The color of our love

Chapter 8

Justin felt a dull anger rising within him. He couldn't believe that this bastard had the nerve to show up in Moscow.

"He came to the company demanding half of it from you; according to him, it's your mother who's demanding it," Milton continued.

That was the last straw for Justin, who knocked over everything in front of him. Emily rushed over immediately; she was the only one who could calm him down properly. He calmed down, however reluctantly. Fate seemed determined to test his nerves. This woman dared to return years after dragging his father to his grave, and on top of that, she demanded from him the inheritance he himself had so masterfully built. He wasn't about to let her come back and walk away with it as if nothing had happened. He had his own idea about what he should do.

Thank you, Milton, although I know it wasn't necessary to bring me here. I know perfectly well what I have to do. You may go now.

Justin quickly went back up the stairs; he was ready to settle this matter as quickly as possible, but first he needed to know how Olivia was doing because he had her followed by a private detective.

- So, what's the news, Jason?

"Nothing special, sir. She just got home and seemed very downcast, and now she's talking with her friend," replied the famous Jason.

"And you don't know the reason for this sadness?" Justin asked.

- I simply know that she had to talk to a woman in the park and that this scene looked like a confession session, that's all I could observe, Mr. Hamilton.

- Thank you, please continue to follow her and keep me informed of everything she does.

- Okay, sir.

Justin hung up, wondering who could have caused Olivia so much pain. He vowed to get to the bottom of it. He put the phone down and decided to take a nice shower before joining Emily, who was expecting him for dinner.

~~

Olivia had spent all her time wandering around, unsure of what to do. Her encounter with her aunt had completely shaken her. She thought she had put the whole thing behind her, but her aunt seemed determined to remind her of what she was trying so hard to forget. She told herself she was cursed, as her entire life had been a string of misfortunes. She thought she had found a semblance of serenity and peace, but fate and bad luck seemed to cling to her like a persistent weed. Her birth had been seen as a blessing by some and a curse by others. Her mother had endured twenty years of marriage before having her; she was, moreover, her only child. When she was born, people said she was cursed, a genius because her eyes were a different color than what they were used to seeing. Her father, on the other hand, saw her as a blessing from God after so many years of suffering. Her mother, for her part, had made the effort to teach her to keep her head high because she was like other children, she was not different from them at all, her mother constantly repeated to her that she should rather be happy since she was different from others, she really should not be sad because God had made her special.

"Hey, Olivia, can you hear me?" asked her friend, who had been trying to bring her back down to earth for several minutes.

- Yes, of course it's fine, what were you saying?

- That's what I thought, you weren't listening to me at all. It's okay, just tell me what's wrong, you know very well that I'm always here for you.

"I saw my aunt again," she blurted out, bursting into tears.

Roxy got up and hugged her. Olivia was very sensitive. Roxy remembered the state she had found her in two years earlier. She was exhausted, completely disoriented, and extremely fragile. She wondered what her friend's life would have been like if she hadn't seen her that day, at that precise hour of the night, in that cold winter weather. She closed her eyes and hugged her even tighter. Roxy had never known the joy of being part of a family, nor the joy of having a brother or sister, but she was happy to have Olivia. She no longer felt alone because Olivia alone represented a whole family, and what's more, her family had adopted her as their own despite their different races, skin colors, and cultures. She remembered, with tears in her eyes, her arrival in Ivory Coast with her friend a year ago. Her parents had doted on her so much that she didn't want to go back to the United States.

"She asked me for forgiveness for all the harm she caused me," she continued. "Do you realize that?"

- There, there, it's over, you won't see her again. Now come and take a bath and rest a little.

Olivia let herself be taken care of. Roxy helped her with a bath. She helped her put on her pajamas and they ate dinner together. After dinner, they went to bed.

The next day, Olivia woke up wanting to do absolutely nothing. She had asked for a day off and it had been granted. She decided to do nothing in particular all day, just stay home. She found a note from Roxy indicating that she had prepared something for her to eat before leaving.

She took a nice bath, dressed simply, and shuffled out of the room. She nibbled on a small piece of bread and picked up a good book, which she began to skim without really paying attention.

She heard the doorbell ring and wondered who could be coming to visit. She didn't know anyone who would come at this hour, and it couldn't be Roxy, since she had a spare key. She didn't bother to look through the peephole and opened the door. Her heart nearly leaped from her chest at the sight of this unexpected visitor.

"So, did you miss me?" asked the visitor with a devastating smile on his lips.

"Mr. Hamilton," she murmured.

"It's really me, in the flesh," replied Justin. "So you're not letting me in?"

Without even giving her time to react or say anything, he entered the apartment...