Chapter 3
1417 Words
Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes as she struggled to speak. "Mark, I am so sorry to show up unannounced but I need your help."
Mark hesitated, his jaw clenched. He had once loved her deeply but Olivia had shattered their relationship with her reckless behavior. It had taken him a long time to heal from the wounds she had inflicted, and he was still scarred by their breakup.
"Please, I have nowhere else to go," Olivia continued, her voice trembling. "Please."
Mark's expression softened, and reluctantly, he stepped aside, “come in,” he said allowing Olivia to enter his apartment.
She felt a rush of relief as she hurried inside his apartment, as the door closed behind her, Olivia stood still, her legs giving way beneath her. She sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands, and the tears she had been holding back finally flowed freely.
She knew what she had done was wrong and she feared her father’s men would be looking for her now, her lips quivered as she cried. What was she going to do?”
Mark was stunned by her action, he watched her for a moment, torn between anger and compassion. He bent down pulling her into his embrace, “Hey, it’s alright,” he said in a low voice.
“I am sorry,” Olivia apologized, letting go of him as they both got on their feet.
“It’s fine, you should sit down, let me get you water,” he said. He fetched a glass of water from the kitchen and handed it to her once she had sat down on the couch.
"Drink this," he said gently.
Olivia took the glass, her hands trembling. She sipped the water, trying to regain her composure. After a few moments, she looked up at Mark with red-rimmed eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Mark," she whispered. "I will be out of your hair by tomorrow, I promise."
Mark sighed, sitting down on the couch beside her. "What happened? The wedding dress? What is going on?"
Olivia took a deep breath at his question, her tears still falling as she stared at him. She narrated what happened over the week leading up to the wedding and how she ran away from the wedding because she just couldn’t marry him.
Mark nodded his head at interval, his face contouring as she explained how she would have gotten married today.
Mark's eyes narrowed with concern. "Liam? Carter's son? I heard their son was in Italy for years, did he come back for the wedding?"
She nodded before responding, “Yes, Carter's son, I just couldn’t do it Mark and now I…” Olivia struggled to explain further as she broke down in tears again.
"You can stay here for now, you don’t need to leave tomorrow," Mark said finally. "You need to rest, tomorrow we will need to figure out a plan to keep you safe until all this dies down."
“Are you serious? I really don’t want to…”
“It’s fine Olivia, you can stay in the guest room, you are safe here,” Mark kept to his words.
Relief washed over Olivia as she realized that Mark was willing to help her, despite how things had turned out between them.
“You know your way around, so feel at home.”
* * *
The next morning,
Olivia stirred on the bed, her sleep restless and disturbed by nightmares. She had dreamt that her father’s men had taken her in her sleep back to the mansion and locked her up again. She had woken up screaming and disturbing Mark who knocked on the door asking if she was okay.
He had brought one of his pajamas for her to change into and made her salad suggesting that she might be hungry, she wasn’t sure if he was right but after eating that salad she had slept like a log of wood or maybe it was the events of the previous day that left her physically and emotionally drained.
Her mind was still hazy with sleep, but something unusual caught her attention. Mark's voice echoed from downstairs, and it seemed like he was in the midst of a heated conversation.
Confused and concerned, Olivia quickly got out of bed, her heart racing with worry. She hoped that everything was all right.
She opened the door and tiptoed down the stairs, following the sound of Mark's voice. As she reached the living room, what she saw froze her in her tracks.
Mark stood there, his face tense and troubled, talking to a group of men she recognized all too well – her father's men.
"She is upstairs," Mark said to them.
He had called them? How could he do this to her? Panic coursed through her veins, and disbelief settled in the pit of her stomach. She watched one of them hand him a bag which she knew had money inside it.
How much did he bargain for her? She felt her eyes water, she tried to tiptoe back into her
room but they already noticed her presence, they rushed to her grabbing her by the arm and dragging her out, "Let me go," she cried out.
She stared at Mark with a look of disbelief as he opened the door for them, not sparing her a glance, "Please, let me go," she pleaded with them.
She struggled and fought, but the grip on her was unrelenting. Panic coursed through her veins as she realized escape was futile.
The men maneuvered her out of the house and toward a waiting car. Olivia's heart raced, and she couldn't help but plead with them, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please, just let me go! Why are you doing this?"
Her words fell on deaf ears as the men continued to move her toward the car. As they pushed her inside, Olivia's eyes widened as she sat next to Liam, his piercing eyes bore into hers, and his expression cold and unyielding.
Liam had gotten a call from Mr. Parker in the middle of the night, that he had located his daughter's whereabouts and hoped they could arrange a date for the wedding.
When Mr. Parker informed him that she was in her ex-boyfriend's house, it only fueled Liam's anger and he told Mr. Parker not to worry that he would handle the situation, all his men had to do was lead them to the house.
"You?" Olivia gasped but Liam gave her no response, his eyes darted from her to the driver as the car zoomed off. "Please, you can't do this. Did Mr. Carter send you? I don't want to marry him, I can't marry him."
Liam couldn't believe the words that were spewing out of this woman's mouth, she couldn't marry him but she could run to her ex. What was her plan? To marry that douche bag that sold her off the moment he heard money was involved.
"Please, I know you work for him," Olivia begged as Liam stared at her, he was this close to telling her that he was Mr. Carter but he wasn't ready just yet.
" You can help me talk to him, I didn't mean to disrespect him but I can't marry him," Olivia cried out, she reached out to touch Liam's hand as he threw her a mean glare. "I-I am sorry," Olivia apologized, keeping her hands to herself.
She opened her mouth to speak but she didn't know what else to say. It was evident that he wasn't going to listen to her, his boss must have ordered them to bring her or worse her father.
Her heart started pounding heavily in her chest, she couldn't go back home, she couldn't go back to her father, he would kill her this time for the shame she had brought to the family by running away.
She placed her hand to her chest trying to control herself but she couldn't, she slowly felt her vision failing her as she blacked out falling head first into Liam's body.
"Stop this madness," Liam finally spoke, jerking her body off him. He knew this trick quite well but her body came crashing back into him proving him wrong.
Wait! Did she really faint?
He stared at her face and checked her pulse briefly as she remained unconscious on his lap.
"Should I call the doctor boss?" The driver asked.
"No, just head home," Liam replied.
- Writer
