Chapter Five – Collision
1040 Words
The air thickened with tension from Lisa’s harsh words. Eliana's hand trembled, but she gripped on the plate she was serving tightly. Her mother glanced at her in confusion, sensing trouble but choosing to remain silent.
Oliver rose slowly, his face hardening. "Lisa, why are you here?"
"Why am I here?" she echoed, her laugh loud and hurting. The crowd stirred, watching the scene about to unfold. "No, Oliver, why are you here, in this filthy place, eating cheap food with… her?”
Lisa's unkind gaze at Eliana made her feel worthless, despite having done nothing wrong.
Eliana lowered her head. Her chest tightened, she has faced insults before but these felt different— sharper and heavier—because they weren’t just directed at her; It was about comparing her to a world she had never lived in before.
"Enough," Oliver said firmly, stepping forward. His voice was low but carried authority. "You shouldn’t be here."
Lisa arched her brow. "I have every right to be here. Do you know how embarrassing it was, sitting by myself while you ignored my calls? I had to track down your driver to find out where you were. Imagine my surprise finding the great Oliver Williams spending his afternoon with..." She paused deliberately, letting her words slice through the air. "...with a nobody."
Eliana’s throat tightened. Her pride wanted to speak up and tell this woman she wasn’t a nobody but she managed to keep her cool.
Oliver's jaw clenched. "Don't speak to her like that," he said.
The crowd began to murmur, some recognizing him, others too intrigued to look away. A billionaire son defending a girl from a roadside stall. It was a kind of scandal that people enjoy hearing.
Lisa smirked, satisfied that she had struck a nerve. "Oh, so you're taking her side now? Is that it? Have you completely lost your mind, Oliver? You're supposed to be with me. Our families expect it. Our futures are already tied together."
Oliver stepped closer, his voice like steel. "What you and my parents expect doesn’t matter. Not here."
For the first time, Lisa's smirk faltered. She couldn't believe what was happening, she leaned in, her words piercing and hurtful. "Be careful, Oliver.
This girl—she’ll ruin you. You don’t know where she comes from or what she wants. Do you really think it's an accident she's being so sweet? You’re an heir to billions. Guys like you don’t get attention from girls like her without a laiddown plan," Lisa said.
Eliana finally raised her eyes, her expression filled with pain. "That’s not true," she said softly. Her voice was steady but her chest tightened from being doubted easily.
Lisa tilted her head, her tone laced with false sympathy. “Of course you would say that.” Oliver’s hands twirled into fists, and his tolerance began to diminish. “That’s enough, Lisa.”
The entire stall went silent. Their neighbors and even passersby stopped to see what was going on. Eliana's mother whispered to her ear, “ Go inside my daughter.”
But Eliana stood her ground. Her cheeks turned red, but her pride was stronger than her fear. She would not walk away as though she had done something shameful. More like she had always known a thing like this would occur.
Lisa finally straightened, her eyes flashing with cold fury. “Fine. Stay here, Oliver. Stay with her. But don’t forget—you belong to a world that won’t forgive this. And I promise you, they will hear about it.”
With a final glare at Eliana, she spun on her heel, her perfume lingering in the dusty air. Her car door slammed shut, and within seconds, the luxury vehicle pulled away, leaving behind whispers and curious stares.
Oliver exhaled heavily, dragging a hand through his hair. His chest heaved with words he couldn’t quite say. Eliana bent quickly, gathering empty plates, trying to appear busy, but her trembling fingers betrayed her.
“Eliana,” Oliver said at last, his voice quiet but rough.
She froze. Slowly, she turned to him. His eyes met hers, full of regret and something deeper he couldn’t name. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “For this. For her. You didn’t deserve any of it.”
She wanted to answer, but her throat was too tight. Instead, she gave a small nod and turned back to her work, hiding the tears burning at the corner of her eyes.
Across town, Lisa stormed into the Weldons’ estate, her heels striking the marble floor like thunder. Her parents looked up in surprise as she swept into the drawing room, her face flushed with rage.
“You won’t believe what Oliver is doing,” she snapped, her voice dripping with venom. “He’s humiliating us. Right now. In public.”
“What do you mean?” Mrs. Weldon asked sharply.
Lisa threw her purse on the sofa, her lips curling. “He was at some filthy roadside stall… eating with some street girl. Protecting her. Defending her. Like she mattered more than his family, more than us.”
Mr. Weldon’s face darkened. “Are you certain?”
Lisa’s smile was bitter. “Certain enough. And if you don’t act, the Williams family will hear it from someone else. Because the entire street saw him.”
Her words landed like fire in dry grass. Within hours, whispers reached the Williams estate. At the grand dining hall, Oliver’s parents sat in stony silence as the news was repeated, each detail sharper than the last.
Their son. With a common girl. In public.
The silence broke with Oliver’s father slamming his hand against the table. “He is going to destroy everything we’ve built.”
And across the city, as Eliana finished serving her last plate of food, unaware of the storm already gathering, her name was being mentioned in rooms of power she had never dreamed of entering.
A storm that would soon come crashing down on her doorstep.
Oliver’s mother’s voice was cold as ice as she leaned across the table.
“Find out who this girl is,” she ordered. “And make sure she disappears from Oliver’s life—before she ruins him.”
- Writer
