“The Wolverine strikes again,” Aila let out a deep sigh as she slumped down onto her seat.
Olivia Welch glanced at her cousin on the table across from hers, and then she returned her eyes to the screen of her computer. This was the big day, and they all worked hard on this presentation, but she guessed nothing escaped the eyes of the Wolverine.
Interior designers worked on open office space on the thirty-first floor. Aila, the Interior Design Project Manager of Welch Builders, Inc., shared her private office with Olivia as they thought this was only temporary. But after four years, Olivia was stuck in her position. She always aimed to become one of the architects in the number one construction company in the country, but despite being Aaron Welch’s wife, she never got the job. For some reason, she didn’t understand; Logan would deny her application and say she wasn’t ready.
“Uncle Logan was there? I told you to stay away from him,” Olivia smirked. She moved her mouse, clicked the screen to change the color of the wall panels in the drawing, and then saved her work.
Aila snorted, rolling her eyes. “As if it was possible. And as if I would do that. It’s my only chance to see him.”
No one dared to cross paths with The Wolverine, the cranky and bad-tempered Logan Welch. Employees regarded him as a perfectionist, someone with high standards. Despite that, in the corporate industry, the youngest CEO and president of Welch Corporation was admired, respected, and feared for his shrewd business tactic. For most women, Logan was a perfect catch, a complete package, hot, gorgeous, and a billionaire. Aila described him as Zeus and a panty-melter god.
“Argh! Today he was a total asshole. When he’s like that, what do you do when you see him?” she muttered, sounding frustrated.
“I close my eyes,” Olivia joked, glancing at her again while turning off her computer. “The presentation didn’t go well?”
Aila scoffed and said, “Yep! Still...” She narrowed her eyes, her lips turning into a wicked smile. “He’s the most attractive alpha here.”
“You make it sound like he’s a dog,” Olivia chuckled amusedly, rolling her eyes.
Aila wrinkled her nose and sighed. “Any idea how to seduce him?” She raised her right hand, stopping her from answering. “Of course, you have no idea because if you have, you’ve done that yourself long ago.”
Olivia raised her right hand, waggling her fingers to show her engagement and wedding rings.
“Not interested in him. Besides, you’re looking at a happily married woman,” she reminded her, close to admitting she was also curious about him.
At thirty-seven, Logan had no steady girlfriend. Aaron once shared with her that a woman had broken his uncle’s heart, and after that, he did not dare dove into another relationship.
Aila lifted a brow and snorted. “Liar,” she said but smiled, believing Olivia.
“Liar?” She laughed briefly and snorted. “I’m not lying.”
Although her marriage to Aaron Welch was bound to happen because it had been planned and arranged before she was born, Olivia thought she was lucky not to go through any emotional pressure about it. When their mothers introduced them to each other seven years ago, she instantly fell in love with Aaron, and Cupid must be present because he felt the same way, too.
“You are,” Aila insisted. “You’re wearing them on the wrong hand, cous,” she teased, lifting her right hand and waggling her fingers. “Remember what Nana told us? Engagement ring on top of the wedding band on the left ring finger.”
“Nana didn’t know this engagement ring cost a million,” she chuckled.
Aila sighed but did not share her thoughts with her. She was sure their grandmother and Celia, Olivia’s mother, would rise from their grave if they found out she signed a prenuptial agreement. It was Olivia’s decision, but she still thought her intelligent and beautiful cousin had made a mistake signing it.
“Oh! Going home already?” Aila looked at the oversized metal wall clock when Olivia stood up.
Its golden yellow hands told her it was only four. This rarely happened because Olivia would usually wait for Aaron. Since Aaron became the company's vice president, their office had been like Olivia’s second home.
“Did you forget?” Olivia blushed and chuckled nervously, stopping in front of her table.
Aila raised her eyebrows and then glanced from side to side as she racked her brain of any family event she might have forgotten. She shook her head when she could not remember anything.
“How can you forget? It’s our wedding anniversary today,” Olivia pouted, flipping her long hair to her back.
“Oh!” Her brows furrowed as she leaned on her seat, eyeing her cousin curiously. “No out-of-the-country plan? And why do you look nervous?”
Olivia bit her lower lip, her cheeks blushing as she smiled. “Because I’m ready. I think… I’m ready.”
Aila blinked confusedly, unsure what her cousin meant. “Ready… for what?”
Olivia leaned forward and smiled. “To have a baby,” she muttered in a low voice as if somebody would hear her.
Olivia had all the reasons to be nervous about it. Aaron had been talking about starting a family since they got married, but at that time, she was only twenty-three. Her husband had been understanding and supportive of her decision, but since Aaron became the vice president last year, they seemed to have less time for each other. He was either busy in the office or away on a business trip. When they were home, they hardly spoke to each other. She feared work was drifting them apart, so she thought a baby could change everything.
Of course, this was something she could not share with Aila.
Aila gasped, her eyes wide with excitement. “I’m going to be an aunt?”
“We’ll have to make a baby first,” Olivia laughed and walked toward the door. She turned around and smiled. “So, don’t expect me tomorrow.”
“Na-ah! Do the doggy style. They say it works!” she muttered excitedly and giggled when Olivia’s face flustered.
Olivia could feel the heat rising on her cheeks as she imagined herself on all fours while Aaron was behind her. She was glad she was alone in the elevator because someone might think she was not okay. Her face was red, and sweat beaded her forehead.
She wasn’t sure if it was her religious upbringing or just fear, but she thought exploring orally and doing different sexual positions were perverse. She considered herself lucky because Aaron never pushed her to do anything she disliked.
“Damn it!” She cursed under her breath, wiping the sweat on her forehead.
When the elevator finally reached the basement parking, she took a deep breath and shook her head, brushing off the fear. Tonight, she would allow her husband to explore. She gripped her car key as she stepped out of the elevator but halted abruptly when she saw the familiar BMW white sedan. The plate number would not lie. It was Aaron’s car.
From afar, she could see him in the driver’s seat with his secretary sitting on his lap and moving up and down while they kissed.
Olivia expected tears to roll down her cheeks but was too shocked to feel anything. She turned around immediately and sprinted to the emergency exit door, running up the staircase and not stopping even when she reached the lobby. All she wanted was to escape the horror of seeing Aaron with another woman.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Welch,” greeted Logan’s driver.
“Home! Bring me home,” she said, opening the backseat door, not caring whether Logan would have to use his car.
The driver did what she requested, bringing Olivia to her home. The entire drive, her mind was blank, her heart was hollow. As she remembered how intoxicated Aaron was to Veronica, she wished to scream or cry, but no emotions were coming out of her chest.
“Mrs. Welch, you’re home. Do you need anything else?” the driver asked worriedly.
“Huh?” Olivia blinked and shook her head. “Thank you,” she murmured, opening the car door herself and walking away from the vehicle.
She had not entered the front door yet when she saw Aaron’s car stopping in the driveway.
“Oh! For the love of God,” she snarled, praying she would not kill anyone today as she entered the door.
As Olivia sat on the couch, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She loved Aaron so much more than herself, and seven years of nothing but happy memories were not easy to throw away. She sniffled, torn between turning a blind eye to what she saw in the parking lot and slapping her husband so he would know the pain she was feeling.
“I want a divorce,” Aaron muttered sternly when he and Veronica approached her.
Olivia raised her head, her ears ringing in rage because Aaron was asking to end their marriage on the day they vowed to love each other. She scoffed, looking at Veronica from head to foot. ‘Why didn’t I notice this before?’ she asked herself, realizing his secretary was like her copycat.
Veronica’s long, deep brown hair was pulled into a ponytail like hers, and she stood beside Aaron proudly. As Olivia took in the sight before her, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her lips parted in disbelief, struck by their uncanny resemblance, donning the same dress and shoes.
“You want a divorce to be with someone trying to look like me?” Olivia smirked.
“She’s nothing like you, Olivia,” Aaron mumbled, meeting her eyes. “You’re predictable, boring -”
“Boring?” repeated Olivia, her chest tightened in pain.
“Just sign the damn divorce papers,” he hissed angrily and threw the paper in her face. “When I return, I don’t want to see you here.”
Aaron grabbed Veronica’s wrist, and together, they left.
.
Olivia opened her mouth, but no words came out. Aaron was her first love, and on this day, seven years after they met and three years after they got married, she promised she would not love anyone else but him. The day he put her on the altar of bliss was the same day he buried her heart.
Enraged, she took the paper and signed it. When she turned around, she saw her reflection in the mirror. Disgusted that she looked like Veronica, she went to the bedroom and took the dress she planned to wear to surprise Aaron.
“Boring, huh!” she growled, changing into a stunning and sexy black mini-dress.
Before she left the bedroom, she was a different Olivia. She took the key to Aaron’s Bentley, promising to scar his favorite car tonight, and drove like a maniac to the bar.
