Unwrap Your Desire

OLIVIA

TO SAY that I was relieved that Ernest Maxwell had taken back what he had offered was an understatement. Torn between being completely at ease and worrying about what would happen next, I huffed in frustration.

I understood that he was emotional because of the fact that his son was slowly losing his business. What I didn’t understand was why he’d gone to that extent. He made me feel like I wasn’t fit to be Chase’s wife and made me doubt him.

Now, he turned the tables, thinking that my emotions would be flipped back in an instant.

Lara went home as soon as she’d woken up. I decided not to tell her about my conversation with Ernest as I knew she wouldn’t stop preaching to me.

I didn’t want to stress myself over the conversation I had with him either, and so I decided to attend school even though I could feel the throbbing pain in my head. It was bearable, though. I’ve taken medicine to help me function at school for the day.

The buzz could be heard everywhere, which means students only have five more minutes to rush into their respective classrooms before the classes begin. I didn’t waste much time and headed to the first class. However, when I was near the classroom, I saw Mia standing with her arms crossed, and leaning her back against the railing.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

She noticed my presence. Her eyes sparked a bit, then her expression turned a bit reluctant. I recalled how I scolded her in the cafeteria yesterday after telling Chase that I wasn’t alright. Sighing, I couldn’t help but feel guilty that I released my frustrations at her. I knew she was only concerned and trying to be of help.

“Mia,” I said as I walked in her direction.

“Reese, I’ve been waiting for you,” she said carefully, and looked at me as if she was trying to gauge my mood. “Look, I’m so sorry about what happened yesterday. I didn’t mean to interfere that way. I was only concerned about you since you were not telling me anything. I hope you can forgive me.”

I offered her my sincerest smile and tapped her shoulder.

“I should apologize to you too, Mia. It wasn’t my intention to scold you publicly. It was my high emotions that took over. I’m sorry,” I stated.

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize. I was being nosy and I deserved that.”

“No, you didn’t. Thank you for being a good friend, Mia.”

“I’m glad you’re considering me as your good friend,” she said shyly, and then we hugged each other.

I saw the professor walking her way to our classroom. I immediately tapped Mia’s back and told her we needed to go inside. We both laughed as we were like high school teenagers reuniting after a petty fight.

The class turned out to be good, except for the fact that I couldn’t give my entire attention to the professor. I’ve spent the majority of my time thinking about my next plan, and I came up with a decision to continue with my studies, and once I got successful, I’d tell Chase the truth.

There’s no way I could hide it from him forever. With all the strange things that have happened in the past few days, I think fate might have been trying to warn me that every bad motive begets major consequences. In my case, my karma started to knock on my door, haunting me every day.

Charles joined us in the second class. He seemed to be starting to change ever since he started his relationship with Mia. She was like an angel radiating good influence, and it was infectious as Charles was trying to behave.

I felt extremely weird being around them though. I was like a third wheel who was pitying herself for not having her boyfriend. I let out a heavy sigh, realizing how much I miss my husband so much. I wished the days would pass quickly so he could go home soon.

I rested one of my elbows on my desk, then took my phone from my bag and typed a text message for Chase.

I miss you, love. 😡

***

LUNCH BREAK came, and thankfully, Charles had decided to give me and Mia some girly time of our own. Instead of having lunch in the cafeteria, we went out of the university and dined at an Italian restaurant nearby.

“Charles seemed to be changing,” I commented right after ordering our food.

Mia’s face lit up. Grinning from ear to ear, she replied, “Isn’t it sweet? He’s trying his best to be a better man.”

I nodded and smiled. “I love that he’s treating you right.”

“He’s a good man, Reese. A lot like Chase.”

“He has to be. Otherwise, I’m going to kick him in the face,” I said and laughed.

Mia chuckled and slightly hit my forearm. “Thanks to you, I can finally say that I’m happy with my life.”

“No need to thank me, Mia. I’m glad to be a matchmaker.” I winked at her.

The food arrived in less than a minute. We were both eating and discussing topics regarding the last class we attended when I noticed my phone lighting up. I took a glimpse at the notification and saw that I had received an email. I was about to ignore it. However, as I read the sender’s name, my eyes widened.

“Ellie Steward!” I exclaimed and quickly covered my mouth as I realized that my voice was loud.

“What is it?” Mia asked curiously and leaned forward to look at my phone too.

“Ellie is inviting me to work with her for a certain fashion brand she’s currently funding,” I told her. My eyes went teary as I couldn’t explain my happiness.

“Holy cow! It sounds like a big opportunity, Reese! Grab it!” Mia exclaimed.

“Oh my gosh! My hands are sweating… Do you think it’s right to accept it? I don’t think I’m capable of working in the said field.”

Mia rolled her eyes at me. “How would you know you’re capable if you’re not going to give it a try? Do not be ashamed of trying, Reese. That’s how success starts!”

I inhaled sharply and nodded in agreement. Mia was definitely right. I replied to Ellis’s email, telling her that I’d love to work with her. She responded quickly, requesting that we meet formally so she could explain everything in detail.

I was over the moon and couldn’t process it yet as it happened all of a sudden. I asked Mia to join me in this project, and she felt so ecstatic, wanting to become my assistant.

After our final class for the day, we went to the office address Ellie sent me to meet her. I could have sworn that my heart was racing fast because of both excitement and nervousness. Mia couldn’t hide her excitement either, as it was her first time meeting people who were known in the fashion industry.

The cab stopped in front of a two-story grand boutique. Mia kept shaking my arm, completely perplexed by seeing Ellie’s headquarters.

“This is it, Reese! My heart is beating so fast!” she said happily.

“Alright, calm down a bit, Mia. We have to impress Ellie Steward,” I reminded her, giving her a stare.

She nodded her head quickly and raised her head with the utmost confidence.

“Of course! As your assistant, I’ll make sure to impress them!” Then she turned to me. “But, given my lack of fashion knowledge, I’m not sure how to go about it.”

I laughed. Shaking my head, I said, “We’re just the same, but remember what you said to me earlier? We can try to see what we’re capable of.”

“Exactly!”

“Then let’s go,” I said.

She clung to me as we walked to the boutique. The security guard let us in after I told him that we were invited by Ellie. As soon as we entered the place, my eyes were greeted with numerous sets of luxurious clothes. Each corner of the spacious place had shoe and bag shelves. The walls were painted with white and a little bit of brown to complement the main color. There were abstract portraits everywhere, and the ambiance was really customer friendly.

A staff member approached us politely, and then guided us to the second floor. My eyes didn’t stop roaming around. This was the kind of office I wanted to have!

“Reese!” I heard the familiar voice of Ellie Steward.

I turned to the other side and saw her walking towards us. She greeted me, kissed my cheek, and shook hands with Mia.

“So, this is Mia. I plan to make her my assistant in this partnership,” I told Ellie.

She glanced between us with a smile. “That’s perfect, Reese. I’m excited to work with both of you.”

“Thanks, Ms. Ellie. It’s truly an honor.” Mia clasped her hands together. She looked as if she was stunned by Ellie’s elegance and beauty.

“Likewise, Mia.” Ellie smiled at her. “Anyway, I’m going to introduce you first to our designers. Come with me.”

Ellie spun around and walked towards a hallway, which would lead us to the other side of this floor, which could be her main office. Mia and I followed her until we entered what seemed like a conference room where there were three people brainstorming some ideas .

Their eyes landed on us. I offered them a thin smile and slightly lowered my head.

“Guys, I would like you to meet Reese Jones-Maxwell and Mia Brown. They will be working with us on the new project we will be working on.” Then Ellie glanced at us. “So we have Sam, Eunice, and Elizabeth here. They are the fashion designers who would join us while working on the brand.”

The designers, whose names were Sam and Eunice, introduced themselves to us. I had to admit that they looked very young and had a great fashion statement. They looked kind and approachable. The nervousness I felt washed away. I guess, I didn’t have to worry that much given that Ellie’s team seemed to be friendly.

Except for the third fashion designer, whose name was Elizabeth.

She looked at us with obvious hate, which I didn’t know where it came from. She stood up from her swivel chair and walked towards me.

“H-Hi there! My name is Reese Jones-Maxwell. I am pleased to meet you,” I said, and extended my hand for a hand shake.

However, she didn’t offer her hand to me. Instead, she crossed her arms against her chest and raised one of her eyebrows.

“I never thought that I’d see you again.” she said, her words dripping off disgust.

My forehead creased. The way she stared and talked to me, it appeared that she had a connection with Reese.

“I’m sorry but… do we know each other?” I asked, trying to be more careful as I didn’t want to sound rude to her.

She smirked while shooting me a glare. “Of course. Who would know such a wicked woman?”

A palm struck my cheek, which made me gasp.

“Reese f*cking Jones… you should be dead already! Why did you have to come back?” She asked as she raised her voice on me.

“I apologize, but I can’t-”

“You stole Chase from me!” She cut my words off. “And how dare you pretend that you didn’t know me? I am Elizabeth Risto, the woman who you messed with and stole a guy from!”