Oliver has been preoccupied since he arrived home to his father who of course was in a ridiculously sour mood, well he wasn’t surprised seeing how the event ended with him ditching his own party, his father, of course, won’t be happy about it.
“You still haven’t found the person who uploaded that footage and the hidden camera?” His father fumed. After he left the house of the strange woman he spent the night with, he went back home to change and now he’s been summoned by his father that had turned his office upside down after he didn’t get any positive response, his name plates and files was across the room instead of the desk by the time Oliver arrived back home, his father had always kept a calm, stoic appearance but seeing as he’s freaking out means things aren’t looking very good for him.
“You-” His father, Owen paused the moment he set his eyes on him. “You…you were out all night, you didn’t cause any more trouble for me did you?” The man queried as he stared at the cold, indifferent face of his son who was studying him keenly.
“How would I know, I have no recollection of the previous events once I switch, but he was with a woman, I have no idea who the woman is either but it appears he only spent a night with her so…I guess that’s fine” Owen furrowed. He might not show it much but he cared a lot for his son, things have been rocky between them ever since his wife’s death which Oliver blamed him for, not that he didn’t blame himself either, if only he had managed to stop his wife from leaving that night, she would definitely still be alive but what’s done is done, and now he’s left with a broken son, afflicted with a strange disorder he still had a hard time wrapping his head around.
Whenever Oliver switch, it’s like he’s dealing with a second son, a rebellious and angry son, he had no choice but to lock him up because he always ended up causing trouble that would not only after himself but drag his reputation through the mud as well, Owen wasn’t ready to entertain his son’s profanities and indignation, and that is why he had tried to suppress his son’s counterpart.
He spent years preparing Oliver to take over that position and when it was just about to happen, when that burden was just about to be lifted, someone just had to sabotage it and leave him out in the open, robbing him of his dignity in front of people who held him in high regards, and now those people that doesn’t dare held look him in the eye won’t stop running their mouths, people are questioning his decision and are starting to point fingers, the mess is too big to cover up and it will only get wider if Rio had gone on a rampage the previous day but that didn’t seem to happen which put Owen at more ease.
The only proof the shareholders and important members of the high society have to talk about is that footage, many speculations have been drawn up in regard to the matter, some say he used to maltreat his son and some say the act was his way of disciplining his son when he gets out of control, rumours flying around the moment the footage was leaked but he could handle that much.
Owen didn’t care if he was made into a bad guy or if they decided to twist and turn the truth, he just needs to shut them up, as long as they don’t see Oliver lose control, the rumours will only burn like a dying candle for a while, eventually, the lights will be muffed out, but Oliver losing control wasn’t the only thing he was afraid of, whoever was able to get their hands on their footage and figure out Oliver’s trigger won’t stop at just trying to expose him.
“Who on earth would do something like this?” He thought out loud moving away from his desk that had been scattered and rampaged after the whole thing get to him, but seeing Oliver alive, well and in his right mind ease his worries a little. So he was able to calm down and take a seat on the leather sofa that adorn his luxurious office.
“I can’t believe you’re looking far and wide for the culprit while you forget to check the edge of your nose” Oliver commented moving to sit opposite his father. Owen knew his son doesn’t like him very much but every action he had made or will make was for him, his only son.
“Do you mean it’s someone close to me-
“Dad, I don’t know if it’s your trust in my sister that’s that strong or your fatherly love that’s blinded but how could you be so blind to the signs, did you seriously think Laura will just sit back and do nothing while I take her position?” Oliver arched a brow at her father who was now losing the tie tucked into the vest of his dark three-piece suit.
“No, I know Laura is ambitious but she would never do anything that affects the image of the company” Owen replied leaning back into the sofa while his hand gripped the armrest tightly trying not to entertain doubts about his own daughter.
“She was smiling when it happened dad, not only was she smiling, she had a smirk on her face when the thundering started, if she really had nothing to do with it, shouldn’t she be surprised by what happened?” Oliver queried while Owen felt a tinge of disappointment and betrayal, if the whole ordeal was really orchestrated by his daughter he wouldn’t know what to do since he didn’t see that coming. Oliver let out a heavy sigh after seeing his father’s confused expression.
“Ever since mom died, Laura and I…have drifted apart, to the point that I don’t even know if we are blood-related anymore, but you can’t really blame either of us can I, we were just kids who lost our mother, so…I don’t think I’ll be able to reach Laura, but I’ll only be letting it slide this once because she’s my sister. If something like this happened again dad. I won’t stay still” And with that, Oliver stood and walked around the sofa he was seated pausing for a minute to give his father one last look.
“Also, the shareholders are not stupid, they know someone did this to stop me from taking over your position, I might as well use this to know who is on my side, the next shareholder meeting is tomorrow, right? They will probably bring up the incident, and those that oppose the succession would be successfully confirmed to be my enemy, see you later dad” Oliver took long strides out of his father’s office heading in direction of her office before his assistant Mike immediately joined him.
“Sir,” She called in a low tone.
“Have you found out what I asked you to?” Oliver asked as they slowly approached his newly furnished office which was not far from his father’s since he was the New vice President of the company.
“Yes, the CCTV footage from the hotel has been collected as well that of the hallway of the girl’s apartment-
“And the background check?” Oliver asked recalling he had immediately requested his assistant to run a background check on the girl he woke up in her house.
“Yes sir.” His assistant got the door for him and he advanced into his office. His eyes fell on the new nameplate on the desk displaying but his name and his position in the company. He ran his fingers over the furnished edges of the crystal before heading to his swivel chair and sitting with a flop. He stretched out his hand to receive the tablet which the footage was successfully collected and contrary to his belief the girl had indeed helped him.
Oliver felt conflicted, though he always switched he never truly know how his counterpart acted or who he really is, the only thing he could confidently say he knew about him is his name. He shut his eyes tight as he recalled the footage at the hotel hall, Rio had been so violent and temperamental but watching another footage of him now shattered all the beliefs and rumours about his counterpart, he never knew he had a gentle side to him as well.
Rio had not only followed a strange girl to her home but even acted so kind and chummy with her. Oliver felt weird about it for some reason.
“Andrea Morgan” He muttered the name on the printed document in his hand out loud. It’s surprising that the girl was part of the high society as well, not only is she a well-known designer but is also the daughter of a well-known fashion company with a popular fashion brand. “This is a rather exciting turn of events” Oliver smirks staring at the woman’s background document.
He spent the entire day watching Andrea’s events online, her fashion show and interviews before he was finally driven home by his driver. He was mesmerized at how elegantly she had carried herself but eventually, Oliver saw an article stating that she was engaged to be wed soon.
“Honestly Rio, why are you hanging around with an engaged woman?” He pondered as he changed and prepared himself for bed after dinner, but the clouds decided to surprise him, pouring out rain and clapping thunders right before he was ready to get to bed.
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Andrea stood frozen in shock for a minute trying to understand what on earth was going on and why the guy that had rudely left her apartment in the morning had come knocking on her door so late, and worse he wasn’t wearing shoes.“What on earth are you doing out here?” Andrea furrowed totally speechless. For a second she was confused about what to do, the same man had shoved some money to her face for helping him. Andrea felt her head ached trying to figure out what to do with the man.“Um, can…can you let me stay here again?” He requested timidly, his hair and clothes dripping, he looked like a lost puppy soaked in the rain, Andrea thought. He really looks a lot better and younger with his hair down, Andrea thought recalling how his hair had been neatly gelled to the back when they first met.“No” She finally answered after seeing the anticipating look on his face.“Why?” Why does he sound so gentle and timid? Andrea wondered, it was like he become a completely different person again
Andrea had never felt so mortified of someone in her life, she felt like her entire life flashed through her eyes after the president suddenly proposed her a deal and even asked for Rio to take a seat next to her. “As you already noticed, my son is suffering from a mental illness called double personality disorder” Andrea's throat runs dry, double personality disorder? There are actually people who had that disorder, she’d only ever heard of it in movies and read about it in books, seeing a victim of the mental disorder in real life was an eye opener for, yeah…she definitely thought his behaviour was rather strange, one moment he was nice and calm, but another second, he was rude and indifferent, had her wondering how someone could be so different on two different occasions. “This piece of information is something I expect you to guard with your life, a lot of people want to see him fall after all” Andrea flinched. Yeah, Boris enterprises is such a big company, they aren’t actors or a
Danny fidgeted nervously as he approached the president’s office, because of Andrea’s stubborn decision he’s been put in a rather difficult position. He wished she’d just listen to him, he wouldn’t have to result to tricks like moving the wedding up but it still all depended on the president’s decision, if he manage to play it safe, everything could all be solved, Andrea won’t stay still of course, but he could always coax her into giving in eventually, or so he thought before walking into the president’s rectangular office.It wasn’t different from any other office on the top of the company building, except that it screams luxury, from the expensive ceramic vase adorning the entrance to the extravagant leather sofa for guests which was some distance away from the president’s desk.Though he’s been in the president’s office a few times, he couldn’t help but be impressed by how it was lavishly decorated and yet kept simple and warm.“You called me sir?” Danny announced her presence to
“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” Daisy Cabello, Andrea’s long-time friend questioned over the phone with a concerned tone after Andrea narrated her ordeal to her.“I think so, I already took the day off, so…I’ll be using this time to rest” Andrea replied in a tired voice while she trailed down to the parking lot where she had her ash CUV parked. As much as she would like to focus on preparing for their upcoming show at that moment, she just wasn’t in a proper mental state to go through with it.“Yeah, you should take a rest today. You’ve gone through a lot, I can’t imagine going through that really, I’ll probably be in jail right now because I’d have killed that son of a bitch, I must have been blind to think he was someone decent” Daisy gritted harshly over the phone, it was evident she was upset. Andrea chuckled and pressed down on her car button as she approached her car in her business casual attire and her mini bag, her peep-toe heels clicking as she approached her car.“Yeah
Rio was already used to the emptiness that comes with being Oliver’s alter ego. Locked deep down in his consciousness until his fear brings him to the surface. Forever wrapped in the airy loneliness and forever roaming in the loathsome darkness but he never hated it, he only wanted to protect Oliver after all, well until now.For the first time, he found himself battling the darkness and hating the loneliness, he wanted to see the bright light again and the gentle and warm amber eyes of Andrea that somehow gave him a purpose different from that he was born.Although it wasn’t that easy, he could never win against Oliver no matter how much he tries, it was his first fight for control after all. His struggle gave him a chance to Oliver’s consciousness even though their thoughts and actions were normally hidden from each other. Oliver was seated in a black swivel chair, fitted close to his office desk, he rested his head on his hands while staring down at the single paper he just sighed.
“What…what are you doing here?” Andrea asked Rio wearing a blank expression as he stared at Rio with lifeless, stone-cold eyes.“Andrea” Rio moved closer, maintaining the concerned look he had on his face. Andrea hated that he had to see her that way, soaked and miserable but none of that mattered since, she doesn’t give a flying fuck at this time, not with everything on her plate right that moment. “Are you alright-“Leave” Rio flinched to her cold tone. Andrea didn’t mean to be rude, she just wasn’t in the mood to entertain him, she’s got so much going on, she had no intention of playing house with him. “I’m sorry…I just-” Her voice turned brittle, ready to break at the slightest push. “I just-” Her words wouldn’t come, thinking about everything again just brought tears to her eyes. How could she put her suffering in words? She wondered. While many people might think it’s no big deal, they could deal with the damage, her heart wouldn’t stop hurting, would it have been less differen
“I can’t believe she yelled at me…not only did she yell at me, she literally throw me outta her house, did she think I wanted to be there too, it it wasn’t because of Rio, I’d be in my goddamn room Sleeping!” Oliver ranted on and on then Ben sighed and adjusted his hands on the wheels.Oliver had managed to reach his assistant who because of Rio found out about his condition 2 years ago but had kept it a secret for him, so, he decided to trust him on it, but Ben felt like he was starting to regret it now because he’s always sent to clean up after Rio or Oliver cause trouble.“I mean…what did Rio even see in that crude girl by the way?” Ben let out an exasperated sigh but felt relieved they were slowly approaching his family home. He couldn’t believe Oliver ranted through the entire ride back to his house, complaining about ‘this Andrea girl’. Just why is he doing this to me? Ben thought wearing a look on his face after they pulled over and Oliver still kept going on about how that gi
As Andrea predicted, the reporters caught a whiff of the situation and before she knew it, it spread throughout the company like wildfire, but more than anything, Andrea hated the pitiful looks and sympathetic glances her co-workers wouldn’t stop giving her as she treads the company hallway in her feminine brown suit and clutch purse of a darker shade of brown to her clothes but matches either way. She had promised to wear a confident smile and calm demeanour as she walked in but it was hard to keep her composure as their eyes continue to escort her down to the president’s office.To Andrea’s dismay, her father’s secretary was in her grandfather’s seat and it had her already cold expression turning dark.“What are you doing?” Andrea demanded and Jenny shoot to her feet.“Sorry, I was helping the president clear his table” Suspicious, Andrea narrowed her eyes at her while Jenny moved away from the desk.“What brings you here Andrea?” Since she was way older than her and had always been