Saved by the sea

Chapter 11

The car ride was miserable. I felt like s**t and my body was sore to the point of really painful. But that was not as painful as the silence and tension in the room, which made it almost unbearable. Being this close to him made me feel sick. Each time he made a sharp move I felt myself freeze or even flinch. I'm pretty sure he noticed it, and he looked like he enjoyed my reactions.

So to say that this drive felt like eternity in hell would be an understatement.

Once we finally arrived at the hotel, it was clear we were both relieved and more than happy to get out of the car. We were greeted by the hotel staff, but I had no wish or energy to interact with the overly polite people that were showing us around, especially when Oliver started acting like a loving newlywed husband and put his hand on my lower back. The moment he touched my back I felt sick and if I had anything in my stomach, I would have thrown up. I am sure that the smell of his cologne will always haunt me.

So it will not surprise anyone that I didn't catch anything that him or the staff were saying up until we were in the room and Oliver finally stepped away from me and I could finally breathe in.

My happiness of finally being out of his touch was short-lived, because not a moment after we were alone in the room, Oliver declared that we were going to a party. Honestly there was only a few things I wanted to do less than go to a party, but the alternative of staying here with him... moments of last night flashed behind my eyes as I quietly nodded and turned around to get ready.

The party was thrown by one of his friends at their beachfront villa to celebrate our wedding or something like that. I kinda tuned out most of what he was saying to me... not that he bothered to say a lot.

The idea of going out to a party full of people I did not know felt like a flavor of my personal hell, but as it was the lesser of two evils, I would suffer socializing over spending another night with Oliver.

It took me almost half an hour of rummaging through my luggage trying to find something to wear, but nothing felt or looked right. Sure, it was probably mostly because I felt like s**t, but it was clear that someone... probably Oliver's mother... went through my closet and added some new pieces here, that none of them were my style or very comfortable looking... and right now I craved comfort and familiarity, two things that were not in any of the bags that were packed for me.

Feeling hopeless and defeated, I finally decided on a simple top and a long skirt, made from silky material. It was probably way to simple, but it already felt like more effort than I had energy for.

Now came the next task, doing my hair and make-up... this one was going to be even more difficult as I still hated the way my hair looked. I know that it sounds childish, and it is just hair, that it will grow back but... but I just can't stand it. The feel of it against my neck and face, in a way it made me feel naked. Not to mention the fact that every time I saw myself, I felt more and more ugly. It was at the point, where I could start crying if I spent more time looking at myself.

So I powered through as fast as I could because I was sure that there was nothing I could do to fix it.

When I was finally done and came back to the living room, I found Oliver already half drunk and this just another layer of hell to this already horrible situation.

On the plane ride I was thankful that he was more interested in the drinks that the flight attendant was serving and the flight attendant herself than me.

In the lobby we were greeted by who I could only guess was the administrator of this hotel. She was all smile and shining eyes at Oliver, completely ignoring my existence. Not that I minded, but it was a bit sickening to see, especially because she knew that he was here with his wife. I had to suffer through fifteen minutes of them openly flirting until the car came to pick us up to take us to the party.

The driver looked like a very nice person or he was hoping for a better tip, because I was once again ignored, making me believe that it was the latter.

We arrived at the villa and, by the looks of it, the party was in full swing. There were a lot of half-dressed people walking in and out and music was blasting so loud that the car windows were vibrating.

Everything in was screaming to bed to take me back to the hotel, but I managed to control myself, as I knew that begging would be pointless.

From the moment we stepped out of the car, Oliver was back to his role of very in-love newlyweds, dragging me next to him to make the grand entrance. After that, it took him around five minutes until he dropped me off at the corner of the room without another word as he went out to the crowd that greeted him with a cheer.

Finally, alone and with nothing better to do, I just wandered off alone, looking around, trying to find a quiet corner to hide. I crossed room after room, but every corner like that was filled with couples making out... or doing something more serious...

Once I saw doors to what looked like the back patio, I took my chances in hopes of getting fresh air. And I was lucky, it was almost empty.

So I walked through the door taking in a breath of fresh air that felt so refreshing after standing in that room filled with scent of alcohol, sweat and who knows what else. I found a free corner as I leaned against the railing looking at the setting sun. Looking at the sea at sunset always brought me peace, but all I felt was sadness at the state my life was in. It was a mess.

So I just stood there, looking at the magical ocean, when the party moved outside and a bunch of people walked onto the deck that I was standing on, invading my safe heaven, guess I was not meant to have anything good.

The crowd split open as Oliver walked outside after a girl and they seemed to be fighting.

Great... just what I needed tonight.

"Olivia... calm down. Yes, I married her, but it's just for the public..."

But the woman just ignored him and walked away from him, without giving him a glance. He was about to say something else, but then his eyes turned to me. His face changed from desperate and apologetic, to angry. Then he released a frustrated growl and made his way to me.

Fuck...

This cannot end well for me.

"Fuck... why do you have to ruin my life..."

Completely exhausted and frustrated with all this, I did not even try to stop myself from answering.

"You were the one that decided to marry me and orchestrated the whole thing, so don't blame me"

Oliver looked at me shocked for a second and I could almost swear that his face went red, but I was not sure if it was rage or embarrassment.

Without another word he just turned around and left.

The party noise from the inside of the house started to seep outside, breaking the awkward silence and everyone slowly turned they attention elsewhere.

I let the cool breeze stroke my cheek as I felt myself relax, and I turned back to the sea.

After about an hour, Oliver returned. He seemed more sober, but there was something wrong with him.

He just walked up to me without a word. I chose to ignore him, deciding not to even turn around, hoping that he would take the message and go away, but I was not that lucky.

He walked up close to me from behind. When I felt his presence so close to me my heart began to beat faster from fear, and then I felt his hand on my back.

The next thing I knew I was flying down over the rails. My fall was stopped by the cold water and hard rocks of the beach.