In Bed With The Devil

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

With every turn, every close and every curb. Olivia found herself even more confused than the last. She was barefoot, barely clothed, disheveled with beads of sweat forming at her forehead, tired from all the running with the fear of being caught by her mafia husband’s henchmen…worst of all she felt her anemia slowly creeping in. She was bound to pass out any moment from now.

At the sight of blood from under the table during breakfast, Olivia’s reality finally dinged in her brain and she knew she had to run away. She took a sweep of her environment from the terrace and knew the house wasn’t heavily guarded, a little bit of eavesdropping at Cillian and Maria’s conversation helped her know her husband had some important shipment landing in—it could be guns and drugs for all she knew, she didn’t care, she just had to leave. Hence the house being less guarded than the night of her arrival.

It was not a thought out plan, escape through the terrace with the ropes from the drapery holdbacks she found in a random chest across the hall, run out the gate and out of the estate, then she planned to find any means of help to communicate with her father, board a plane and leave the country immediately all before she was found.

It was a stupid idea, jumping from a huge storey ,but she managed to land safely on a row of bushes. There were a few pricks on her skin and a load of tiny thorns nestled all up in her hair, still she managed to wring her way out of the gate and onto the street of the estate undetected.

The neighborhood was uncanny, like something out of an eerie movie with barely any sight of a being outside on the freshly mowed lawns she walked past by. She spotted a tinted from afar and lunged for a sprint of her life, turning and turning until she found herself lost with no hope of reaching the main gate any time soon.

“Are you okay??” She heard from behind and turned around sharply to an old woman standing in the middle of the street, with a watering can and a visor clearly shown that she was into gardens.

Panting heavily, Olivia rested her hands on her knees before she passed out, “I….water…I—

“Oh dear,” the woman was flustered as she reached for Olivia who was seconds away from unconsciousness, “Come with me dear, I’ll keep you safe come on now.”

Olivia felt safe in the hands of the stranger, she smelled like cookies and tide pods which was an uncanny combination but still worked nonetheless. Slowly she managed to rise to her feet, staggering a little as she tried to regain her balance before she followed the woman into the beautiful house right across the street.

“Who are y——

“My husband,” Olivia muttered as she grabbed the glass of water from her hands, downing the precious liquid in one gulp and in need of more, “I’m trying to run away from my husband.”

********

“I’m Geraldine by the way,” The woman muttered and hour later after helping Olivia into some new clothes, “But I go by Gran Gran anyways.”

Olivia, still shaken from the events of the hour before sniffled lightly as she nodded in acknowledgment, she tried her possible best to muster a smile at the sweet lady but none was forthcoming as her trauma seemed to get the best of her.

Geraldine’s home was beautiful, cozy but luxurious as the several sculptures around the living room showed she was a woman of elegant tastes. Olivia ruffled the hem of her skirt, she needed to get in contact with her father as soon as possible before Alex finds her, “Do you have a phone Geraldine?”

“Oh call me Gran gran “ Geraldine chuckled softly as she walked away and returned minutes later with a plate of cookies and another glass of water, “You look famished dear. Here, have some cook—-

“I’m sorry but I really need a phone.” Olivia snapped, seeing the perturbed look on Geraldine’s face brought an instant regret as she choked back on tears, “I’m sorry…I..I’m just a little jittery that’s all. I’m sorry Gran gran.”

Geraldine smiled, “it’s okay dear,” she took a seat next to Olivia and placed a supportive hand over hers, Olivia felt a wave of comfort hit her immediately, “Now tell me what’s going on dear, why are you in such a hurry and what’s with this husband of—

“He’s not my husband,” Olivia said abruptly as she sniffled again, “He’s a monster. Alex Maldov.”

Geraldine’s eyes lit up in surprise, “Alex Maldov?? Certainly there’s been a mistake. The Alex Maldov I know is a charming young man, a philanthropist who has contributed a lot to this gated community, I’m pretty sure you’re making a mistake dear.”

Olivia stared at Gran gran with her eyes filled with nothing but pity for the old woman. Alex Maldov had a clean reputation just as she predicted, he was so cunning to the core where he would trick an old woman into believing he was a good person. She hated him even more.

“Alex Maldov is the mafia Gran gran.”

“You mean he’s an actor? Like Arnold Schwarzenegger?”

Olivia sighed deeply, Geraldine was a innocent and pure that her perception of Alex was nothing short of sweet—-if only she knew he was a cunning, arrogant murderer and the leader of a Mafia organization.

“Yeah something like that,” she managed to say, reluctant to taint the poor woman’s soul any longer, “you really need to help me get out of here gran gran.”

Geraldine blinked sharply as concerned lines appeared on her forehead, “Is he hurting you dear? Should we call the poli—-

“No!!” Olivia shook her head vigorous “No police please!”

Calling the police would only anger Alex even more, her father’s life was on the line. Charles Camden had a lot to answer for but she valued his life above all else, even if it meant putting herself in the clutches of a monster.

“Okay dear,” Geraldine cooed as she stroke Olivia’s hair lightly, “You need to rest.”

“I need…I…I need a phone,” Olivia’s hands clasped together in a bid of plea, “Please…”

Geraldine nodded finally, “I’ll get you a phone upstairs, just relax dear.”

Olivia heaved a breath of relief as the old woman went out of sight, she felt a slight ray of hope shining on her after her dreaded streak of badluck these past few days, still there was a sense of danger tugging at her heart—-her gut still blaring signs like she was treading in enemy waters.

She heard Geraldine’s footsteps and sprang upright, adjusting her poise as she waited for the phone which Geraldine handed to her with a smile on her face. Olivia vowed to repay the woman’s kindness once she was safe again.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, Geraldine chuckled, “Oh that must be the butter boy. I’ll be back dear.”

Olivia’s brow arched in question, the mention of a butter boy felt so outdated as times had clearly evolved, and getting butter was easy from the comforts of the supermarket or convenience stores. Something was definitely wrong, she just couldn’t place where.

Geraldine walked towards the door and frowned deeply at the ringing of her doorbell for the third time. She opened it and her frown slowly morphed into a scowl, a sudden change in demeanor from the sweet old woman from few minutes ago, “You’re late.”

“I was caught up at the workhouse. Hello to you too Gran gran.” Alex muttered with his eyes concealed from the glasses, she couldn’t see the disdain he so intently wanted to show.