Chapter 7
1029 Words
The morning sun gently streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow in the living room. Liam stirred on the couch, slowly awakening to the awful sound of the clatter of pots in the kitchen.
'What was that awful sound?' he groaned inwardly as he sat up, his gaze swept the room, only to land on Olivia cooking in the kitchen.
Cooking? She was cooking?
A mixture of confusion and surprise etched across his face, Liam's widened eyes following Olivia's movements as she continued to cook oblivious of his presence.
He didn't picture her to be the type to cook, he had it in mind to order takeout once she was awake.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Liam's curiosity got the better of him. "What are you doing?" he queried, rising from the couch and making his way to the kitchen.
Olivia turned around startled by his voice and she placed her hand to her chest, the fear in her eyes soon softened when she realized it was Alex.
She quickly closed the pot with an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to disturb your sleep," she said, a hint of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
She had woken up to find him sleeping on the couch, she didn't want to disturb him so she went to the kitchen to see what was available to eat. Unfortunately, there was nothing, so she decided to cook something for both of them.
"I thought it best to make us something to eat," she explained.
Liam, still adjusting to the morning, couldn't help but chuckle. "I was actually planning to order breakfast. I didn't know you could cook."
With a genuine smile, Olivia replied, "I am not so good but I can cook."
Perplexed yet intrigued, Liam raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" A playful challenge danced in his eyes. "I get that you might feel the need to do something nice for me but trust me we could order takeout and-"
Olivia, undeterred, met his gaze interrupting him from speaking further. "There's only one way to settle this. Come, sit, and have a taste."
Liam chuckled at her confidence, there was nothing wrong with a woman who couldn't cook, he grew up having chefs cook his meals. Even his mother never for once entered the kitchen.
He stared at her for a second hesitant but he took a seat at the small dining table. As Olivia reaches out for a plate, she dishes out the food in the pot and serves it to him.
"Did you sleep well?" Liam asked her.
"Yeah, I did, did you?" Olivia lied. She barely got any sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened overnight, it was why she woke up early and decided to change her mind by cooking.
"It's the first sleeping on the couch but it wasn't so bad," Liam groans rubbing the back of his neck.
Olivia placed the dish in front of him, smiling nervously, "Bon appétit."
Liam eyed the dish, rice, and sauce with chicken a concoction of flavors and aromas he couldn't quite decipher filled the air.
He grabbed the fork by the side, taking a forkful into his mouth he tasted the food and to his surprise, it was delicious.
His eyes widened unable to hide the astonishment in his expression.
"You can cook," he exclaimed.
Olivia beamed with pride, she had been skeptical about his taste in food. It had been a while since she cooked not that anyone back home ever tried her food.
"Is it okay?"
"Yeah," Liam nodded taking another bite, his phone suddenly rang on the couch. "Excuse me," he said leaving the dining to grab his phone.
Glancing at the screen, he saw it was his dad calling. He picked up the call bringing the phone to his ear as he sat on the couch, "Dad?"
"I had a discussion with Mr. Parker last night and we decided to meet up today at his house," Mr. Carter said. "You should bring Olivia."
Liam's eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, but he simply replied, "Sure, Dad. What is this about?"
"He is hoping we could take his other daughter since Olivia has chosen to be with another man," Mr. Carter replied.
Liam shook his head in disbelief, he had thought Mr. Parker was a sensible man but it seemed he was wrong about him. The man was definitely desperate to make sure his company became successful even if it meant using his daughters.
"What's the plan? Clearly, I am acting as -"
"Jake would take your place, hopefully, they buy it," Mr. Carter answered.
"Very well, we will be there soon," Liam agreed as the call disconnected.
Placing his phone in his pocket, he turned to Olivia, who looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Is everything alright? Did my dad report you? Are you in trouble?"
"Actually we will need to go back to your house, your father called a meeting between Mr. Carter and us."
Olivia's eyes widened slightly, uncertainty playing on her features. "What do you mean by that?" She couldn't go back home, not after everything that had happened.
Her father would kill her if he saw her again, she saw how angry and disappointed he was to hear that she was not getting married to Liam Carter.
"I think your father wants your sister to get married instead to Liam Carter," Liam explained.
"My sister? What are you talking about?" Olivia asked. As far as she remembered she didn't have a sister, she was the only child of her mother.
"You do have a sister right?" Liam asked wondering why she was surprised by his words, or did Mr. Parker lie to them?
"A sister?" Olivia questioned lost in thought for a second about it, her jaw suddenly clenched as realization hit her on who Alex was referring to.
How could he do this? The only sister she knows is Ashley, and she was her step-sister. Her father had cheated on her mother with Ashley's mother.
So he was just going to replace her with Ashley? Was she that useless to him?
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