BILLIONAIRE'S GAME OF LOVE

Friday evenings were always the most busy days for Olivia Miguel at Richy's bar. Wearing her black short flay skirt, and a white top, she packed her hair in a simple bun. "Am leaving Lucas, I'll be back late", she said to Zayn Lucas, her boyfriend, "hmmm", he muttered, burying his head into his phone. Planting a kiss on his cheek, she left the house, closing the door softly behind, "it's going to be a long night", she said and took a long breath. Reaching out to her bag, she took out her phone and searched a song, she was a huge fan of Brandy, the musician.

She plugged her headphones, dancing swiftly as she made her way to the club, Richy's club where she worked. As she got closer, she noticed the lights were off, she could not even hear any sounds from a distance, she tried walking faster, and on approaching the bar, she noticed the atmosphere of the environment, everywhere seemed cold, the front glass was broken, like a stone was thrown at it, she stopped walking, she didn't get any closer. "what happened here", she muttered to herself, she took a leap of faith and took few steps closer, she noticed a figure on the ground, she decided to take through the corners, she noticed the figure was actually a person, she reached to her phone and turned on the flash light "oh my God!!!" she exclaimed, her heart beating faster, her eyes wider than ever, she stood in shock, all of a sudden her palms began to sweat, she became hot, she couldn't breathe, she was scared, frightened and terrified at the same time, this person was not just a stranger or customer, it was her boss, Richy. Olivia sprinted immediately, she ran without stopping, she could feel tears rolling down her eyes as she ran, she could not catch her breath but she couldn't stop either, she slowed down a bit, to catch her breath, she finally started walking slowly, thinking about what she had just saw, she thought about the fact that Richy's bar was her last hope to earn a living, she was already struggling with Zayn, she climbed the stair case leading to their apartment, and held the knob of the door, she cracked it open and took her first step.. Olivia and Zayn had been dating for the past two years, since they left college, he has not been all that great but he had been supportive, he helped her get away from her cruel step mom and dad, allowed her stay in his home and fed her as well, but in the past six months, he seemed to have changed, he no longer stayed at home like he normally does, the house seems like it was empty even if two persons were living in it, there was no fun, just argument on finances and house expenses, it forced Olivia to get a job at the bar, it was stressful for her since she was also taking a course but she would do anything to make Zayn comfortable. Standing right in front of the room, having taken her first step, Olivia was thrilled, it felt as though her heart had stopped beating, she had already been struggling to catch her breath since the sprint few minutes ago, but right now she was in another phase of the shock, her feet became weak, the tears which seemed to have stopped few seconds ago had started pouring again, this time it wouldn't stop, she couldn't move at the sight in front of her. Zayn was naked, with someone that looked very familiar, right on the dining table, they were so consumed, they didn't even notice that she had been watching for almost three minutes, she knew things had not been great lately but she thought things would get better soon, and their love would ignite again, but it was far from it, he had been cheating all these while. At that moment, the culprits seemed to have noticed that they had an excort, they turned and immediately jumped, Olivia had finally seen who the girl was, the college girl who had always been jealous of her for being the girl Zayn chooses to be with, Savannah Pedro, Olivia could not believe her eyes, even after two years this girl was still so bent on getting back at her, she quickly turned and left the room, "shit, Olivia wait", Zayn said behind, but she was already gone, gone from his sight, forever. Olivia walked down the streets of Chicago, with a wrenched heart, she was yet to process everything that had happened that night, starting from Richy who had been helping her all this while, he was dead, still yet to process this loss, she also realizes that she has no home now, Zayn was sleeping with another woman, not just any woman, but Savannah, the college girl who he said he felt nothing for, he said she was just forcing herself on him, that he had nothing at all to do with her, was caught two years later, still messing around with her, savaging her body like a lioness would do to her cub, it was too much for her, tragedy had befallen her, she had nowhere to go except one place. The house had not changed, it wasn't any different than how she left it, it was the family house, the house she left two years ago when Zayn came to pick her up, her heart ached remembering that day, thinking that was her forever after, it was not, she was back home, she didn't know where else to go. It was late already, she was skeptical, if she should take the first step to even ring the door bell, she did anyways, and after standing there for about few minutes, the door finally opened, she was greeted with a familiar face, the same grey colored hair she left two years ago, with honey colored eyes, pointed nose and thin small lips of her step mother, Helen Woodstone "well-well, what do we have here", she said in sarcastic cruel tone and she continued," "what a surprise, what brings you to us?", she asked, not hiding the irritation in her voice "can I please stay, I have nowhere else to go", she replied and continued sobbing, Helen looked her in the eyes, not with compassion though, scanned her up to down and finally released her grip on the door, "use the basement", and left. Pushing the door slightly, Olivia stepped into the old house, a few things had changed like the arrangement of the living room, she walked past it to the kitchen, she perceived an alluring smell, that was when it hit her hard that she hadn't eaten, her stomach grumbled, but she wasn't home anymore, and if there was one very cruel thing about Helen is that she was very greedy with food in her house. Olivia walked past the kitchen before meeting the door of the basement, she sighed as she entered "at least I have roof over my head", she thought to herself, she took the staircase down, took out the old mat they've always had, she searched the room until she saw the gray colored coat, the one her mother got for her on her 9th birthday. At the sight of it, memories erupted, the tears began falling again like the water fall, every drop ignited an emotion, swift encounters of the good days flashed her memory. Olivia was the only child of her parents, she had the most loving mother on earth, every year she would make hand-made gifts for Olivia, her beautiful laughter would echo the room, and her husband, Olivia's father was not far from the overwhelming positive energy in the mansion they had, but life became so cruel, Olivia was in school one day when the driver, Thomas came to pick her up, it was earlier than normal, she could see the worry in his face as she was walking towards the car, "uncle Tom, is everything okay?", her little voice asked concerned "yes Olivia, uncle Tom is good, mom and dad will not be back today", he responded trying so hard to hide any hint of emotion. "why, but that has never happened before", Olivia had become worried "Don't worry, granny would be home to cook dinner tonight, she will be with you while your parents are gone", he said, giving her a small smile from the edge of his lips. Night came but there was still no trace of mom and dad, in as much as granny was trying to be cheerful and playful, it was obvious that something was wrong, and Olivia was not one of the dull kids. It was three months later of constant lying from Grandma and uncle Tom, Olivia stepped into granny's room and heard her sobbing over the phone "Olivia doesn't know yet, and I can't keep hiding it from her, she deserves to know what happened", "what happened grandma", Olivia interrupted, the look on grandma's eyes was like a lost puppy who lost his parents and needed help. The memories flashed as Olivia looked at the grey coat, the more she looked the more vicious the memories came, she took it laid on the mat and began to cry into the coat, she whimpered, sobbed and wept, thoughts ran through her mind, "wasn't I good enough? What was it about me that made them all go? Don't I deserve a happy life like everyone else does? All in one day she had lost her job, the love of her life, and her home, she knew nothing of what the future would hold, was there anything left for her in this world? ................... The sun struck Olivia's eyes through the window, she slowly opened her eyes, and scanned the room, she didn't realize the condition of the room last night until now, she got up, stepping out of the basement, she met the old belts, he still wore those cloaks, he was still with those walking stick, but the memories of that walking tick made her stomach sore, he once used that stick to beat her up, she greeted "good morning Mr Paul" Turning around to face the familiar voice, he said "hmm, Livia, Helen told me about your arrival last night, what brings you to us, did your boyfriend kick you out too? "of course he did, no one would keep a wretched, dumb and shameless girl as this one" Helen spoke from behind, just then, Paul raised his stick, took steps closer to Olivia and pressed the stick across her torso, Olivia's face squinted, it hurt, but she pleaded, "please uncle, let me stay, i.. I promise to get a job as soon as I can, when I save up enough money I promise to find somewhere else", Olivia pleaded, she knew how Paul can be, he would use anything he lays his hands on to exploit anyone who was depending on his help. "hmm, well, we need some helping hands at the shop, that is what you will pay us in return, no one would employ an incapable person like you", he said and laughed, releasing the pressure of the stick and taking it off her, Helen chuckled too, she was used to it, she was used to their cruelty, "okay thank you", she softly spoke " Go shower and get dressed, there is a lot of work to do today", Helen replied. ....................... Working at the coffee shop was stressful and less fulfilling, serving customers coffee and small breakfast in the morning was not Olivia's dream, with her eyebrows arched making wrinkles on her forehead, she cleared the cups and plate from the tables, the irrevocable dull look in her eyes made it obvious that she was sad, once upon a time was a vibrant girl who had the most loving family, she didn't deserve this, she continued ruminating in her head, until a rigid deep voice interrupted her oblivious thoughts "Mhmm mhmm", he cleared his throat, facing her direction "oh good morning, please have a seat, give me a minute and I will attend to you", she immediately said, then hurried to drop the cups in the kitchen, just before closing the door, she took a quick glance, he was different from the kind of people that came around the Café, the suit seemed to be nicely sewn, the shoes looked like those recent model boots, "hmm", she muttered before closing the door. Taking out her pen and paper, she came out, braced herself up and walked towards the strange man, he had a black hat on, she struggled to see his face, he seemed to be so focused on what he was looking as he buried his head into his newspaper. "excuse me sir, what would you like to have", she asked quickly, he raised his head up, he could see her, but she still could not have a clear view of who he was, he took s few seconds before breaking the silence "I'd have black espresso", he replied in a soothing voice, and faced down again "would you like to add anything like pancakes or anything of the sort?" she followed "That would be all", he replied still on his newspaper Olivia stood for three seconds before turning away to the kitchen, she seemed to be curious about who was this man and why he was here, she went in and prepared the black coffee, Olivia was good with making swift designs and she did so with his order. She walked out of the kitchen with a tray in her hands, and placed it on the table, he put down the newspaper, taking a glimpse of the order, "hmm, I see you possess a remarkable talent for Latte art," he said, it sounded casual but intriguing, a gentle blush accompanied Olivia's brightening smile, still with affirming confidence in her eyes, she replied, "that's kind of you, but if I may ask, what draws you to coffee art?" she engaged, trying to draw something from this man, he looked up, and finally took off his hat, placing it on the table, it seemed to be a moment she had been waiting for. Taking off the hat revealed a young man, with radiant eyes, a strong jawline, and distinct facial beards, his appearance exuded a regal presence, he looked at Olivia in the eye before engaging "my grandmother's coffee art was mesmerizing, she was the only one I knew with the divine technique", he said not taking his eyes off her, he leaned forward slightly and asked "what draws you to this art?" "If you'd like to know, the combination of artistry and impermanence, where creativity meets caffeine fascinates me", she said softly, not hiding the excitement of talking about something she regards as a passion. He watched her intently, leaned backwards and rested on the chair, then he smirked, "you have quite the humor", he said still watching her, he stretched his hands across the table and said "Brandon", she looked at him, returning the handshake, she replied "Olivia"...