As soon as Ethan sent Olivia the message that said he couldn't stop looking at her, he looked over at her table and noticed that the moment she read it, she chuckled with her fingers on her lips but soon turned serious as she typed her reply.
"That could mean several things."
"It's just as I told you. I can't stop looking at you. You're so attractive."
He then quickly sent another text. "I meant that red color is so attractive."
He looked over at Olivia again and she chuckled just like before. She then looked over at him and when he caught her gaze, he drew his lower lip between his teeth then stroked his chin, completely forgetting about Natalie's presence.
She could feel his eyes communicate and how she interpreted his gaze made her nervously rub the back of her neck as she tilted her head to one side.
When he saw her hair fall to one side with the side of her neck exposed, he bit his lower lip again with a smirk, the view pleasing to his eyes.
Suddenly, he flinched at the sound of glass shattering at his table and when he looked at Natalie, she was standing up with gritted teeth. He looked at the side of the table and noticed the shattered glass on the floor. It was then that he knew Natalie had done it. He then glanced at the table and furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't even realized his food had been served but soon, Natalie caught his attention again.
"How about you just go over there and sit with her?"
He shut his eyes with a sigh at Natalie's embarrassing behavior in the presence of several people. "Sit down."
"No! I won't sit down! You've barely looked in my direction!"
"Was it necessary to break that glass?" he asked in a low tone, still embarrassed by Natalie's yelling for all to hear.
"It was the only way to get your attention because all you've done since we sat here is look at Olivia!"
"Keep your voice down."
"No! You know what? It's not enough that I've broken this glass!" She chuckled in a menacing way, then rushed outside.
As soon as she rushed out, he went after her and the moment he saw her, he shook his head with disbelief and watched as she looked around with wide eyes.
"This should've been my car!" she yelled, hysterically looking for anything she could use to break the windows.
He rushed to her to hold onto her wrists but she resisted. She yelled for him to let her go and he pressed his lips together several times, embarrassed by how she conducted herself and people stopped to watch.
Soon enough, Olivia and Angela stepped outside and their jaws dropped at how crazy Natalie seemed.
When Olivia noticed that Natalie was trying to get to her car, she narrowed her eyes and got closer. "What are you trying to do to my car?"
"It's because of you that he does this to me!" yelled Natalie.
"What?" asked Olivia.
"I saw you two a few minutes ago. Did you think I didn't notice?" Natalie chuckled with rage.
Olivia looked back at Angela, who only shrugged and then she looked at Ethan, who still held onto Natalie.
"Where's your driver?" he asked Olivia.
"He had to see someone for a few minutes so I let him go," said Olivia.
"Without him here, I can't restrain Natalie and stand in front of you to shield you from her," he said to Olivia. "I need you to stay back as much as possible. I need you safe."
"Wow! Right in my face?" asked Natalie with tears in her eyes, the areas around her eyes turning black as her makeup mixed with her tears. "Hey Olivia...." She trailed off. "Ethan and I are getting married tomorrow! Tomorrow! Did you hear that? Stay far away from him!"
Extremely irritated, he dragged her to the parking lot as she constantly yelled at Olivia to stay away.
Angela just stood there with wide eyes as she wondered if that was how Natalie always reacted whenever she was infuriated.
"This all happened because of the way you and Mr Hudson looked at each other," said Angela.
Olivia's forehead creased. "Was it that obvious?"
Angela squealed as she described what she saw between the two of them and it should have been at that moment that Olivia should've shown any form of amusement but her face had turned gloomy and when Angela asked what was wrong, she sighed deeply.
"Natalie said they're getting married tomorrow."
Angela's smile instantly faded as she cleared her throat and suggested that they return to their table.
Once they sat at their table, the mood changed for Olivia and she could only think about the wedding the following day.
Suddenly, Olivia groaned with discomfort as she placed a hand on her forehead and Angela rose to her feet as she shook her head and asked if something was wrong since that wasn't the first time Olivia had groaned that way. Just like the past few days, Olivia assured her that it was nothing serious and there was no need to be alarmed.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" asked Angela.
"I'm fine." She slouched with a pout and blinked rapidly with a forced chuckle. "Do you know why I wanted to come to this restaurant? It's because it has such a beautiful memory for me, one of the few where Ethan genuinely took care of me. It's also because I missed him." Her voice cracked and she held back her tears.
Angela instantly held onto her hand to comfort her. "I can tell that you really miss him."
"The two of them are getting married tomorrow and I never thought I'd say this but it hurts, more than ever because this is it."
As Olivia expressed her feelings, she fought hard to hold back her tears. Despite not being certain what her true feelings for him were, she knew in her heart that she was about to lose him to Natalie forever.
~
Meanwhile, the moment Ethan and Natalie got in the backseat of their car, she crossed her arms and glared at him.
"Why did you go into that restaurant? It's because you saw that car and walked in because you wanted to see Olivia, right? And don't even get me started on the way you two kept looking at each other!"
Not wanting to respond, he looked outside the window in silence and it only infuriated her even more, so much that she hit his chest as she demanded for him to speak up.
Irritated, he held onto her wrists with tight grips and yelled for her to shut up. His glare and grips were so tight that she could only breathe hard and dared not say a word, scared of what he might do next.
"You act more out of control every time," he said.
"What do you expect?"
"I'm marrying you tomorrow, aren't I? Just focus on your wedding day."
"My wedding day?" She scoffed.
"Yes," he said harshly, clenching his jaw.
The moment he let her go, she crossed her arms again and tapped her foot as she thought about how she still intended to get married to him no matter what would happen. She had already come so far to give up on such a catch.
As he looked outside the window, he hoped that Olivia was alright and seeing Natalie so out of control didn't affect her and the baby. He wished to call her but that wasn't the right time, not with Natalie present. He also hoped that she would say nothing to his mother since he worried that it might affect her health.
Despite all that had happened, he didn't care that Natalie caught him constantly staring at Olivia. He could no longer hide the excitement in his body whenever he had his eyes on her.
~
When Ethan and Natalie arrived at his mother's house, Natalie put on a brave face after she had fixed her makeup in the car. She sat with Ms Hudson and showed her all the several pieces of jewelry he had bought for her big day.
He sat with them but barely paid attention as his mind was still stuck on Olivia. It was only when his mother called out his name that he looked at them to seem attentive.
"You don't seem excited," said Ms Hudson to Ethan.
"I am," he said. "I'm just thinking about the workload I have."
"I could say the same for you, mother," said Natalie with a giggle at how she addressed Ms Hudson.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ms Hudson.
"You don't seem excited for tomorrow." Natalie pouted.
"Of course I am," said Ms Hudson, forcing herself to smile. All would have been well, if not for the threat that could shake her family. It had already been three days but she still didn't agree to the DNA test and she feared Helena might walk in at any moment. The thought of it gave her no piece, but she still thought she wouldn't allow the DNA test, as she feared what the result might turn out to be.
~
After sticking around with Natalie and his mother as they spoke about the final plans for the wedding, Ethan headed up to his bedroom and turned on his laptop to scroll through his gallery and only stopped once he got to his wedding pictures with Olivia. Her bright smile in her gorgeous wedding dress made him run a finger along the screen on the outline of her lips, but he soon pulled back his hand as he shook his head, telling himself it wasn't right.
From the moment he had met Helena and she mentioned that Olivia had been looking at their wedding pictures, he had looked at his wedding pictures every night.
No longer able to act like it wasn't a big deal that Olivia looked at their pictures, he reached for his phone to text her.
"Hey."
"Are you done dealing with your ill-tempered wife?"
"She's not yet my wife."
"It's only until tomorrow."
"Do you still have our wedding pictures?"
"What?"
"Don't make me repeat myself. You can read perfectly ."
"Fine, I still have them but it's because my father is in them."
"Right."
"And you? Do you still have our wedding pictures?"
"I do."
"Why?"
"I looked too good in my suit."
"Well, knowing you, I totally believe that. Since you'll be in a new suit, how about you delete those wedding pictures?"
"You too."
"I can't. My father's there."
"Ever heard of cropping a picture?"
"Yes."
"Use it, then delete. Other than your father, you have no use for them."
After they both agreed to delete their wedding pictures, he ended the call and turned to his laptop again. He scrolled through one last time, then selected them all so he could delete them. Once the pop up to finally delete showed up, he only needed to accept but his finger just couldn't land on the key. After several attempts, he just couldn't delete and with frustration, he shut his laptop and ruffled his hair as he paced, wondering why it was so difficult to let go.
~
It was the day of the wedding but Pete wasn't in attendance as his face still wasn't in its best shape.
Without Pete present, Ethan had only invited one of his other friends to his second wedding.
Natalie had invited everyone she knew within the high class and every influential social media personality she knew. Becoming a billionaire's wife was a big deal to her and she wished for them to spread the word.
Everyone present marveled at the decor and couldn't stop taking pictures.
In the dressing room, Ethan was almost ready and that was when Pete gave him a call.
He mocked how he sounded so unenthusiastic as the groom and it seemed he wanted none of it.
Ethan assured him that he did, but Pete could only scoff at how unconvincing he sounded.
As soon as his mother walked in, he ended the call since he wanted her to hear none of it.
She came closer to adjust his necktie and sighed as she complimented how handsome he looked for Natalie, who was good for something unlike Olivia.
She then wrapped her arms around him as she expressed her happiness and wished him the best in his marriage with her.
Everything between them was completely back to normal and he wished to keep it that way, at whatever cost. He was willing to do anything for her and on that day, his aim was to make sure the wedding was a success.
When they broke the hug, she repeated how excited she was but that was when Ethan placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Couldn't be better."
"I know you so well. You don't seem as excited as you should be. Something about you doesn't seem right."
She forced herself to smile as she told him not to worry, but panicked inside at how Helena still didn't show up again and it made her uneasy as she wondered what she was scheming.
Soon enough, the wedding procession was in full swing and as Natalie walked down the aisle, whispers of how breathtaking her dress was could be heard. All were amazed except Ethan, who kept a poker face most of the time but forced himself to smile whenever he saw his mother watching him.
~
Meanwhile, Olivia was under the covers, clutching onto them as much as she could. She was highly feverish and her pillow was covered in her sweat each time she changed positions. Despite the sweat, her shivers were unbearable and she constantly groaned, letting out small sounds as her teeth rubbed against each other.
Angela had been running around in panic to do all she could but Olivia seemed to be getting worse each time she checked on her. With tears in her eyes, she reprimanded Olivia for not taking the way she had been feeling for the past few days seriously.
Olivia's condition only became worse when her breathing slowed down drastically and in that moment, Angela covered her mouth, fearing that the worst would happen. With no other option left, she dialed the number Ethan had given to her in case of any emergency. She only hoped that he would pick up.
~
When the wedding vows began, Ethan was first but he pressed his lips together a few times and sighed to calm his nerves. With so many questions running through his mind, he exhaled deeply but reminded himself that for his mother, he would do anything for her, which included marrying Natalie.
Just when he quickly composed himself, ready to go on, his phone rang and as soon as he heard the unusual ringtone, he knew right away which phone it was. With panic, he took out his small red phone as it still rang, causing a distinct chatter in the audience. Natalie let out a stuttered breath as her lips quivered, causing her bright smile to slowly fade as she wondered why the call couldn't wait.
"Babe…what are y-"
He motioned her with his hand to give him a moment and with wide eyes of distress and a racing heart, he picked up.
"Hello?"
"Please come quickly!" He heard Angela say from the other line. "Miss Olivia is dying!"