Alexander's POV
Olivia's cries haunted me no matter how nonchalant I tried to behave.
My dad had called me later that night to tell me to tell me that he was upset that I was behaving like a child. Apparently, Olivia's parents had truly been watching us through the cameras, and I made their daughter cry. They had obviously reported my actions to my dad.
"Alexander, your mother told me what happened. Making Olivia cry was unacceptable", he said.
That was so like my mum. She could not talk to me directly. She did not have a mind of her own. I disliked the way she told dad everything. It was as though she knew she could not handle it herself. It was true, but still I disliked it.
"But Dad, she—", I tried defending, but was interrupted.
"No buts, Alexander. Olivia's parents called. They were very upset. You were rude, and you refused to apologize. Is this your grand plan to disobey me?", he asked, his tone so low it almost terrified me.
"I didn't mean to make her cry. It was just… a joke. Of course she's beautiful, does she need my damn validation for that?", I said, raising my voice.
A part of me knew I was wrong to have hurt Olivia. But another part of me did not think all of this would escalate. I did not hurt people with just mere words that could be considered as teasing. I took from people, killed people, tortured people, destroyed properties, if I truly wanted to hurt someone. What I did to Olivia was to frustrate her, to make her feel less of herself because I started feeling some type of way towards her. It did work I think, but it also escalated. It is now a family matter, and I have to apologise to more than one person in this case.
Damn the Adams! If they had not put cameras around the house and spied on all of us, then maybe I would not be stuck in a situation like this. Damn my dad! If he did not think marriage with Olivia was the best option, then maybe I would not be stuck in this situation.
But here I was, with no other option. From the time I was forced into this marriage, I knew there was no getting out, not only because of my father but also because of me and my demons.
"That's not a joke or an excuse, Alexander. I don't even care what you did in detail, but you should be ashamed of yourself for not only getting Olivia hurt but getting her parents to see how foolish you can behave."
"But she was being annoying!"
"Shut up, Alexander. You're old enough to know better. Next time, try using your words more carefully, and always apologize when you hurt Olivia's feelings, because I would not have you ruin the plans that I have for this family. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Dad. I understand and I will try to make things right", I said, using my left hand to rub my eyes.
There was no point in arguing with my dad. He had his reasons for behaving this way. And I had to confess that even if I was no longer forced to marry Olivia, I was not sure I could let her go, no matter how hard I tried. It was better that I stopped pretending so hard to push her away. Maybe it was time to find out how I truly felt about her. If I did not like the feeling, I would make sure to get rid of it, but if I liked it, then I would see where those feelings would take me.
"I don't think you understand, son. Get things right with Olivia. You both must not love yourselves, but at least be cordial with her. Her family is popular and you both would certainly get on the news. Plus, I need to remind you, you both are getting married next weekend. You had better think up something really good", he said.
That was the summary of things. No matter how horrible I was. No matter how much Olivia despised me and loved her psychotic boyfriend, we were going to get married. I might as well relax and enjoy all of these.
"Apologize to Olivia tomorrow. And make the relationship between you too work out. This isn't child's play, Alexander", my dad said and the line went dead.
I rubbed my head. Next weekend was pretty close. I had to think and I had to think fast especially because I had the awkward feeling that I needed to sort out, and because I could not let Olivia go.
Men and women, some of them act on impulse. It is part of human nature to have the feeling of acting immediately based on emotion. It is up to the individual to choose whether acting on impulse is better or slowing down to think is better. I have had this feeling countless times, and sometimes I act on impulse, but most of the time, I slow down to think because thinking gives me more time to make whatever I plan more efficient.
But if my guts were right, Olivia was not going to think. She was going to act on impulse. She had despised me for a while, and she seemed like the kind of person to run away from home. If I am right, she is planning to run away now. I had to stop her no matter what.
I had a plan. I called one of my family's top spies to keep an eye on Olivia. Her Parents mansion was a very huge one, heavily guarded by security and cameras, but somehow my spy was able to get through close enough to know if Olivia left the house or decided to do anything stupid.
On the other hand, I called all the top class business people to invite them to the masquerade ball. A lot of well known people were already coming. But I needed people that Olivia could relate with. People that she could talk to. People that could help her build her business. I had done a lot of research on her, and I knew the kind of people that she would like.
I did research on Olivia because that is what I do with people I get involved with. I do my research on a lot of people even down to my sex partners, to know if they are a spy for other Mafias. I have had to kill some people I sleep with or torture them heavily because I found out that they were not who they claimed to be. Call me ruthless and wicked, but it had to be done. I was not one to mess with, and could not stand the sight of anyone who could lie to me so much to me that it could cause me harm. I was willing to pick myself over anyone anytime and any day.
My research on Olivia showed me that although she was from a rich and wealthy home, she tried as much as possible to live a normal live, even though her normal sort of revolved around that sick bastard called Ryan. But that was not going to stop me from marrying her. Our families were hell bent on getting us married, and I was beginning to truly relish the thought of getting married to her. When I marry her, I get more power, I get her to fall for me and sleep with me even if she would try to resist, and I also get to figure out why the hell I felt so sweaty and tense around her.
I was able to convince a great number of renowned business-men who shared common interests with Olivia. I did that to make Olivia feel as comfortable as possible at the masquerade ball. Also, I had something else planned for her at the masquerade ball. It was kind of manipulating. But I convinced myself that it was one step away from understanding what I felt about her.
A few hours later, as I lay awake in bed restless and sleepless, my phone buzzed. I picked it up; it was my spy. He had sent me a text saying that Olivia had left home with some luggage, and he was following her. He suspected she was headed for an airport to escape.
I got up and began dressing up. I suspected that she would do this, so I had sent more of my men to all the airports in the city to tell me which one she went to incase she decided to run away. Did she think that I was ever going to let her go? Never. I would rather admit that she is indeed very beautiful rather than let her run off like that. I was not done with her.
Immediately I was done dressing up, my spy sent a text telling me where she was likely heading to.
I took some of my men, and we zoomed off to the airport. On arrival, my men that were stationed there confirmed that they had seen Olivia and that she was headed for the smallest entry to the airport. Smart woman. She did not want one of her parents' goons to report her actions to her parents. But her actions in this case were going to make confronting her easier.
As I walked quickly towards the small entrance, I spotted Olivia. It was my time to act.
"Where do you think you're going?", I called out to her and she froze.
"Olivia, you can't escape from me", I added and she finally turned to face me.
It was obvious. She could not believe that I had found her.
"How did you know where I was?", she asked.
"Cancel your flight, Olivia. Let's prepare for the masquerade ball, we'll talk then", I said.
Her questions still annoyed me. I had found her, and that was what mattered. I had no idea what she planned on doing or where she planned on going, but I was able to stop her before she made such a decision.
"Did you follow me?", she asked, pressing on her question.
"I did what I had to do. You on the other hand make crazy decisions. Where do you think you're going?", I asked.
If she could ask questions, then there was nothing stopping me from asking question.
She scoffed. "You're impossible and you're crazy! Leave me alone Alexander. I am not begging you for a compliment. I am leaving you alone, so do me a favour and leave me alone as well."
"I can't leave you alone Olivia. I wish I could, but I can't", I said.
It was true. My life would be so much easier without her in the picture, but I just could not. It is possible to try rebelling against my dad's wishes, which would be very difficult. But my dad was not the only reason I was doing this. I was also going to benefit from getting married to her.
I took a step closer to her to talk to her, but she took a step back.
"Alexander, we aren't compatible. Please we can't be together. I know if you rebel–"
"Who said we aren't compatible?" I asked, interrupting her.
It was true that we were not compatible. But I felt tense again. For some awkward reason, I wanted to pull her into a hug. I took two quick steps towards her, and by the time she noticed and wanted to take some steps back, she tripped, but I caught her by the wrist. It felt like a romance movie. I did not like that feeling.
"Let go of my hand", she shouted, pulling free.
On a second note, this was not romantic.
I had to let her go. Even though this was a small entry, there were some people present and I did not want to cause a scene.
"Let's go back and talk this out", I said, trying to be calm but she started laughing instead.
"Didn't you hear what I said Alexander? We aren't compatible. I don't want to be with you. You kill and you destroy things. Everything about you screams dangerous. You involve yourself in lots of illegal activities, yet you manage to make yourself look righteous to the public eye. You even killed Mia's parents and made her your personal assistant. What sane person does that?", she said, her voice dripping with venom.
I was not concerned about any of her accusations except Mia. What had that foolish girl said after attempting what she had done to me.
"I will advise you to stop saying all that", I said, not trying to sound pleasant anymore.
If I needed to kidnap her from here, then I would.
"What else did Mia say to you?", I asked after a few seconds of neither of us speaking.
"Why do you ask? You want to kill–"
"Keep quiet Olivia. There are people around", I said.
I tried my best to restrain myself from knocking her out and taking her with me.
She must have gotten tired of talking to me so violently that she tried begging instead.
"Please Alexander, pretend like you never knew I ran away. On the bright side, you get to be with all your other women", she pleaded.
"Look, if this was about me taunting you, I didn't realise that I took things too far. Of course you don't need to beg or ask for a compliment. You're beautiful", I said.
Maybe if I just admitted that she was beautiful and tried being sweet, she would quit being dramatic and just come with me.
"Just come with me to the masquerade ball, let's talk. If you still feel that you want to leave for another state after the masquerade ball, I will let you go, and I will not tell anyone about your whereabouts. I promise", I said.
She agreed to my deal which meant that I was definitely going to manipulate her into staying with me. And I was going to deal with Mia later on. I was going to find out what Mia said. It seemed that the time of her death was slowly approaching. She was beginning to become a nuisance.