“Where is she?” Olivia asked immediately she got to Ethan’s house, and he opened the door
“She’s under the dining table,” Ethan said sullenly
“What? How long has she been there?” Olivia belted out as she rushed to the dining room with Noah in her hand,
“All day” Ethan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration
“What are you doing here?” Shirley asked as she bumped into Olivia on the stairs
“Not now,” Ethan interjected from behind Olivia, making Shirley scrunch up her face in distaste.
Olivia crouched at the dining table on her knees, peeking under “Eva, baby“, she called softly,
“Miss Olivia?” Eva’s tiny voice rang out
“Yes, it’s me. Aren’t you going to come out?”
“No, I don’t want her, I want to stay with you and Noah. I don’t want to stay here anymore.” Eva said in tears
“Noah is here with me, just come out for now, okay?”
“Do you promise to take me with you?” Eva asked in a tearful voice
“No! That is not going to happen, my daughter is not leaving this house.” Shirley interjected
“Yes, you can go with Miss Olivia and Noah,” Ethan said, cutting Shirley off as he moved closer to Olivia and stood behind her with his hand tucked into his pocket,
“What?! No! You cannot decide that”
“That’s enough!” His voice thundered around the house scaring Shirley up
“Come on out, baby, so I can take you with me, okay?” Olivia coaxed.Eva, trying as much as possible to ignore the couple’s fight. Within a few seconds, Eva crawled out from under the table into Olivia’s arms and she hugged her, wrapping her tiny arms around Olivia’s body,
“There’s Noah”
Eva’s head shot up to Noah, and she scrambled to her feet, embracing her brother, a huge smile appearing on her face.
Leaving the kids to go to the car, Olivia turned to Ethan and Shirley
“I’ll take them home now, maybe Eva will calm down for a while, then I’ll coax her into coming back home.”
“You can’t take my daughter.” Shirley started, her eyes burning with rage
“Please, Shirley, I cannot deal with this right now.” Ethan then turned to Olivia and continued,
“Please take care of her and get her something to eat; she has had nothing to eat all day. I’m trusting you to keep her safe.” He uttered and nodded her head, she turned and began to follow behind the kids to the car.
ivia
“Yes, tell the driver to prepare the car immediately, we cannot afford to be late for this conference, it is of utmost importance that we get this project,” Ethan said as he adjusted the cufflinks on the sleeve of his shirt
1/3
Chapter 67
“But the meeting with Dr Bio went well, you said you were confident that we would be awarded the project, Shirley said, grabbing the relevant file on
the table
“That does not mean we should let our guard down and relax. In this business, nothing is a done deal till it is signed and sealed, and I expect that fo happen today. This is a very important investment, nothing can go wrong. We need this investment.” Efhan said, thumbing through the files on his table
“Take these ones along too, I would like to pitch another idea to Dr Bio. I believe it is worth a shot at least.” He continued, handing the files to Shirley
The duo left the office, entering one of Ethan’s most expensive cars
Ethan wasn’t one to show off his wealth, but he knew the kind of events these conferences were like; every well–to–do businessman was seeking this investment, and everyone would come with their best to outdo the other, so why not play along
The white sports Bugatti he drove in was yet to be released, it was one of Ethan’s most priceless and his favourite car
“Take us to the conference.” He instructed the driver as Shirley got into the car
“Can we talk about Eva?” Shirley began, but Ethan remained mute, his eyes going to his watch every few seconds
Shirley knew it was just nerves, because they were going really early, and Ethan had insisted that they leave early to avoid any form of mishap
She had no idea why he was so nervous, he was the only CEO that had met with Dr Bio, all because of her
Nobody knew who he actually was, except the two of them. The man had remained under the radar for a very long time and it had taken Shirley a lot to
find him.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” She pressed on
“You let our girl go to stay with some stranger, and you are keeping quiet.”
“Olivia is not a stranger,” Ethan said finally
“So you will only talk to defend her.“She fired back, traces of bitterness evident in her voice, but instead, Ethan remained silent, not saying another word.
“I’m doing all these for Eva, and you are separating her from me.”
“I am not separating her from you. Eva does not love you; you saw it yourself. She wants nothing to do with you. What do you want me to do about that?” He asked exasperatedly
“That is a lie, She will warm up. Olivia has filled her mind with bad things against me, she has turned Eva against me, that is why.” Shirley said, her face turning a bright shade of red
“Eva wants to be with Olivia, you heard her, you saw the tantrums that she threw.”
“That was just because you spoiled her, you spoiled her so much that she thinks if she throws tantrums, she gets her way immediately. I just need to discipline her and punish her if she does that, and it would readjust that mentality.”
Ethan stared at her with anger in his eyes, his hand grabbing the car rest
“Don’t… don’t you ever think of doing that. I’m the one who decides whether Eva gets disciplined or not. You cannot suddenly act like a caring mother out of the blue and expect Eva to take it willingly without putting up a fight. She needs time to adjust, and if you can’t give her that time, then you leave, but do not lay your hands on Eva.” He grinded out, his face fuming with anger
“I am sorry, I did not mean that, obviously, why would I hit my own daughter? I was just frustrated, that’s all. I can wait, I will wait as long get our daughter’s trust back. I am just not satisfied with her staying with Olivia.” Shirley whined in fear
ed to, to
“You were the one who changed the access system. I said nothing about that. You threw a tantrum that made Olivia take Noah and leave. I sided with you. You made your bed and chased your daughter along with them.”
9/2
wea
Chapter 67
“What are you trying to say? That Olivia and her bastard”
Before Shirley could complete her statement, Ethan gripped her wrist, his fingers digging into her skin
“What did you just say?” He growled at her, his eyes darkening in anger
“…I am sorry..I”
“Don’t you ever call Noah a bastard. Noah is my son, my heir, and I will kill anyone who tries to touch a hair on his head.” He thundered, his grip on her wrist tightening even more,
“I am sorry, you are hurting me, that’s enough, Ethan.” Shirley whimpered with fear so evident in her eyes. She had never seen him this angry before
He released his fingers wrapped on her wrist, flexing his fingers, his jaw still ticking with anger
“What I meant to say” Shirley began, rubbing her wrist and wincing
“Do you want Olivia and her son to move in with us? That can not happen!” she screeched
“You said it yourself, that cannot happen, hence the only other feasible way is to have Eva stay there for a while. I have made my decision, and it is final.
Ethan said with a note of finality in his voice
She stared at him, sulking in anger. Why on earth did Olivia have to win every damn time? How on earth was she to get closer to Ethan without Eva?
Still lost in thought, the vehicle swerved, and there was a loud screech. Suddenly, the car was hit from Shirley’s side, and it was thrown across, sending the car tumbling over and landing upside down.
AD
