Chapter 4
1570 Words
Olivia nervously replied, “No, ma. I've checked the kitchen cupboards, and there's no food there.”
Mia frowned as she was hungry and asked, “Why haven't you talked since this afternoon?”
Olivia stared in shock from Mia to her mother, as she had been helping Mia with her school assignments. Mia was acting nice and friendly with her, but once she saw that her mother had arrived home, she would change and start acting rudely, mirroring her mother's toxic behavior.
Mrs. Gina sighed, “Hmm, and you've been sitting here with Mia, watching television. Didn't you know that you were supposed to come to my shop at the marketplace to ask for money to refill the house with food and other things you need for preparing dinner tonight? Or did you expect us to starve tonight?"
Mrs. Gina glared at Olivia in a cold voice.
Olivia fearfully replied, “No, ma."
Mrs. Gina narrowed her eyes at Olivia and opened her purse, bringing out some new cash notes and counting them first.
She said, “Here's 10 thousand naira. Before I go upstairs to my room to take my bath and return downstairs, make sure that you’ve already gone to the nearby market and purchased all the soup ingredients you’ll need for preparing vegetable soup with semolina tonight. Or else..."
Mrs. Gina's eyes burned like coals as she dropped the 10k cash on the living room center table and walked upstairs to her bedroom.
Olivia quickly rushed into the kitchen, knowing that her stepmother wasn't joking about her threats.
She searched the kitchen cupboards to check the remaining food items and what she needed to buy from the market for the vegetable soup.
Olivia hurried out of the kitchen again, picked up the 10k cash from the living room center table, and dashed out of the house, hearing Mia subtly laughing at her as she ran out like a crazed woman.
Nathan stood up immediately from the stool beside the gate as he saw Olivia rushing out of the house toward the exit gate, clutching a black polythene bag to her chest while wearing only her light blue gown and black slippers.
Nathan immediately asked Olivia, “Where are you rushing off to, small madam?"
Olivia screamed, “Open the gates, sir! I don't have time to explain!”
Nathan knew that was how Olivia usually ran out whenever Mrs. Gina sent her on an errand.
He pulled open the smaller gate, and Olivia rushed out of their compound and onto the estate road like a mad woman.
A red car almost knocked Olivia down as she dashed out onto the road, barreling toward the estate gate.
The red car was also making its way out along the estate street to exit the estate.
The driver of the red car yelled at Olivia, “Hey! Stupid lady! Watch where you're rushing like that next time!"
Olivia didn’t respond and ignored the angry driver in the flashy red car as she continued running toward the estate exit gate, which was still far ahead of her.
Oblivious to anyone staring at her, she ran up to the estate gate to pass the estate security men and then head to the nearby local market, which would soon close.
Inside the red car sat a young, handsome black man named Justin Robert. At 21 years old, his parents wanted him to take over their multimillion-dollar empire and real estate business.
Justin's father was the actual owner of the estate, selling lands and houses to top-notch billionaires in their city.
Justin was dark-skinned, very handsome, tall, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the pretty young lady running out into the road.
He had been admiring her and looking for a way to ask her out.
He didn't even know that was her family house, as he had been wondering which building she lived in since he mostly saw her on the way…
Furthermore, Justin knew that the majority of the billionaire families lived in his father's estate, known as “Emerson Housing Estate.”
With the sunset and moonlight filling the sky, Justin's car drove past Olivia as he headed to one of his favorite hangout spots, the clubhouse.
He hated business-related topics and didn’t find anything business interesting—except for his drawings, watching movies, and hanging out with pretty ladies eager to spend the night with him.
Justin felt himself harden as he caught another glimpse of Olivia.
Seeing how pretty she looked as she carelessly ran toward the estate exit gate, he couldn't help but notice how her curves bounced with each step she took.
Gulping hard, Justin found it difficult to look away from the enticing sight before him.
He wanted to speak to her and ask her out to be his girlfriend, even as Jesse drove the red car past her. He ordered Jesse, “Stop the car.”
Jesse was taken aback by Justin's order. “I should do what, boss?”
“Stop the car,” Justin repeated.
Jesse gulped and replied, “Okay, boss.”
Jesse was Justin's personal driver and bodyguard.
Dressed in a red long-sleeve shirt with black trousers and shoes, Justin looked breathtakingly handsome, and he knew a good first impression mattered.
As the car stopped ahead of her, Olivia, still running toward the estate exit gate, noticed the red car that had yelled at her earlier.
She wondered why the car had stopped. 'Did the driver want to reprimand me?' Olivia thought.
Meanwhile, Jesse glanced back and asked Justin, “Boss, do you need anything?"
Jesse Andrew was a 30-year-old black man, Justin's driver, and personal bodyguard.
He wore a white shirt with black pants and boots.
Justin replied, “No, Jesse, just wait here first.”
Justin felt nervous as he watched Olivia stop.
It was his first time asking a lady out, and although young ladies typically threw themselves at him, he now needed to muster the courage to approach this pretty young lady he had seen for the fourteenth time.
Even though he had noticed her countless times before, he hesitated to approach her, especially knowing her father could be a billionaire in the estate…
Olivia couldn’t head back upstairs to change out of her light blue gown, which provocatively revealed her shape.
She slowed her pace, walking toward the estate road, wondering why the red car had stopped.
Suddenly, she saw the side door of the red car swing open, and a pair of black shoes stepped out first.
Fear gripped her as she feared that the car's owner truly wanted to scold her for running into the road without checking for oncoming traffic.
Olivia saw a tall, dark-skinned, handsome man step out of the red car, and he said to her, “Hi.”
Olivia froze in place, staring up at the tall man in front of her.
“No… Please excuse me, sir,” she stammered and immediately took off, shaking her head to refuse him.
She ran past him, ignoring his desirous gaze.
Just before Justin could say, “Wait,” Olivia was already racing away, running faster than before toward the estate exit gate.
She finally made it out of the estate and rushed to find a cab.
“s**t!!" Justin cursed under his breath.
Jesse smiled from the driver’s seat, amused by how Olivia had dashed past Justin and her reaction when she noticed him stepping out of the car.
Frustrated, Justin climbed back into the car and sat in the back seat. “Start the car,” he ordered.
“Alright, boss,” Jesse replied, waiting for Justin to buckle his seatbelt before he ignited the engine and drove off.
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Olivia’s heart still raced in her chest after exiting the estate gate.
She waited for a taxi to take her to the nearby local market, breathing a sigh of relief. What did the handsome black man want from her?
She didn’t know him and couldn’t wait to hear him out.
She quickly calculated all the soup ingredients she would need from the local market nearby, knowing that the main market was likely closed.
However, Olivia figured that she could still buy some food items from local vendors along the road. After hailing a taxi, she finally arrived at the market area.
Once there, she stepped out of the taxi, paid the driver, and rushed to one of the roadside sellers to buy all the ingredients necessary to prepare the delicious vegetable soup.
Though Olivia had only learned to cook five months ago after losing her parents, she managed well enough.
She had never cooked when her mother was alive, as they had a cook, but she had to learn all that now that her mother was gone.
After quickly paying the seller for the soup ingredients and vegetables, she rounded up her purchases.
Night had fallen. Olivia frowned, knowing her stepmother would complain.
She totally forgot to ask her stepmother for money earlier that morning when Mia was going to school, and she had also been pleading with her stepmother about the need to resume her tutorial classes.
In the afternoon, she had forgotten to visit her stepmother's shop while helping Mia with her assignments.
Olivia knew her stepmother sold women's clothing, so she stood by the roadside, waiting for a taxi to take her home.
- Writer
