Ethan approached the bed, clenching tighter around Olivia's phone. "I thought you said you had blocked Pete."
"I did," she said, shaking her head in confusion.
"Then explain this." He dropped her phone on the bed and let it continue to ring as he wrapped a sheet around his waist.
Olivia looked down at the caller ID but it was just a number. "This doesn't say Pete's the one calling me."
"I know all his phone numbers. It's definitely him."
"I recognize all the numbers I've blocked before and this isn't one of them." She got out of bed and wrapped a sheet around her body.
Her explanation made no difference to calm him down. "What does he want with you? I told him to stay away, unless you two have been talking behind my back."
"How could you say that?"
"Don't start getting all defensive. Just explain to me why he's calling you."
"I already told you that I blocked him."
"Did you?"
Unable to find her words, his question too hurtful to handle, there was a long silence between them with only the phone constantly ringing.
"Answer me," he said, finally breaking the silence.
"You know what? Think whatever you want." She stormed off to the bathroom and slammed the door.
She then entered the shower cubicle and turned on the water to calm herself down. She couldn't believe he had blown things to that extent, only a few minutes after a beautiful and passionate moment.
Even when it was time for her to step out of the shower, she chose not to as she wished not to see his face.
Just then, she saw him standing right outside the cubicle and he slid the door to the side and stepped inside.
She instantly turned around to avoid looking at him but that only gave him the side profile of her back, a view which he found so sexy and he smirked but soon composed himself and turned off the running water.
"Hey," he said softly.
"You can use the shower after me so please step outside," she replied in a cold tone.
"Don't say that." He moved closer and stood right behind her to rub his hands along her wet arms. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way."
"You made me look like I was cheating on you or something."
"The thought of you talking to Pete behind my back just got me a little upset. I overlooked something and I should've noticed it sooner."
"What was it?" She turned around to face him.
"He used a number from work and that's not supposed to happen. It's strictly for work."
"Then why did he use it?"
"I don't know, but once again, I'm sorry." He wrapped his arm around her waist as the other one stroked her chin.
As she accepted his apology, he let his hand slide down to her wet butt and with a gasp, she rested her head on his chest as she rested her hands on his back.
He turned on the water again and they showered together, taking longer than usual as they couldn't keep their hands off of each other.
When they stepped out of the shower, the phone continued to ring and he looked down at the caller ID and it was the same number. Wondering why Pete was still calling, he told Olivia to pick up and put it on speaker.
"Hello?" Olivia said, furrowing her eyebrows.
"It's such a relief that you finally picked up! It's Pete," he said from the other line.
"I already knew that," she replied , looking at Ethan who was just a few inches away. "What do you want?"
"Is Ethan there?"
"Yes," Ethan said as he moved closer to Olivia's phone.
"Oh, you're actually listening," Pete said. "Before you get the wrong idea, which I assume you already did, it wasn't my intention to call Olivia. Your mother made me do it."
"My mother?"
"You haven't been picking up her calls and your phone's been off since yesterday. She terrifies me so much that when she came to me and said she wanted to talk to you and I needed to make it happen no matter what, I had no choice."
"Give me that phone!" Ms Hudson said from the other line. "Ethan? For how long will you ignore me?"
Ethan sighed. "You could've just come here instead, not use Pete."
"Just so I can set my eyes on that good for nothing?"
"Don't disrespect her like that."
"Is that how it is now? You stand by her no matter w-"
"For you to go through all this trouble, did you have something to say?"
"Why won't you speak to me?"
"It's not easy for me to just forget about what happened."
"Are you still stuck on that? Fine, I'm sorry. There, I apologized."
Ethan shook his head. "You're unbelievable."
"What else do you want? I apologized. Isn't that enough?"
Unable to hear her nonchalantly express herself, he abruptly ended the call and dropped the phone on the bed then buried his face in his hands with a heavy sigh.
Olivia rested her chin on his shoulder and held onto his hand. "Your mother's really.... something."
Having no words to express his disappointment, he remained silent for a while.
It was only when she suggested that they make breakfast together that his mood brightened up.
In the kitchen, Angela watched from a distance as they made the kitchen their own with lots of laughter.
Their lovely interaction made her smile and she was aware that they had spent the night together since she had heard them. It was all wonderful news and she would've been completely thrilled, if not for the task she needed to accomplish.
~
Ethan had mentioned to Olivia that he had been invited to an event organized by the same family he was partnering with and planned on going with her.
With still so much to do, he needed to be at the office and would only return in the evening.
Without him around, Angela saw that as the perfect opportunity to speak to Olivia. She had received a message early in the morning from Helena, who had suggested they could start by telling Olivia the truth.
Just when Angela approached Olivia, she looked at her with a chuckle.
"I just realized I have nothing to wear for tonight's event!"
"Ma'am, I need to speak to you about something."
"It can wait. I need to go shopping. Actually, you're coming with me."
As much as Angela tried to talk about it, Olivia barely gave her the chance as she constantly spoke about the possible colors for her outfit and the shoes, including her hair and makeup.
In the end, Angela decided to wait for another time, but it still had to be on that day.
When they returned home, she believed she could finally talk about it, only for Olivia to lazily walk up the stairs as she was exhausted and ended up falling asleep for a few hours.
~
It was evening and Olivia was in a sleeveless red dress that cinched at her waist and accentuated her figure and the whole time Ethan got ready, he couldn't stop looking at her.
When he was almost ready, he got closer and left a trail of kisses along her neck.
As much as she found it sensual, she stepped away, telling him they needed to leave soon or they would be late.
He nodded, then licked his lips as he suggested skipping the event just so he could take off her dress but she reminded him how important that event was, as it was an opportunity for him to grow even further in his business.
When they arrived, Olivia looked up at the tall building before her in amazement. It was a luxurious hotel and one that Ethan was familiar with.
As they walked up the stairs and approached the entrance, he held her close as he looked around and recognized some familiar faces from the corporate world.
When he thought of talking about it, he looked over at Olivia and noticed how uneasy she seemed as she looked around. He then realized she remembered some of them as they had once made comments about her father. Noticing that she began to look more uncomfortable, he stopped right in front of her. "Hey, do you want us to leave?" he asked.
She forced herself to smile and sighed to calm her nerves as she held onto his hand. "We're already here and this is important. I'll be fine."
He intertwined his fingers with hers, then kissed the back of her hand. "If anyone disrespects you, they'll have me to deal with."
When she heard the seriousness in his tone, and how protective he seemed when he held onto her and they continued moving up the stairs to the entrance, she felt completely at ease and couldn't help but chuckle.
He also encouraged her to mingle with other invited guests once they would be inside, something that wasn't the case when they were still married.
After mingling with several guests, she wished to get some air and stood by the window. As she looked at the night sky, she chuckled in amazement at how different things were with Ethan.
Just then, he approached her from behind and kept his hands inside his pockets just so he wouldn't touch her.
He then tilted his head as he got closer and whispered. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you picked out this specific dress."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged.
"Don't act all innocent. I know exactly what was going through your mind when you settled for this body hugging dress."
She looked over her shoulder and up at him, seductively narrowing her eyes. "So what will you do about it?"
"Do you have any idea what's running through my m...." He trailed off when he noticed her touch the side of her head with a groan and shut her eyes.
Concerned, he held onto her, asking if she was alright.
When she told him that she was suddenly low on energy and needed to rest or have a seat, he guided her through the crowd and paid for a private room.
Once they were inside the luxurious room and she had a seat, she rested her head on his chest after he sat right next to her. She couldn't explain her sudden low energy but soon realized it might have been because of the pregnancy.
As soon as he heard that, he brought her a glass of water as it was all he could think of and hoped it would make a difference.
Not wanting to return to the rest of the crowd, she decided to stay in that room since it was exclusively theirs for a few hours and he chose to stay with her.
Unable to wait until later as it was good news he wished to share with her, he explained to her how he had already mingled with so many other potential business partners and it all seemed to be on the right track.
Seeing the joy on his face and hearing it in his voice, she wrapped her arms around his neck so he could lean forward and lightly kissed him on the lips to congratulate him.
It was only meant to be one kiss, but he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer and deepened the kiss.
She momentarily pulled away when she realized something, then chuckled when she confirmed it.
"What?" he asked.
"Nice lipstick..where did you get it?"
As soon as he understood what she meant, he rushed to the bathroom to clean his lips and she soon followed him to fix her own.
After getting rid of any evidence that they had been making out, it was time to join the rest of the guests.
As they made it down the stairs, he moved his head closer, whispering near her ear all the things he would do to her the moment they would get home.
Suddenly, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice.
"There he is!" said Ms Hudson and when he looked down at the end of the staircase, she stood there with a man beside her.
As he wondered why it had to be her at the end of the staircase, he thought of turning around with Olivia but it was already too late since Ms Hudson had already started walking up the stairs with the man beside her.
"Mr Jones, remember my son, Ethan?" Ms Hudson asked with a smile, then turned serious. "And this is... Olivia Parker. I'm sure you remember Mr Parker." She then proceeded to explain the dirty history that had to do with Olivia's father in great detail, up until the point of how he died.
As Ethan heard his mother speak that way, he could feel his body temperature rising as he clenched his jaw. It might have been a business event, but seeing right through his mother's intention to hurt Olivia, he was on the verge of losing it.