Chapter 152 A BOUGHT DELAY

Chapter 152 A BOUGHT DELAY


LUCIEN

"Smile." Olivia's harsh voice echoed right beside me and drew me back to reality. I was standing in front of a crowd at her request to formally announce our wedding. She had been so eager for it and even sent a suit made just for me. The note said that she thought it would be a good thing for me to show up looking like her husband-to-be.

Zane had successfully moved Nirelle and Michael last night and placed people to replace them, at least for now. By the time they would realise that they were no longer there, it would already be too late. I see Cory rush in with his phone tight in his hand as he slips into the chair beside his mother.

With a low voice, he whispered and slipped the phone to her face. Her face turned up in shock, and then she tried to cover it. She pushed it away, and I saw her shake her head at him. She was a master at putting herself in situations like this because, even for a moment, she did not flinch after hearing the news.

Theo came in, and he nodded at me; the plan was set in motion. "Wow, have you seen this?" someone in the crowd muttered. "Seen what?" Another person stretched to see what was going on.

"That is the kind of thing that rich families like to do," another woman muttered as she glanced in the direction of Yvette, who was sitting still in her chair. The person speaking was acting as though they weren't part of a rich family and, ultimately, the problem at hand. They were whispering around the hall, but the looks directed at Olivia made it obvious that they were speaking about her. 

"What is going on?" Olivia stiffened as her party was no longer about her. She was not the centre of attraction anymore, and that made anger radiate out of her bones intensely. She snapped her fingers, and a man in a green shirt neatly tucked into his trousers cowardly hurried to her. She turned to him as low as her voice could go, and with the corner of her mouth, she spoke. "What the hell is happening?"

"I am not sure, ma'am," the man said, his voice shaking from fear already.

"Then find out," her voice came out more than a whisper as she rolled her eyes at him. "Are you serious right now?" she added. The man took a step back and scrambled out of the hall immediately.

"Is everything okay?" I was the one leaning in with a smile.

"Sure, it is," she said, trying to maintain the smile on her face. "Everything is peachy," she intimated in an accent, but she did it so badly I was unable to recognise which one it was. The man reappeared and lowered himself to her ear.

"You need to see this," he whispered, but just loud enough for me to hear. She took out the tablet from his hand and scanned through it.

"What in heaven's name is this?" This time, she was unable to hide her scream. "How did this happen?" she added.

I watched a man hurry to her dad and whisper something in his ear. "Impossible!" he screamed, startling the entire hall in the process. "How can that happen? Are you joking with me right now?" He asked as he hurried to his feet and made his way up to the stage where we were seated.

"Olivia James!" he said, like he was about to give her a scolding of a lifetime. "Care to explain what the hell this is?" He pushed his phone in her face.

"Papa," Olivia stammered as she got up, everyone in the hall trying to see what was happening. "It is not what it seems." She cast a look at me, and I shrugged.

"Then explain this. I never said it was what it looked like. I was asking you to explain the situation to me so I understand it." The older man picked his words one after the other.

"It's a misunderstanding; I have been framed," Olivia cried, and her performance was Oscar-worthy. She shook her head and pressed her lips together with tears already brimming at the corners of her eyes.

"Then explain to me how this turned into a misunderstanding? So I can clear it up before the prices of our stock fall." Mr James did not seem to want to condone his daughter's behaviour. He turned to me when he got from her fake tears that ruined her eye makeup and acts of distress.

"I am very sorry about this, Mr Vexley," he said, and I nodded.

"I am still very confused about what this is about," I say, and he clears his throat. "I guess it is a family matter, and you do not want me to know about it, even though I will be getting married to your daughter soon."

None of them had actually said anything with their mouth to ascertain the claim, and that was already getting on my nerves. "It's not that," he said with a nervous chuckle. "It is just that my daughter might be smart, but she is still a young woman."

"What is it? I might be able to help," I say, and he shakes his head. "If only you would tell them what it is," I add, trying my best not to break out in a smile. If I had not tarnished her reputation, then I couldn't shift the wedding, and then I would have to walk down the aisle with her tomorrow, but this was going to buy me the time I needed.

"She is being charged for fraud," James finally confessed, and I gasped. The most worthy performance I have ever put on. "But you do not have to worry; I am going to make sure to clear it up..."

I raise my hand in the air to stop him. "I know she did it to do it; she is too much of a sweet woman to do it," I start, and he looks at me, trying to understand where I was going. "But as a businessman, I have to think of my business first; I am sure you understand," I begin.

He does because that is exactly what he was going to do as well. "I will put a hold on the wedding for now. What do you think about that?" I was not asking because their opinions mattered. That was how this had to end. I was just being courteous so they felt inclined.

"It is settled then. The wedding won't hold tomorrow as planned; we will move it forward and resolve all of this first." I finally get up so my voice can fill the entire hall. There were a lot of whispers, but no one dared say anything. The party slowly wound down, and everyone filed out at intervals. It had already turned awkward with Olivia's scandal and Yvette's name in the news as well.

"You did this!" Olivia screamed in my face immediately. The hall was empty, and it was just the two of us left. She wiped the table in front of us with her hands, and everything shattered onto the ground in an instant.

"Do you have evidence that I did?" I asked as calmly as I could, and before she could answer, I continued. "I saved myself because I can't go down with you, and you think I did this?"

"I know you did this to save your little girl, but I told you that if you try any funny business, I was not going to take it easy with you," she breathed down my neck.

"You shouldn't be here blaming me for your fraud charges; you should be out there trying to clear your name." I take a step back and push my hands into the pockets of my trousers. "And since I kept up my end of the deal, if you try any funny business with Nirelle, you can be sure that I will destroy you."

I turn and walk out, ignoring her screams behind me. Yvette steps in my way and points her finger in my face.

"We need to talk now!"