Chapter 5

Olivia sat stiffly on the passenger’s seat with her hands on her lap while nervously fiddling with her own fingers. Her thoughts were racing and she didn’t even know where she should start stressing about. The fact that she was now a married woman, and somebody’s wife was finally dawning on her. Especially since she just met her husband today? There was a row of question marks in her head that she didn’t even know how to start to address. “We’re here,” Alexander said as he turned off the headlights and turned off the car. The soft purr of the engine disappeared, plunging them into deafening silence. Olivia looked at the apartment complex in front of them without much reaction and then turned to look at Alexander who was studying her expression. “Shall we?” he finally asked and Olivia nodded tiredly. The two got off the car and Alex went to the trunk to take out Olivia’s bags. Olivia held the train of her dress in her hands and slowly followed after Alexander who was effortlessly carrying her luggage. They got into the elevator and stopped on the fifth floor. Alexander stopped in front of his door and input his password. “Watch carefully and remember it,” Alex reminded Olivia before he put in the code. The door unlocked and he let her go inside first. He closed the door after also stepping into the apartment and turned on the lights. Olivia finally got a first hand view of the apartment. It was more like a bachelor pad on a budget. From where she was standing she could see a small living room and an open kitchen with a round dining table on one side. The only other thing there was a small balcony at the front and two doors. She automatically assumed that they were bedrooms but became disillusioned when Alexander opened it. “This is the storage area, all cleaning supplies are stored here. You can also use the washing machine freely,” he said introducing her to the other room. At this point, Olivia was screaming internally even though she was maintaining a neutral expression on her face. “That’s the kitchen, living room,” Alexander pointed out with his fingers before opening the door to the other room. “This is going to be our bedroom,” Alexander finished and beckoned for her to come over. “Just sit on the bed,” Alex said and felt a bit sorry inside. If they had gotten the opportunity to meet before today, maybe she wouldn’t be so awkward and nervous around him. Olivia was still uncertain but she did as she was told. Alexander shrugged off his suit jacket and pulled off his tie before he started unbuttoning his shirt. The silence in the room was almost deafening. Olivia didn’t think Alex would start undressing in front of her out of nowhere. He was acting as if he was completely unbothered by her presence. The issue was, that she couldn’t just walk out now since she had been called to sit on the bed. She noticed that not just his living space but his bedroom was also well organised. There was no clutter or anything on the floor. The bed wasn’t too big but she figured that two people could sleep on it comfortably. When her eyes circled back to him, Olivia almost choked on her spit. Alexander was standing in front of his wardrobe with no shirt on, he was rummaging through his things so she could clearly see how the muscles on his wide back flexed with each movement. It wasn’t like she had never seen a man naked, she had seen Samuel when he was busy with Chloe… She suddenly shook her head to prevent her straying thoughts. “What’s wrong?” Alexander asked with a raised eyebrow. Olivia looked up at him and then immediately turned to look away. She couldn’t have guessed it before, but his body was really sculpted. His muscles were well defined and not bulky, from his pectorals to his abs. Even his obliques were clearly defined. Alexander looked at her now red cheeks and ears and smiled in amusement. It looked like she was really shy, there was no way she was this good of an actress. “I’m going to take a shower first, care to join me?” Alex asked and laughed when he saw her reaction. Having enough of teasing her, he picked up his pyjamas and went to the bathroom. It was only when the bathroom door clicked shut that Olivia was able to release the breath she was holding. She pat her cheeks as if to help herself recover her senses and opened one of her suitcases to take out her pyjamas and some of her skincare products. She took off the wedding dress while carefully listening to the running shower through the bathroom door and wore her robe before closing her suitcase. She’d have to talk to Alex about where she can put her things. Alexander didn’t take long in the bathroom and soon came out. He was wearing his pyjamas but didn’t bother to button up the shirt, so Olivia kept catching glimpses of his lean torso. “Are you hungry?” Alexander asked her as he towel-dried his hair. With his damp hair covering his forehead, his features looked much softer and boyish than they had before. “Hungry?” he repeated with a smile and Olivia almost got dazed by the appearance of his dimples. “Yes, a bit,” she finally answered. “Is there anything you want? I’ll order in,” Alexander said and went to take his phone that was on the bed. “I’m not picky,” Olivia said and Alex nodded. “You take your time, I’ll be in the living room,” Alexander said and left the room to her. He could see that she was still not comfortable around him. After Alex left, Olivia went to take a shower too, although it took her longer since she had to remove her makeup and wash her hair. By the time she was done grooming herself, the food had already arrived. “Food is ready,” Olivia heard Alex say through the door after a brief knock. “Coming,” she responded and quickly finished braiding her hair and went to the living room. Alexander was already waiting for her at the dining table. She only saw him typing something in his phone while looking serious. She went ahead and sat across from him and he promptly put down his phone. “Let’s eat,” he said and picked up his cutlery, and the two of them started eating. He didn’t get too much, it was too late in the night to have a big meal anyway. Alexander watched Olivia as he slowly ate and the cogs in his brain turned as he tried to figure out how he could reassure her of their marriage, since both of them weren’t willing to marry each other anyway. “I know that you didn’t want to get married,” Alexander said when they were almost finished with their meal. Olivia wasn’t expecting him to bring this up suddenly so she raised her brows in surprise. “Honestly, I also didn’t want to marry you either. I don’t really need a wife right now,” he continued and Olivia put down her fork to listen to him. Seeing that he had her full attention, he went straight to the point. “We both aren’t in love with each other, but since we are married, we should atleast try to make this work somehow, right?” Alexander said after he too put down his cutlery. “I agree,” Olivia said and rested her elbows on the table, she was visibly more at ease after hearing his words. “So, what do you think a nominal couple to outsiders?” Alexander asked her and Olivia thought about it carefully. “Of course, we won’t interfere with each other’s private lives,” Alex added. “Okay, I can play the role of a wife for you, but you can’t meddle with my affairs,” Olivia said in agreement. This was the only way they could live comfortably with each other. “I’ll also play my role as your husband well. Of course, if you have other physical needs, I can help you out,” Alex said to her, his eyes filled with teasing. “That won’t be necessary,” Olivia said seriously and a spark of interest lit up in his eyes. “You are the eldest daughter of the Shawn family, right?” Alexander suddenly asked, startling Olivia, but she continued to maintain a calm expression. “What makes you think I’m not?” Olivia asked him wondering what she had done to alert him. “According to the rumours, you should have quite the appetite for men, but when I offered to help you out with your… urges, you refused so quickly,” Alexander said while carefully studying her expression. Olivia felt so wronged she wanted to throw something. She complained inwardly about how Chloe couldn’t keep it in her pants and resisted the urge to sigh tiredly. “You really won’t need my help?” Alexander asked her and received a firm no once more and his expression grew serious. “Olivia, I’m not expecting you to be keeping men outside when we are married,” Alexander said seriously. “Me neither,” Olivia responded just as seriously and Alex’s expression eased immediately. “Are you sure you won’t need my help though?” Alex teased once more and received a snort from Olivia which made him chuckle. The atmosphere between them had eased out significantly. Olivia was only worried that the marriage might fall through once Alexander found out that she wasn’t actually the eldest daughter of the Shawn family. Knowing her family, they might renege on their promise to provide the funds for Sara’s treatment.