Unwrap Your Desire

OLIVIA

SITTING on one of the benches across from the soccer field, I remained still, taking all the time I had to gather enough courage after being humiliated in the registrar’s office. I could still recall how the students gave me such insulting looks for not having a business yet. It was such a familiar moment when I felt so less, having no enough resources to blend in the crowd full of fortunate people.

I glanced to my left and saw Mathias standing up with his arms crossed against his chest. He had this modular intercom headphone on his ear that helped him communicate with Chase’s men who were waiting for us from the outside of the university and also those who accompanied my husband.

Speaking of, I still didn’t get a sense of why he would come here, after learning what occurred earlier, when we could talk about it at home later. The last thing I wanted to happen was to attract the attention of many students out here. Well, I caught their attention minutes ago, but I wasn’t that sure if I could still take it the next time. It clearly gave me a surge of anxiety, and it seemed I would be stuck in it for quite some time.

“Why do you think Chase wants to come here, Mathias? Did he tell you his reason?” I asked him curiously.

Mathias glanced in my direction and had kept his head low as a form of respect to his boss’s wife. “I am afraid Mr. Maxwell did not elaborate further on his reason, Madame.”

“Aren’t you supposed to ask him that? Do you think I wouldn’t be curious to ask?” I didn’t mean to sound irritated and rude to him, but the entire situation frustrated me to the core. “I am sorry if I am snapping out of you right now. I am just having a bad day. I didn’t mean it,” I remarked as I felt guilty in an instance.

“It’s alright, Madame. Mr. Maxwell wouldn’t come here for an irrelevant cause. “You can entrust the situation to him,” Mathias replied formally, though his tone of voice somehow assured me that despite the bad circumstances I had faced earlier, I’d get to experience something good.

With a huff, I sat there in defeat. Instead of worrying, my interest was piqued by the cheerleading squad who were practicing on the field. It was strange to see cheerleaders at a university that focused primarily on guiding students to become business entrepreneurs. Was it some sort of extracurricular activity or organization? Nevertheless, their practice dance entertained me.

When I was still working at the bar, Lara and I were friends with the dancers, and sometimes, if they felt like doing so, they would invite us to their studio to watch them practice. I recalled getting so amazed as to how they were able to dance perfectly and in rhythm. The same went for those cheerleading squads on the field. I wasn’t born a dancer and only knew a few dirty dance steps to allure some previous customers. That’s why my interest was always sparked by great performers.

I let out a sigh and focused on something important-getting admitted into this university. Should I call Mrs. Jones and ask her to transfer the company’s ownership to my name? I grinned hopelessly. Chase was still working on re-establishing their company’s reputation and here I was, wanting them to transfer the rights to my name only because I wanted to enroll in this university badly. What was I even thinking?

I leaned my back against the wooden backrest of the bench and looked at Mathias again. I couldn’t believe I was also stuck with this guy who wasn’t fond of talking. It would be nice to have a bodyguard who was talkative enough to shove my irritation away.

The deafening silence bored me to death. I decided that I’d just call Lara while I was waiting for Chase, but when I checked my bag, I couldn’t find my cell phone inside of it.

“Shit…” I shut my eyes and palmed my face. Funny. It seemed that I dropped it when I took all the documents out of my bag earlier.

I looked over at the building where I came from: in that very particular building where I was humiliated. I held on to the strap of my bag tightly. How could I possibly return to the registrar’s office after what happened?

My lips were pressed into a thin line. Even if I didn’t have the strength to go back there, I must have dragged my feet to do so. That cell phone had a lot of conversations I had with Lara, and we talked mostly about Reese!

Oh no, please don’t let someone pick it up! It must be on the floor near the office.

“Mathias, stay here. I am going back to the registrar’s office. I lost my phone there,” I advised him as I stood up.Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, just stay here and wait for my husband. Block him if he tries to go into the registrar’s office. I don’t want to cause a scene. Do you understand?”

He cleared his throat, then scratched the back of his neck. That made my brows furrow.

“Mathias, do you hear me?”

He let out a sigh and lowered his head. “I can tell him to wait here, Madame.”

I rolled my eyes and stomped my foot once. Of course, I already expected him to be loyal to Chase. I should have known better!

“Whatever!” I hissed and stormed back into the building.

I’ve lost count of how many times I inhaled sharply with every step forward I made. I clenched my fist and gathered all the remaining courage I had as I walked into the building. The crowd looked at me when I made my way to the registrar’s office. Torrents of anxiety engulfed my chest. I didn’t like how they looked at me, but I had no choice but to find my phone.

“Oh, you’re back!” said the familiar woman who gave me insulting looks before. “Do you already have proof that you own a business?”

A lot of the students who were falling in line laughed. Great. In a flash, I became the laughing stock of these filthy rich people.

“I came back to find my phone,” I responded in a low voice.

I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest, so loud that it echoed in my ears. I needed to move fast so that I could get out of here now.

My eyes roamed the floor and the registrar’s windows, but I didn’t see it there. The crowd, which was led by the three women who insulted me, was laughing alongside the rumors everywhere. I didn’t know what I did to humor them like this, but I was actually getting pissed off. If not for Chase’s and this university’s reputations, I would have strangled them already.

“Are you looking for this?” A soft and sweet voice spoke from behind me.

I turned around and saw the familiar face of the nerdy girl, who the other girls had talked about earlier. She smiled at me, and even though she was wearing thick eyeglasses, I could see the beauty behind it.

She was holding my phone and handed it to me carefully.

“Thank you,” I said, in a sincere way.

“No worries! I saw it on the floor when I inquired at the registrar’s window.”

“Two losers have joined together…”

“They look good together. Mia found a loser friend…”

I could have sworn I felt like groaning so loudly when I heard those words coming from the group of women, or bullies, who actually thought so highly of themselves. I wanted to rush toward them and confront them for their actions, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea. It would only cause more trouble for me and this nerdy girl.

“Hey, don’t mind them. All they can do is talk, believe me.” She smiled and gave me a reassuring nod.

I huffed in frustration and thanked her again.

“Whatever is missing in your requirements, I hope it all gets sorted out. You seem like a good person, and Steinfield’s needs students like you,” she said, giving me one last smile before she turned her back to walk away.

I was about to ask her name, but before I could do so, she was already swallowed up by the crowd from the hallway she walked into.

“So…”

I turned to the woman who was speaking from behind me. There I saw the familiar face of a bully who actually looked great from the outside but seemed rotten on the inside.

“What do you want?” I asked, my forehead creasing badly.

She tilted her head to the left and gave me a wry smile. “I should be the one asking you that, missy. What else are you doing here? You weren’t admitted, right?” She then crossed her arms and examined her long fingers, which were colored with fuschia pink polish. “Too bad you don’t own a business yet.”

I rolled my eyes. Was this woman trying to pick a fight against me?

If only I was portraying my true identity, Olivia Miller, I would not have hesitated to slap her in the face, but since I was Reese Jones-Maxwell right now, I had to keep my emotions at bay.

Instead of talking back, I just shook my head and turned my back on her. I was about to walk out when I felt someone intentionally block my way, causing me to stumble on my feet.

The next thing I heard were gasps from everyone in the area, followed by a deafening silence. I whimpered when I felt the pain in my knees, which scratched against the floor. I could feel everyone’s stare at me at this time. I waited to see if there would be anyone who would try to stop this commotion before it got more serious, but none ever bravely showed up.

My things were all scattered on the floor. I looked around and everyone seemed entertained by what happened.

Seriously? Did they think this was funny?

I caught my breath, reminding myself that I should be a bigger person in this situation as I collected my things and put them inside my bag, but then a foot kicked my bag by force, causing my things to get scattered again.

What the fuck was going on?

There was no way I was going to let it slide by now!

I rose to my feet and had decided to slap the woman’s face when someone grabbed me on my waist and pulled me.

I spun around and saw the familiar charismatic expression of my husband, Chase Maxwell. His brows were furrowed, and as soon as he removed the aviator he was wearing, he glared at the woman who had the audacity to mess with me.

“What’s going on here, wife?” he asked. His voice was so firm and deep that it sent shivers down my spine.

I looked at the woman who stood in front of us, seemingly frozen as she stared at my husband. I pressed my lips into a thin line.

Why was she looking at my husband as if she wanted to undress him naked?

“What are you doing?” My tone came off as if I was offended. “Quit staring at my husband.”

I felt Chase rubbing my waist, trying to get my attention, but my eyes couldn’t see to leave this woman.

“Oh!” she reacted while her face was flushing red. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Mr. Maxwell.”

“I’m here to pick up my wife.”

She glanced at me, and I only gave her a back-off-bitch look.

“Are these your things on the floor?” Chase asked.

“Well, yep. I stumbled a while ago.”

I could see that the woman was starting to feel uneasy as I looked at her. She was so brave until Chase showed up, and I actually hated it as it seemed that she was attracted to my husband. That thought pissed me off.

Chase, on the other hand, collected my things and put them all inside my bag. He carried it on his arm and then, with his other hand, reached for my hand and held it tightly.

“Let’s go to the dean’s office first before we go home,” he said.

His words left me confused for a brief moment. I looked around and it appeared that the crowd were watching us as if we were in a movie. I let out a huge sigh, telling myself that I would let it slide right now as Chase was with me.

I gave the irritating woman one final glare before Chase and I went away.