasn’t willing to stay there anymore. They were still in the middle of the conversation when I abruptly stood up from the table and went outside.
I pulled out my phone from my bag and called Alexander. I couldn’t wait till I got back to the house to confront him. I called him multiple times but he didn’t pick up even if his phone was ringing.
He was probably still with her and didn’t have time to talk to me or he already knew the reason I was calling and didn’t want to deal with me.
Frustrated, I walked back into the house and went straight to my parent’s bedroom. They were already disappointed in me and already thought I was the problem, so I just wanted to rip the band-aid off.
“Alexander and I are getting a divorce,” I announced as I walked into their slightly opened bedroom. “It has been going on for the past two weeks.”
I didn’t miss the frowns that formed on their faces.
“Divorce?” My mum scrunched up her nose and shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t get divorced! Why didn’t you tell me about it as soon as it happened?”
My dad walked closer to the door where I stood. “Who brought up the idea of getting a divorce?” He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“It was Alexander.”
“What did you do to him, Olivia?” My mother asked, her voice cracking slightly. “You want to bring shame to our family?” She said and I chuckled in disbelief.
“I didn’t tell you so we can discuss it,” I replied. “I just wanted you to hear it from me first.” I was about to leave the room but my dad’s next words made me freeze in my spot.
“We are going with you back to your house.” He said in a firm tone. “You’re going to fix your marriage, Olivia. You’re not going to embarrass us like this.”