Chapter Twenty-Five: Olivia

"What are you talking about?" I asked in a worried tone, getting on my feet. Regina involuntarily swallowed.

"That man that attacked me, he isn't exactly a stranger. I've seen him and Grace talking. Though it's been so many years ago. That night that Grace testified, they'd met up."

The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place in my head. Flashbacks of that night came rushing, the man that was dragging me towards the river after running me over. My eyes grew wide in an instant. "It was him!" I said, whispering to myself.

Of course Regina who was standing beside me got confused. "What?" she breathed.

I started pacing back and forth, my mind taking me back to earlier today when I was in my car and he came out of the woods behind Regina. I was at a distance and didn't get such a great view of his face but I could tell that he had similar features with the man I'd seen six years ago. The man that tried to dump my body in the river after running me over.

"It's the same man, he's the one that tried to kill me those years ago."

Shock spread on her face when she heard me. "I- I can't believe this," She said in a low tone, staring at me in disbelief.

I faced her, "We should go to that station, this information could help with the investigation. I can't believe all this while it's been the same man. I'll make sure that bastard pays."

"Another thing is, he's working for somebody, and it's a man. When he was trying to break my kitchen lock, he made a phone call. I didn't wait to hear what he was telling the person on the other line, but he called the person sir."

It felt like something had knocked the air out of my lungs. I wanted to speak but I couldn't. Who else could be after my life except Aiden?

My eyes became filled with unshed tears. As if cheating on me wasn't enough, he still wanted to kill me, to erase me from the earth. What did I ever do to him? "I'm going to destroy Aiden, if he thinks I'm still the same defenseless woman he was married to, he's dead wrong."

Regina watched in silence while I wrapped my fingers around the cool steel pipes of the balcony, my anger bubbling within me. I retreated to the bedroom and Liam was on his laptop seated on the single seater couch we had by the corner with a cup of coffee on his small table.

He obviously heard the sound of the door opening but he didn't raise his head to face me. I decided to give him some space and without saying a word I climbed the bed and wrapped myself with the duvet. Tears began streaming down and I couldn't help it.

With my back facing him, I cried silently, biting down against my lower lip to hold back a sob. Aiden wasn't only threatening my life, he was also somehow managing to strain my relationship with Liam. I wiped my tears with the pad of my thumb and went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed, no surprise there. I strolled lazily downstairs and everyone was at the dining table, everyone except Liam. "Good morning Maria," I greeted, taking my seat. "Have you seen Liam today? Has he left for work?"

She sighed, "he's in his home office, he's been there all morning, I tried to convince him to have his breakfast here and take a break but he insisted on staying there."

I twisted my neck and looked toward the entrance of his home office. That means that he couldn't even bring himself to join me on the bed. Her hands landed on my shoulders and she gave me a gentle squeeze. "You two should talk it out."

I nodded and she left. "Skye, Lourainne, how would you guys like to go out today? Maybe for a picnic?" I questioned with a smile.

A bright smile parted Skye's face as he threw his hands in the air. "Yay outing!" he yelled.

"Yes mommy, I wanna go to the park," Lourraine added.

I chuckled, "Alright you two, after breakfast go get ready." They celebrated by giving each other a high five and I noticed how they began rushing their food so they could leave the dining area quickly. Regina who was sitting by the edge chuckled at their antiques. I hadn't realized how desperately they would have wanted to go out.

Guilt tugged on my conscience, ever since we got to new york, all I've been thinking about was myself and my plans. When they were done eating they dropped their spoons and scurried off.

"Such lively kids you have," Regina commented.

"Thank you," I replied with a smile. "Do you have any kids?" I asked out of curiosity.

Her smile faded. "I had a boy, he went missing nine years ago, he should be turning ten this year."

"Wow, you must have been really young when you had him."

She nodded. "I was, it was a teenage pregnancy. He went missing when he was playing in front of the house, that was when I was still living in Indiana with my parents. His disappearance was one of the things that made me come to New York and join my sister."

I reached out and squeezed her hands. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."

We continued to eat in silence and then I invited her to our outing. "Would you want to join us at the park?"

She shook her head, "You and your family should enjoy, besides I want to do some gardening with Maria."

I chuckled. After eating I headed to Liam's home office, knocking lightly before inviting myself inside whether he approved of it or not. He paused with his typing and raised his head to look at me. "I didn't say you could come in."

"Liam, please let's talk. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for risking my life, I'm sorry for not thinking about you. I promise hence from now onwards I'll always call."

I saw the muscles on his jaw strain and then he got up and moved near me, pulling me into a hug. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I won't," I whispered into his ears. "Now go get ready, the kids and I want to go to the park."

***

We got down from the back seat with the picnic basket that Maria had helped us pack. "Where are we going to sit?" Skye asked, scanning the place with his eyes, there were hardly any benches and tables unlike the park he was used to when we were in France.

Liam kicked the driver's door shut with his leg. "On the floor." He grabbed the food flask and a few refreshments we got from a supermarket on our way.

The park was within the neighborhood and not too far from the house. There were lots of people littered all over the place, some were kids playing, others were people walking their dogs or cycling. The whole place was alive with activities.

Skye's face dropped. "Aw men! Nobody told me anything about sitting on the floor," he protested.

Louraine and I spread the mat while the body began unpacking the food. We picked a somewhat secluded area in the park. I sat down and locked eyes with Liam. "Isn't this a great escape from all the stress?" I asked, nudging him with my elbows.

He smiled widely, "Of course it is." We shared a deep kiss, my lips between his.

"Eww!" Lourainne exclaimed and then got up, jamming her palms together to get rid of the dust. She skipped over towards Skye and they started playing tag.

Liam and I watched them with a bubbling sense of pride in our eyes. I leaned against his chest and he placed his hands on my hips. "Imagine how cool it would be to give them another sibling," he whispered against my ears, nibbling them softly.

I gasped. "You naughty little thing." I playfully swatted his shoulders and got on my feet.

"Come, let's join them."

He groaned. "C'mon, let them have their moment and play and let us stay here and have our own moment," he proposed.

"Oh get up and stop being a big baby." He extended his arms and I grabbed it, helping him up. I noticed that the kids had wandered a bit far from us. "Lorraine? Skye? Come back!" I called them. "Your daddy and I wanna play."

Skye began racing towards us.

"I'm coming mommy, there's a lost puppy here!" Lorraine yelled in response. I saw her moving towards the main road and there was a car speeding towards her.

"Lorraine!" I screamed at the top of my voice. She froze with the puppy in her arms as she faced the incoming vehicle.