Nocturnal Love

She answered, "Hello?"

"Olivia, I just saw Freddie at the hospital! He's actually hugging—"

"My cousin," she said with a wry smile. "I know."

The person on the phone was Lyla Jonas, who had been her good friend for many years.

Lyla's father was the hospital's director. He must have known that Olivia's mother-in-law had caused a ruckus outside the hospital during the day.

That was probably why she was calling now.

"Olivia…" said Lyla, hearing that her friend's voice did not sound right. Her tone softened as she asked, "Where are you now? I'm coming to get you."

She came in a hurry.

She stopped her red sports car in front of the Chen family's villa.

When Lyla drew up, Olivia had already gathered her scattered items and placed them in the small suitcase at her feet. She sat alone on the edge of the flowerbed at the intersection, her head bowed like that of an abandoned child.

"Lyla, you're here!" she said, standing up and forcing a smile.

Lyla's eyes reddened as she asked, "Why were you so stupid? I did everything I could to stop you from marrying Freddie, but you wouldn't listen to me. I knew you better than you knew yourself! You never liked kimchi salad!"

On hearing this, Olivia laughed, but she looked as if she was crying. "That's right," she said. "Now I deserve it."

Lyla's heart ached when she heard this. She helped Olivia into the car and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. First, I'll take you somewhere to rest."

"Lyla, I want to drink," Olivia said softly, looking at herself in the rearview mirror.

Seeing that Olivia was not in a good place and just wanted to get drunk, Lyla nodded. "All right then," she said.

She stopped the car in front of a bar.

Lyla came here often. She found her usual seat and ordered a bottle of wine.

Olivia grabbed the bottle and gulped down the wine.

After they had been sitting there a while, Lyla said, "You know what, Olivia? I'd prefer to die unmarried rather than marry into a family like that one, and you're still desperate for love from a man who's living with his mother and has no guts to stand up for you? Oh, actually, why would he stand up for you? The guy doesn't even love you! Only Olivia loves everyone, right?" Lyla was clearly irritated and kept ranting.

Olivia laughed, but warm tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's okay," she said, "I'm fine."

"You're not fine!" responded a worried Lyla. There were all sorts of people in the bar, and Olivia was getting drunk too fast. It wasn't safe here.

Lyla motioned to a waiter. "Send this lady up to 2301," she said.

Lyla often stayed in room 2301 because it was safer to drink inside.

Olivia was feeling dizzy after drinking so quickly. All she remembered was Lyla patting her hands and saying, "If you keep drinking like this, you'll end up with alcohol poisoning. The bar doesn't have any milk, so I'll go to the convenience store to buy some for you. Go upstairs and wait for me, and for God's sake, don't cry for those people who are still living in the Stone Age! The world is moving toward having dogs rather than kids."

A couple of men gaped at Lyla as she made that remark, but being Lyla, she ignored them and left to get milk!

Olivia nodded and stumbled. The waiter helped her into the elevator, and then she entered a room and fell onto the bed.

She felt dizzy and cold.

"Ugh."

Someone was kissing her with warm lips, and the scent of a man's cologne surrounded her.

A man!

Olivia's mind was blank, and she tried to push him away. "Who are you?!" she demanded. "How did you get in?!"

She heard a voice, charming and deep, whispering in her ear, "Stay with me. I'll avenge you and take back everything that belongs to you."

And so, they spent the night together.

When she woke up, she thought the events of the night had been just a dream.

The sky outside was still dark and oppressive, almost stifling her breathing.

Lyla was going crazy. She couldn't find Olivia, and her phone kept ringing out to voicemail. Coincidentally, the hotel's surveillance system had failed, so Lyla was on the verge of going berserk.

This went on until she heard someone answering her from inside a room.

Lyla entered the room, panting. "That waiter must have bad hearing, right? I clearly said 2301, so how did he send you to 2307? No wonder I couldn't find you."

Olivia checked the time on her phone. It was two in the morning.

She was sore all over, and her head hurt. "Maybe the bar was too noisy," she suggested, "so he didn't hear, right?"

Lyla let out a long sigh. "It's good that you're okay," she said. "This milk is for you. Drink a little now."

After drinking a bottle of milk, Olivia felt much better.

Olivia's phone rang.

It was Freddie.

He finally remembered her.

She answered, "Hello?"

"Where did you go?" Freddie asked coldly.

Olivia's attitude wasn't too good either, and she responded, "It's none of your business."

Freddie choked out rudely, "We'll meet in the morning at the courthouse. After the divorce procedures, you can do whatever you want, with no shame."

"Shame?" Her mind was blank.

Freddie said, "Mother saw you with her own eyes getting into a sports car. Olivia, I didn't expect that you'd have found your next husband already."

Olivia smiled. "The person who came to pick me up was Lyla Jonas," she said, "but it doesn't matter. Whatever I say, you won't believe me."

She hung up.

Olivia felt that talking to Freddie was meaningless.

When you meet someone who doesn't love you, you are wrong to act spoiled, wrong to cry, wrong even to breathe.

Besides, she wasn't worthy.

Not worthy of his trust.

Lyla said, "Don't be afraid. If you have to get a divorce, just do it. There's no point in continuing to live with such a bastard. You're so amazing; you'll definitely find someone better."

At the hospital, Freddie looked at the black screen of his phone and felt frustrated, as if he had lost something.

Janet pulled at his hand and asked coyly, "Is my cousin okay?"

"It should be fine," he answered. "She's with Lyla Jonas." He put the phone away.

Janet nodded, saying, "Then I'm relieved. Freddie, it's good that our baby is fine, or else I would really die."

Now that they were talking about the child, Freddie's mood improved a lot.

"Don't be afraid," he reassured her. "I'll protect you so that no one can harm you or our child."

Janet nodded obediently and said, "Freddie, this matter, of us being together, might be a huge blow to Olivia. She's been supporting me for so many years. Don't make things too difficult for her."

Freddie's smile faded a little. "Don't worry so much," he said. "Get some rest. The nurse will take care of you here. I have to go back to the company to handle some business."

"All right, then. Drive carefully."

After watching Freddie leave, Janet sat up, took her phone, and dialed a number.

When the call connected, she asked impatiently, "Where's the photo? It's already late. Why haven't you messaged it to me yet?"

The man on the other end of the phone was also enraged. "A dozen of us were hiding in room 2302 the whole night," he said. "We didn't even see a cleaning lady, let alone who we were expecting! Janet, are you playing with us? You said a beautiful woman would come who we could play with for free. But without the woman, how am I supposed to take pictures!?"

Janet frowned and said, "She didn't come? That's impossible…"

She knew that Lyla Jonas often went to that bar, so she had bribed the doorman a long time ago. When the doorman saw Lyla, he was supposed to send someone to rape her and take pictures. Then, Janet would blackmail Olivia with the nude photos of her best friend and make her get the divorce.

Lyla was Olivia's only friend, and Olivia couldn't let such indecent photos of her spread freely, so she would have to agree.

As Freddie had gone out to answer the phone, Janet had received a call from the bar's doorman, who had told her that Olivia was there too.

Janet had told the doorman to intercept Olivia, take her to room 2302 to be gang-raped, and take pictures of it.

Everything had been settled, so what had gone wrong? Unexpectedly, the universe seemed to be working in Olivia's favor.

The man kept on with his scolding. "I don't care!" he yelled. "Janet, this time you've fooled so many of us. You either pay us or find us another woman. Otherwise, I'll tell all your secrets to Freddie!"

Janet hung up the phone angrily.

These people were all thugs who would do anything.

She cursed under her breath. There was no way she could give him any money. She couldn't believe that Olivia had managed to escape her trap a second time.