Chapter 10
She felt uncomfortable and instinctively pushed him away. “W-why are you here?”
A blush crept to his cheeks. He looked away for a moment, as though searching for the right words to express himself. When he finally turned to her, there was an intense look in his eyes. “You still haven’t answered my question from last night….”
Olivia frowned. She thought that by now Caleb should have grasped the entirety of the situation after witnessing Clayton's proposal. But she underestimated his stubbornness. She should have known he wouldn't give up easily.
She sighed and rubbed her temples. “You are a good person, Caleb. You’re kind, successful, and good-looking. Any woman would want you. But I'm getting married. I hope you understand that.”
Caleb's lashes fluttered. His eyes became red-rimmed.
He shook his head, as if he were hearing something he couldn't quite grasp.
"I don't understand, Olivia. Perhaps I could understand you marrying another man…
someone who loves and cares for you. But Clayton Bradford? That… that I cannot comprehend."
A lump formed in her throat. She gulped it down. “My adoptive parents want me to marry him. I… I cannot go against their wishes.”
The corner of his lips twitched in disbelief. "You're giving up your own happiness for them?”
Olivia didn't answer because she had no idea what to say without hurting him even more. She was aware of how cowardly it was to simply accept the reality that had always been laid out for her. But what path could she take that wouldn’t lead to hurting anyone?
Her lack of response seemed to be the answer for him. He took a few steps away and turned his back on her.
She lifted her hand to touch him, to say she was sorry for hurting him, but she'd been there before and knew that no amount of words could ease the pain. So, she stopped and let her hand fall to her side.
A minute passed before Caleb turned to face her, but he couldn't even look her in the eye. Olivia had expected his rage, his fury. After all, she deserved them. But what she saw took her by surprise. It was something she least expected. Tears.
For the first time in all the years she had known him, Caleb cried. He really cried, with big sobs that shook his whole body. He made no attempt to contain the grief that poured out of him. It was a raw display of vulnerability.
Caleb was truly a good and kind person. Though Olivia knew she shouldn't, she couldn't help but wonder what her life would be like if they had never parted. Perhaps if her adoptive parents hadn’t interfered and had allowed her to live the life she wanted, she and Caleb might still be together, happily married with kids.”
She didn't love Caleb the way she loved Clayton, but she might learn to love him deeply in time.
“I wanted to fight for you, Olivia. I really do.
You're the only woman I've ever loved like this, and I could fight the whole world for you, even heaven if I have to.” He took a step closer until their faces were inches apart and looked deep into her eyes.
“But I can't force myself on you if you're the one pushing me away.”
The heartbreak in his eyes shot through her chest like an arrow. She felt the pain and tasted the bitterness. She looked away, unable to bear the thought he was hurting because of her.
“I want you to be happy, and if leaving will make you so, then I would leave with bitterness in my heart. But tell me….” He lifted her chin using his thumb and forefinger, obliging her to look at him. “Tell me honestly, do you love Clayton?”
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.
Olivia forced back her silent tears. She wanted to say no, that she didn't love Clayton, but that would be a lie that would fool anyone but herself.
The truth was she had loved him since she was fourteen, and even now, she loved him stronger than before.
It hurt that she could never have him, for he had already given his heart to a woman she couldn't put a candle to.
She opened her lips to let the answer out, but Caleb silenced her with his finger. “You don't have to answer, Olivia. The answer is written in your eyes. He's one lucky bastard.”
He gently let her go and said, “I will always love you, even if you can't love me too.
But… if one day comes when you get tired of loving him…
I'm here as your second option. I'll show you how much you mean to me. I’ll show you your true worth, not as a replacement, not as a substitute, but as my first choice… my priority.”
Olivia watched him walk away without saying goodbye. Caleb climbed into his car without so much as a glance in her direction. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
A part of her wished she could turn back time, to a moment before she met Clayton, before she learned to love him completely. She would have had a better and happier life with Caleb. But the reality was that she was stuck in a life that wasn’t truly hers.
She momentarily closed her eyes to calm the emotions running wild inside her.
Once her breathing steadied, she opened them only to draw a deep intake of breath upon meeting a familiar pair of eyes looking at her.
Clayton stood a distance away, carrying a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Before she knew it, he was walking away.
Olivia’s eyes blinked in confusion. “Clayton!” He didn’t turn back. Instead, he quickened his pace. “Wait!”
He was just ahead, almost within reach. But as she rounded the corner to the parking area, he vanished. Then she saw a car being maneuvered out of the parking lot, and it sped away, disappearing into the distance before she could catch her breath.
Her shoulders fell. Her frown deepened. She asked herself if it was Clayton she saw or if she'd been thinking about him so much that her imagination conjured an image of him.
She stood there, confused and unsure of what to do next when she heard her name being called.
"Olivia!" It was loud and bright, cutting through her thoughts. She turned around, and there stood a familiar face. It was the stunning beauty with smooth porcelain skin and midnight black hair whom Clayton was with last night.
If Olivia got her name right, it was Isa.
A knot formed in her stomach as she noticed Isa holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, the very same one she had seen Clayton carrying. Questions swirled in her mind about the nature of their relationship. They appeared to share a bond that went beyond friendship. Is she perhaps his girlfriend?
“Do you have a moment to talk?” Isa smiled warmly at her.
Olivia hesitated, glancing at her watch. After a moment of contemplating and seeing no harm in it, she made a decision. “I’m on my break and was about to grab a bite to eat. If that’s okay, we can talk at the restaurant nearby.”
“That sounds great!” Isa replied.
They walked to the direction of the restaurant in silence. Olivia felt awkward. She didn’t know how to start a conversation. She's never been good at it.
Just as Olivia decided to break the silence, Isa spoke. “Clayton was with me a while ago, but he said there was an urgent matter at work and left in a hurry,” she rolled her eyes adding, “I just don't get why he always has to put work first.”
Olivia turned to Isa and realized she was prettier up close. With a button nose, cupid lips, and phoenix eyes framed by long lashes, she looked divinely beautiful. “Are you two dating?” The words escaped before she could stop herself.
Isa laughed. Her laughter was bright and pure, like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. “I wouldn’t date Clayton, even if he’s the last man on Earth!”
Olivia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Why not?” she asked, genuinely curious. It was hard for her to believe that Isa wouldn’t want to be with someone like Clayton.
“Because we're blood related.” Isa stopped in her tracks. Her cheeks flushed a little when she added, “I must have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Isabelle Bradford, Clayton's older sister.”