CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Olivia stood there, knowing she couldn't just walk out of school like that. Nope, that would be like throwing all her plans into the trash! She rubbed her ears, gave a big sigh that could probably be heard in the next classroom, and finally mumbled, "Okay, fine. I'll say sorry."
Honestly though, she was so over Damien. That guy had turned out to be a total… scumbag with a capital 'S'. well, let's just say he was not a very nice person.
Olivia still couldn't believe she ever had a soft spot for him. And to make things even worse, she'd caught him getting cozy with Matilda! That was the last straw. She just couldn't take it anymore.
Just then, Elizabeth, looking all serious, started tidying up the papers on the table. She stood up straight and announced, "Right then, I'll take you there myself!"
Olivia just nodded. "Okay," she replied, feeling a bit like a kid being dragged to the dentist.
It seemed like the whole school had squeezed into the hall. Everyone was dressed neatly, like they were going to something important. The teacher who was on duty last week was up on the little stage, giving a summary of how things went. It actually sounded quite nice and calm. Olivia trailed behind the principal, and as soon as she stepped into the hall, it was like a spotlight hit her. All eyes turned her way.
Her being there caused a ripple of whispers, like a little wave of noise spreading through the crowd.
"Olivia's back," someone hissed.
"Oh my goodness… here we go again. Look at her, she looks even… well, not as good as before," another voice whispered, trying to be subtle but not really succeeding.
"Why didn't she just… you know… not make it after the accident? It would have been better if she just never came back to school!" someone else muttered darkly.
"The school's embarrassment has returned. And is she even chewing gum? Seriously?" more whispers followed.
"That's how rich people are, isn't it? After what she did to Finna… she still has the nerve to show her face here!" more hushed voices chimed in.
Diana, who was standing a few people ahead, turned around and tapped the small girl in front of her. "Finna… Olivia is back."
Finna looked like a delicate flower, the kind of girl that made all the boys want to protect her at first glance. She looked up shyly at Olivia, then quickly lowered her head and whispered softly, "Good for her."
Diana's face instantly scrunched up in disgust. "You are really something, you know that? Even if her family has loads of money, they shouldn't just let her get away with everything, right? She's already hurt you so much! And yet, they still let her come back… what is wrong with the people in charge here?"
Finna forced a small, sweet smile and said, "Well, the school can't really do much about it. It's okay, I'm fine now."
Just as she said this, Olivia happened to walk past her and raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Weren't you making a big drama about wanting to, you know, not be around anymore a little while ago? How come you seem all happy and ready to live now?" she asked, her voice a bit sharp.
Finna's face suddenly went as white as a sheet. "I…" she stammered.
Olivia gave a lazy little chuckle. "Why can't you talk now that I'm standing right here? What are you so scared of? Did the cat get your tongue?"
Diana stepped forward, looking angry. "Olivia, that's enough! Don't think that just because the school is trying to be nice to you, you can just bully Finna whenever you want."
Olivia turned to her with an angry little smirk. "Bully? And who exactly are you again? Did I miss the introduction?" she asked, pretending to think hard.
"Diana, Finna's friend," Diana replied, her voice tight.
"Oh," Olivia said, a fake smile spreading across her face. "Another loyal dog, or should I say minion, trying to protect its queen bee. How… touching."
Diana's face went bright red. "How dare you!" she exclaimed, raising her hand as if she wanted to slap Olivia. But Olivia was quick to spot the principal nearby. "Mrs. Elizabeth," Olivia called out sweetly, "I think these students aren't paying attention to the morning meeting… Instead, they seem to be having a very interesting whispering competition."
The principal spun around and gave Diana a fierce glare that could probably melt ice. "Tell me, young lady, what class are you in? What's your name? The teacher was giving a very important speech, but you decided whispering was more interesting."
Diana was completely speechless. "I…" she managed to squeak out.
"What… you?" The principal peered at Diana's school badge and quickly scribbled something down in her notepad. "I will make sure you receive a detention for this disrespectful behavior."
"I…" Diana tried to explain, her face a mixture of shock and anger.
Olivia patted Diana's shoulder with a look of fake sympathy. "Ohhhh. Although I would have absolutely loved to continue our little chat, it seems the principal isn't a fan of our catch-up session. We should probably do this again later, yeah?"
Diana was so furious she probably wanted to turn Olivia into tiny little pieces, but she didn't dare say a word to the principal. She just stood there, fuming silently.
Finna frowned slightly and sneaked a quick look at Olivia. Was it just her imagination, or did Olivia seem… different? Not as silly as she used to be?
After the teacher finished talking, it was clearly Olivia's turn to go up on stage. She slowly walked towards the platform, clutching her apology letter like it was a hot potato. A loud sigh escaped her lips as she climbed the few steps. The moment she was on stage, a wave of boos rained down from the hundreds of students below.
Damien's face tightened the moment he saw her, but his friend beside him chuckled and nudged him. "Ohhhh, Damien, look who's back! Olivia's got the microphone this time. I bet she's about to declare her undying love for you all over again." He snickered.
"Seriously though," the friend added, looking Olivia up and down with a mocking grin, "I think her outfit today is… something. Hahahah."
Olivia held the microphone, took a deep breath, and then spoke. "After four long months of being away from school, I'm guessing a lot of you missed me terribly."
A fresh wave of whispers broke out as soon as those words left her lips.
"I bet we should just listen and see what kind of cheesy pickup line she's cooked up this time," Damien's friend continued, clearly enjoying himself. But right now, Damien just felt annoyed listening to her voice.
Matilda had filled him in on Olivia's "situation" – how she'd apparently gotten involved with some wealthy pack who had helped her out after the… incident, and how Olivia was now supposedly just a mistress to some rich older man.
Even though Damien had never been romantically interested in Olivia, he did know that she had lost her mother young and had always been quite persistent, to say the least. Even when she had chased after him relentlessly at school, he hadn't said anything mean to her. But what he definitely hadn't expected was that she would willingly become someone's mistress.
It just didn't seem like the Olivia he knew, even if he didn't like her that way.
Damien pursed his lips and stayed silent, waiting for Olivia to start reading her usual over-the-top declarations of love.
Before Olivia had gone on stage, Elizabeth had given her a serious look and reminded her to read the apology she had written carefully. Olivia had promised her several times that she would stick to the script before she was finally allowed to go up.
She started by greeting everyone. "Hello everyone. It's been four months, and I promise you, I missed every single one of you."
The audience instantly erupted in more boos, and someone from the back yelled, "Nobody missed you! Just get this over with and leave already!"
Olivia sighed dramatically and bit her bottom lip, pretending to be upset. "I know, I know. You all missed me so much that you wished and prayed for my speedy recovery. Well, I guess your prayers were answered because here I am, standing before you all to address you."
Everyone in the hall burst out into loud laughter. It was so ridiculous, it was almost funny.
Olivia cleared her throat and said, trying to sound serious, "Alright, I'm here today to apologize for… for bothering Damien four months ago." The whole hall suddenly went quiet as she spoke those words.
According to the plan, she should have just read the apology and been done with it. But Olivia was never one to do things exactly as expected. "I know that what I did back then was a bit… much. Maybe even a little crazy. But I just couldn't help myself! I had to tell him how much I… loved him."
On stage, Olivia lowered her eyes, like she was feeling all the shame in the world, and spoke again in a softer voice. "It was very wrong of me to keep bothering him, and I've realized my mistakes. Sometimes, you just have to accept that someone's heart belongs to someone else, even if that someone else is… well, someone else."
The entire student body just stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces. They knew something felt off about this whole thing. This wasn't the dramatic, love-sick Olivia they knew. They had a feeling she was building up to something. This had to be a trap.
"I… I think I shouldn't have been so persistent with Damien. Even though we were technically engaged since we were kids – you know, the whole family arrangement thing – I thought I could somehow make him fall in love with me. But right now, I understand that wasn't a good reason for me to keep chasing after him, especially since…"
She looked directly in Damien's direction and gave a sweet, innocent smile. "Especially since my dear fiancé and my very own younger sister, Matilda, have been having a little secret… shall we say, 'relationship' behind my back."