Chapter Thirty: Olivia

If Antonio was truly going to be at the gala, then I had to be there. I placed the invitation card on my table and then grabbed my phone and called Michelle back.

"I was just about to call you, you hung up suddenly."

"Yeah, I was… I have to go check something. Anyway, I have an invite to this gala, I was even about to decline I didn't want to go-"

Her shriek cut through from the other side of the line and I frowned, pushing my phone away from my ears. "Are you insane? Why would you decline an invite to an event Antonio Deluca is attending!"

"Calm down, I didn't know he was attending until you called. Besides, how did Collins even know that Antonio was going to be attending this event anyway?"

Michelle sighed, not a regular sigh, it was a tired one, the one you let out when you're trying to explain something complex to a child.

"So Collins has a friend whose cousin is kind of friends with Antonio. And the cousin, let's call him Steve because I don't know his name. Steve and Collins's friend Roberts were talking, like cousins do, so Steve told Robert's that Antonio is going to New York for a gala, it's a charity gala and apparently Antonio loves charity. This will be his first appearance at a gala like that, I think he was invited by the host. Anyway later in work Robert and Collins were randomly talking, and Roberts told Collins because he knew that Collins had a friend that has been trying to schedule a meeting with Antonio for almost a year now."

I smiled brightly, I could already picture the sarcastic look on her face as she held my hands and walked me through the entire backstory.

We ended up spending a couple more hours catching up and just as we were rounding up, the door opened and Liam was walking in.

"Alright Michelle, talk to you later."

I already hung up before Liam extended his arms. "Was that Michelle from France?" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah, sorry didn't know you wanted to talk to her," I replied with a sheepish smile.

"No it's okay, I can always call Collins and speak to them later in the day. I wonder how their kids are doing."

"I guess they're fine, Maria told me the other day that Skye and Lorraine called them."

He was setting his laptop aside and then took off his shirt. I was still staring into space thinking about the fact that I would be attending a gala hosted by my sister.

"Is anything the matter?" He asked, calling me from my reverie.

I harrumphed. "I promised to always tell you everything so, remember Antonio?"

Liam froze, "DeLuca?" He asked with arched eyebrows.

"Yes, him."

He let out a sound that was in between a grunt and a snicker. "You practically chased that man all around France."

I frowned a bit. "No no, I'm not mocking you, that's actually what I like about you, your resilience," he added and managed to make me smile. "Why did you suddenly bring him up?" He continued.

"Michelle told me that Antonio is in New York. Don't ask me how she knows it's a long story."

Liam smiled. "Are you still interested in talking to him? Because now that he's in New York maybe you might have the chance."

I got up from the bed. "Course I'm still interested. I heard he's working on a huge exclusive project. That would be such a huge opportunity, I just need to find a way to sell myself."

His face twisted in confusion. "No, not that kind of selling. I mean sell myself as an entrepreneur who can bring his dreams to life," I explained with a small smile.

"I'm sure you'll do great." He wrapped his hands around my waist and kissed me. I slowly slipped away from his hold.

"The thing is, I'd have to go to the gala, my sister's gala. Antonio is going to be there."

I could see the slight look of disapproval on his face. "I mean it's just a gala, I'm sure you'll be fine, if you think you can go there then I trust your decision."

We hugged and remained like that for a while, "I love you Liam."

"Love you too."

When we broke apart, I made my way to the door. "Where are you going? Won't you come warm the bed?"

My cheeks turned bright red and I was flustered. "Liam you're so naughty, Christ," I whispered and shut the door.

My hands grazed the railing of the staircase as I descended. Lorraine was crouched as she was petting the puppy while Skye was playing around with his toy monster truck.

"Hey sweetie, how's the puppy doing? Is he eating now?"

My daughter had brought home the puppy she found in the park, the one that almost got her run over by a car.

I told her that if the owners came back for it we had no choice but to return it, but so far nobody has come looking.

"Yes, he's eating now, he couldn't resist Maria's cookies," she joked.

"Are you supposed to be feeding him cookies? Isn't he supposed to drink milk or something?"

It was as if she zoned out and stopped listening to me. I sighed. "We'll have to take him to the vet soon okay?"

She nodded. "Also, have you given him a bath?"

"Yes, aunt Maria helped."

I smiled, "Maybe you should learn to study some things on your own without Maria's help," I pointed out.

"Oh leave it, they are just children," Maria's calming voice rang from behind me.

With a smile and a slight shake of my head, I left the sitting room muttering something about how Maria was spoiling the kids.

I was by the balcony allowing the fresh air to hit my face as I overlooked the night view of the city. My conversation with Kate kept replaying in my head.

Truly the Aiden I knew wasn't even capable of murder, it was almost unfathomable that he would be the one to try to assassinate me.

But then another part of my mind was also convinced that if he was capable of cheating, then I couldn't be sure what exactly he was capable of.

The sound of approaching footsteps made my ears but I didn't want to see who it was until I heard her voice. "Still thinking about what Kate said?"

I simply nodded.

She sat down. "When I was still with my boyfriend, I had this gut feeling, this hunch that something was wrong. And then I confirmed it when I found out he was cheating on me. I was still pregnant at the time. I broke up with him and tried to leave but she said I couldn't leave with his child. We got into a fight and he got violent and almost killed me while I was pregnant."

"That must have been terrible, is he the reason why your boy went missing?"

She shook her head. "Dave abandoned me and relocated with his new girlfriend, I highly doubt. Plus I've investigated, the only child with Dave is the child he has with his new girlfriend, now wife."

"Why did you tell me this?" I probed.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I just want you to follow your heart, my heart told me that my boyfriend was doing something wrong and he was. What is your heart telling you?"

The way she asked the question, it was obvious that she was not expecting a reply. I swallowed, staring into the night skies. My heart wasn't telling me anything, if anything, my heart was vouching for Aiden's innocence.

****

I strutted through the construction site, getting a good look at all the work that was being done. We were making progress and at a fast pace after that. I took an analysis of the area so I would be able to give a status report when asked.

Aiden was in the corner instructing some men on what to do. He had his hands on his waist and for a second I found myself staring at his huge arms.

Our eyes met and it sent a jolt through me. I looked away from him and resumed working. I pretended to be preoccupied even though I was staring at an empty page of my notepad.

I could still feel the heat of his stare but ignored it. Suddenly, from the corner of my eyes I could see some commotion at the distance.

One of the cranes began beeping incessantly and some workers appeared to be agitated by it. I turned my head around and noticed some workers scrambling. "What's going on?" I asked but nobody answered.

A man who was packing up some sand with a shovel was standing directly under the load which the crane was carrying.

"Mario watch out!" Aiden yelled as the steel pipes slipped and fell due to the crane malfunctioning.

Aiden managed to get there in time and he body slammed Mario out of the way. A scream got caught in my throat when I saw the metal steels fall on top of him.