Letting Go (Part 2)

Belle stepped closer to Olivia and reached for her hands. She clasped them in between them with her two hands and softly said, "Liv, please always remember that I am your mother as well. You are my daughter,"

Olivia felt her chest tighten. Belle probably doesn't know the impact of her words on Olivia who had lost her mother and was left alone without anyone to take care of her. She smiled and said, "Thank you,"

Belle cupped her cheeks with one of her hands while the other was still holding Olivia's hands. "You do not have anything to worry about. Matthew will protect you. And if he is not here to protect you, I will protect you. I will not let anything bad happen to you,"

Olivia subtly frowned and shook her head. Did Belle think that she is afraid of the effects of what Matthew was doing on her safety? "I think you misunderstand. I am worried for Matthew,"

"I know you are. But I assure you, we always have his back. And I hope that you do too," Belle softly said. The way she spoke made Olivia doubt if she really did kill men before because she doesn't look like she could even kill a fly.

It has been half an hour since Belle left Olivia's apartment and since then, Olivia has been sitting on the sofa hugging a pillow with her legs tucked. Her gaze was fixed outside the window where she could see the blue sky with occasional clouds slowly drifting through the winds.

A few hours ago, Olivia was desperate for that two-week break to the point that she was ready to bargain with Bardwell for anything…even her promotion that was already hinted at to her by Sasha earlier. But now that she got her break, she found herself wondering what to do in the next two weeks.

Though she started good by cleaning her apartment, after that, she found nothing to do which she is not used to. Olivia has a very active mind which she matched with being physically active. It was rare to see her sitting lazily. She never sits and does nothing. The only time she stops was when Matthew forced her to stop.

So she finds it hard to just sit on her sofa and do nothing. She wanted to do something that is not related to work but she cannot think of anything to do.

A sigh escaped Olivia's lips followed by a loud groan. "I am going to die of boredom," She muttered to herself as she shut her eyes tightly.

As she continued to sit on her sofa, her mind drifted back to what Belle told her. They always got Matthew's back and Belle hopes that she does as well.

Of course, she does. But Olivia felt…not right. She doesn't feel right about everything.

Until now, she hasn't talked to Matthew. She hasn't seen him and Matthew was not reaching out to her as well which is making her feel frustrated even more.

Olivia looked around her apartment that felt…empty. In the years that she lived there, she never felt empty. For her, it was a home. A home that she could only dream of because it was not hers. But still…she loved living in that apartment.

But now…she doesn't feel the same.

With a huff, Olivia stood up and placed the pillow back on the sofa. She puts on her fluffy slippers that she just bought that morning at the boutique on the ground floor and then she walks towards her bedroom.

Olivia's bedroom was the cleanest in her apartment she didn't have to clean that day. The soft baby blue carpet still looked as if she just bought it yesterday when it has been years. The bed was smooth and free of creases. There was no unnecessary furniture and decorations in her bedroom just like her living room. It was the very definition of a minimalist interior. But it was vibrant because of the indoor plants that Olivia put in there.

Olivia went to her closet and when she opened it, her eyes were on the top of the closet where she kept her two huge silver suitcases. She grabbed a footstool while internally cursing why she put those suitcases in a place that she could not reach.

She used the footstool to reach for the suitcases and once she got them, she opened them on the carpeted floor.

Once she had checked that the suitcases were clean and still in good shape, she turned around and looked at all her clothes. She tilted her head and realized that her clothes would not fit in her two suitcases.

It leaves her to decide whether she leaves half of it or not. But then, she won't be able to fit them all into her suitcases so she decided to just leave the others.

Once she managed to fit everything she could fit in her suitcase, Olivia changed into a jeans and white shirt. She put on a pair of white sneakers and then gathered all her necessities and put them in her hand-carry bag.

Olivia walked out of her bedroom in a determined step before she changed her mind.

Once she stood at her doorstep, she took one last glance at the place she called her home in the past years. She loved living there. She has a lot of fond memories of that apartment but for some reason, she suddenly felt that it was not home for her…that it is wrong for her to stay there.

That she was not supposed to be there in the first place.

Olivia doesn't know where those feelings came from but she doesn't want to stay there for long when she was feeling that way.

So taking a deep breath, she said her farewell to the place that sheltered her and gave her security, safety, and comfort in the past years, and then she closed the door and locked it.

On the other side of the city, Matthew's chest was about to explode. It felt like there was a band inside his chest that was beating the drums harshly and painfully. He felt his chest swelling and was about to explode.

It was a surprise that he was able to drive his car without being flagged down by highway patrol for overspeeding or beating the red lights. Or not getting into an accident because he was certain that his heart and his head were a mess. He was not thinking straight.

The moment that Olivia's security details said that she left her apartment pulling two huge suitcases, Matthew immediately left his office that was outside the city ignoring the call of his secretary who was reminding him of his meeting in a couple of minutes.

Damn, those meetings. Matthew cursed internally. Because at that moment, he cannot think of anything else but Olivia…the love of his life is leaving him.

When he reached his car, he drove toward where Olivia's security details said that Olivia's car was headed. He doesn't even mind that they are both on the opposite side of the city and it would seem impossible for him to reach her. His thoughts were filled with how he was going to convince Olivia to stay that he didn't recognize the familiar route that Olivia's car was taking.

It was just a couple of minutes ago when Olivia's security details called and told him where Olivia's car stopped…or rather parked. It was just then he realized how stupid he was. But that doesn't mean his emotions will calm down.

He needed to see and feel Olivia to take his fear of losing her away.

Matthew didn't even get to park his car properly as he reached the garage of his bachelor's pad. He quickly stepped out of the car and ran inside his pad.

"Liv?" He called as soon as he was inside. His eyes were frantically searching all over his house while his feet were taking her everywhere in search of his woman that is slowly killing him at the moment.

Matthew's eyes landed on the two huge silver suitcases that were near the kitchen. His feet, as if they had a mind of their own, took him to the kitchen.

The moment Matthew reached the kitchen, he felt his knees weaken as if they were about to give up and fall to the ground. Matthew felt like crying as he called her name, "Liv…"

There she was, standing in front of the kitchen stove cooking something while humming to the tune of a song that Matthew could not recognize. Or maybe, he knew that song but he just cannot seem to comprehend it at the moment because her brain is filled with only Olivia.

Olivia was too busy cooking something for Matthew because she knew that as soon as she left her apartment, Matthew would come after her. She had learned her lesson not to forget about her security details that are reporting to Matthew everything that she was doing.

She should be pissed about that by the way. So she made a mental note to talk about that to Matthew. Maybe, she could convince him to pull them out of their duty and that she doesn't need them. At least for the next two weeks.

So Olivia knew that Matthew would come any moment. But since her earphones were plugged into her ears, she didn't realize that Matthew had already arrived and was now standing behind her calling her name.

Since he failed to notice the earphones in her ears, Matthew became impatient as Olivia ignored his calls. He grabbed her shoulders and called, "Liv!" making Olivia jump and turn around.

The look of surprise on Olivia's face was evident as she removed the earphones from her ears. She thought that someone trespassed on Matthew's pad which was a little ridiculous because his pad was like a fortress. She sighed in relief to find Matthew standing in front of her with a look of fear and impatience on his face. "Oh, God! What the–,"

Matthew interrupted whatever it is that Olivia was going to say. He pulled her body towards him and crashed his lips into her lips. Days of not seeing her…not talking to her, put him into some sort of detachment from this world. It felt as if a black hole swallowed his soul leaving him an empty shell that moves like he was some sort of a robot. He was not thinking or feeling. His body just goes along with the flow.

But now that Olivia is back in his arms, it feels like his soul has returned as well. Not just Olivia come back but his life came back as well.

When Matthew pulled away from that earth-shattering kiss, he rested his forehead on Olivia's forehead. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment of having Olivia's skin touching his as if she would be gone if he moved away from her. "Damn, I missed you," He uttered in a breathless tone and then he pulled her and hugged her tightly.