Unwrap Your Desire

OLIVIA

“Reese, are you alright?” I could sense the worry in Lara’s tone of voice. She patted me on my shoulder, trying to soothe me as soon as we hopped into the cab.

Right after that unwanted scene that Chandria Maxwell created in the coffee shop, I suddenly felt ashamed as the crowd gazed at me, as if I was such a loser to begin with. It was as if I was being judged by everyone and I could not do something to even protect myself. I could not take the way they looked at me so I stormed out of the shop with a little amount of courage that I managed to gather within me.

Chandria Maxwell . . . that b*tch humiliated me in the public. I would never let it go, let alone forgive her from what she had done a while ago!

And she even called me a cheater and gold digger! I was trying to control my emotions so hard but they were so high that I ended up screaming my heart out while inside the cab. Lara then apologized to the driver for my behavior.

All I could do was mutter numerous curses about what happened. That Chandria Maxwell. . . I swore I would sew her mouth closed in the event I got the chance to do so!

“I will never let it slide, Lara. No one dared to humiliate me, except her. The nerve of that woman!” I said angrily with my fisted hands.

“I was too annoyed when she called you a cheater. I mean, it feels like she knows something about Reese Jones . . . and it seems that she is just holding back, saving her ace card for the best. She definitely gave me creeps! What are you going to do now?”

I massaged the temple of my nose and huffed out of frustration, teeth still gritting as I tried to calm myself down. I needed to think straight . . .

I recalled everything Chandria said a while ago. Aside from her rude behavior, what made me feel so angry was the fact that their parents were trying to brainwash Chase about not pursuing the wedding anymore just because of the recent incident that happened.

It became clearer to me that Chase’s parents really dislike me. Did they really think that I would only tarnish their names? And was this the reason why Chase could not tell me about his conversation with his father? He lied to me when he told me he got it fixed, but the truth was, his family did not want him to marry me at all . . . and perhaps persuading him to break up with me!

“I need to do something for our plan to succeed, Lara . . .” I said firmly. “I won ‘t let them dictate Chase. I won ‘t let them ruin my plan.”

I heard Lara sigh. “I think it is becoming more complicated than I thought. Imagine if you married Chase, you would have to deal with his evil sister’s wrath for you? And I heard she mentioned about their parents persuading Chase to not proceed with the wedding anymore.”

“You know I will do everything for money, right?” I glanced her way and gave her a stern look. “And for the love of money, I will never allow Chandria or their parents to ruin any of my plans. If I had to do something absurd to draw Chase’s desire to marry me, I will not hesitate to do so. Mark my words, Lara.”

***

I acted like nothing ever happened from the coffee shop when I got home. I was welcomed by Mrs. Jones who was all smiles at me. Even though my face was grim, I managed to return her smile as I thought that her emotion must be protected no matter what.

“How was your day with your friend?” she asked me curiously as we walked to the living room.

“I had so much fun, Mom . . .” I responded and faked a happy tone of voice.

Her gaze directed to the couple of paper bags in my hand. “You bought a lot of things, sweetheart. Where did you get the money to buy all that stuff?”

I was stunned for a moment, and did not know how I would respond to her question. I cleared my throat a bit. I tried to gather the right words to say, but as soon as I opened my mouth, she spoke once again.

“Was it from Chase? I am sorry, Reese, if I did not give you any allowance to use. Our company is on the verge of bankruptcy and we have a few loans to pay from the bank . . .”

My heart softened as I watched the expression on Mrs. Jones’ face. It radiated shame and pity . . . I was taken aback. All this time I thought they were having a wealthy life but it looked like I was wrong.

“Mom, I understand and you don’t have to give me money . . .”

She was on the verge of tearing up and I felt the need to comfort her. I hugged her and patted her back, making her feel that everything was fine with me.

“If only the Maxwells would find the will in their hearts to help us . . . I do not want you to suffer, sweetheart. Don’t worry, your dad and I will do everything so that the wedding will become possible. You will never experience such a poor life. I promise, Reese.”

Those words which came from a mother comforted me so much. Mrs. Jones undeniably loves Reese that she would do everything for her to have a comfortable life– whereas she would never worry about money and debts.

I wondered why I was never given a mother like Mrs. Jones? If only I had the mother I could run to every time I got into trouble, a mother that would lend her shoulders whenever I experienced heartbreaks and would always tell me that everything would be alright despite the numerous hardships in life, then I bet I would have grown into someone kinder compared to what I was right now . . .

“Mom, you have nothing to worry about. Chase and I will get married. Just give me some time and I will prove to his parents that I am the only woman who deserves to be their son ‘s wife,” I said like a promise engraved to the stones.

I caressed her hair and closed my eyes, making a promise to myself that I would do everything so I could marry Chase, not just for me and Lara but for Reese’s mother . . . to save their company and free her from all her worries.

***

For the first time after the recent incident that happened in the motel, Chase called my phone right before I went to bed to take a rest. I lay down on the bed, let out a huge sigh and answered his call.

“This is new. You finally called,” I commented. I did not want to sound off but my voice came off that way.

Perhaps, at some point, I kind of felt bad that Chase lied to me when he mentioned that he took care of his dad but the truth was, it had gotten more complicated since his parents might have thought that I would only bring nothing but problems to their family. What was worse was that I felt that it was the reason why he hadn’t visited me for two days. Even if he did not say it verbally, his actions spoke more than his mouth.

“I miss you, baby . . .” he uttered in his soft tone of voice. “I am sorry if I was not able to call you these past few days. I had hectic schedules at work but I kept thinking about you all the time. I hope you are not mad at me.”

Oh, you better brace yourself, Chase. I am mad at you for lying to me . . . I wished I could tell him that.

“No, I am not mad at all . . .” But I had to keep my emotions in control because I did not want to ruin my plan. “I understand and as your girlfriend, I should get used to it. I know that your role in your company demands a lot of time.”

“Rest assured that I would make more time with you when we get married,” he said and his voice was so soothing that I would want to believe it.

“Chase . . .”

“Hmm?”

“I accidentally met Chandria at the coffee shop earlier. She told me things that you never tell me.” Now, it was time for plan A. I cleared my throat and shifted my position and faced the side table where I could stare at Reese ‘s portrait. “She said that your parents did not like me, and they wanted you to not marry me.”

“Reese, I am so-”

I faked a sob. “It actually hurts because I never expected to hear it from your sister. And what hurts the most is I feel that it was the reason why you’ve been avoiding me for the last two days. I hope you won’t judge my feelings but that is exactly what I feel right now.”

“Damn it, Chandria . . .” I heard him mutter a curse. “Reese, I am so sorry about Chandria’s action. I assure you that I am not trying to avoid you. You know what, I will go there so we can talk personally.”

“You do not have to, Chase,” I said and faked another sob. I huffed and swallowed hard enough for him to hear it from the other line. “I don’t really want you to suffer because of me. I appreciate everything you have done– still loving me despite the fact that I left you in the past, and still want to marry me even if I lose most of my memories . . . You care a lot for me and even though my mind is haywired because I have amnesia, I know deep within me that I truly love you . . .” I sucked in my breath. “I love you, Chase . . . but I do not want to be a burden anymore. I do not want to see you going through conflict with your family because of-”

“Hold on, baby. What is this all about? Are you trying to break up with me?” His voice sounded as if he was in deep terror and panic.

“Y-Yeah . . .” Another fake sob. “I understand why your family dislikes me, Chase. I have nothing to offer. Our company is on the verge of bankruptcy and we have some debts to pay. I will just end up tarnishing your name. It is best if we end this right now.”

“Really, Reese? You’re breaking up with me over a phone call? No way!”

“And I need to help our company too. I-I’m thinking of convincing some of our shareholders to help us, and even if it takes marrying one of their sons, I would not hesitate to do so . . .”

You were doing great, Olivia . . .

I heard him groan out of frustration. “No, baby. I will never let you do that. I should be the only one you will marry, not anyone else’s son! We will proceed with the wedding no matter what. Even if my parents are completely against it, we will push it through . . . this week. I promise you that. Just please, do not leave me again . . .”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

I bit my lower lip, trying to suppress my smile. Was it too evil for me to be happy while hearing Chase pleading with me not to leave him?

“I will think about it, Chase . . .” I said and then ended the call.

I sucked in a breath. I guess I was really evil to put him in a position where he did have any option but to marry me. After all, he was madly in love with Reese Jones, so in love with her that he would defy his parents just to keep her in his life.

I really hoped this plan would work . . .