Page 46 of Damaged Enemy Next Door

"Dad, please," I say, my voice shaking. "Just listen to me for a minute. I know this is a difficult situation, but we need to work it out. I need to talk to Adrian and see what we can do to make things right."

"No, Olivia; it's either me or him. You choose."

As I turn to Adrian, I see the pain in his eyes, and I know that he understands the gravity of the situation. But instead of giving up, he reaches out and takes my hand.

"Olivia … Sir,” Adrian addresses us both. “I promise you; I will make this right," he says with sincerity. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that we come to an agreement that benefits everyone involved. I’ll find a way to make this work."

“Olivia,” my father says. “Show him the way out. I never want to see him again, and I demand the same of you.”

I am at a loss for words as Adrian graciously tries to thank my father and looks at me with a sadness so profound, I wish to take him in my arms. “Family always comes first, Olivia,” he says, “I … I can’t come between you and your father.”

CHAPTER 22

ADRIAN

IstareintoOlivia'seyes as we reach for the door, and in my heart, all I want to do is pull her close and kiss her.

But I can't.

I am a man of honor, and how I act now will forever seal the nature of our relationship.

"Adrian," says Olivia, "I am truly so sorry about this."

I pause, shaking my head. I want to tell her that she has absolutely nothing to be sorry for. In fact, it is me that overlooked what my employees were doing to purchase land.

"It's not your fault," I say quietly. "It is my responsibility to ensure that this company operates with integrity and respect for our customers."

"Integrity and respect for our customers?" says Olivia, fighting back tears. I can see her fists clenched in tight balls. "Why are you talking to me like I'm a stranger?"

"Olivia," I say, "your father ..."

But she cuts me off.

"Who cares what my father says? He can't forbid me from seeing you. I'm an adult," she says, her voice growing more confident by the second. "He's not going to control who I spend time with or who I care about."

I smile, and for a moment, all of the tension between us fades away. Her words fill me with warmth and admiration, and it is then that I know that no matter what happens next, I want to be with her.

"You're right," I say softly. "No one should control who you spend time with or who you care about. But your father isn't no one, is he? He's your dad. He's been with you through thick and thin, and I think we should do this the right way. Don’t you?"

Tearfully, Olivia asks what the right way is, but I don't know. Keep him happy by staying away from me? Or betray him and hope for success in the future? If she chooses to stay away from me, she'll be sacrificing her happiness. If she chooses to betray him and come back to me, he will never forgive us. But I can't think about that now; all I can think of is being together with her forever.

I take a deep breath and look into Olivia's eyes, "I don't know what the right way is, but Olivia, I do know that I want a long future for you, and I want it to be a happy future. For that, we need your father's blessing. If we go against his wishes now, he will forever remember that and hold it against us ... against me. I cannot be responsible for turning father against daughter. Nothing good ever comes of it."

Olivia nods, understanding the weight of my words. "I know you're right, but I just can't imagine my life without you," she says, her voice choked with emotion.

I reach out and take her hand. "I can't imagine my life without you either, but we need to be patient. Let me figure out a way to talk to your father, to make him see that our love is real and that we have an agreement that benefits everyone involved."

Olivia looks at me with a mixture of hope and fear. "Can you do that? Can you really make him see that?"

"I can try," I say, squeezing her hand. "And I promise you, no matter what happens, I will always be here for you. I will always love you."

Olivia leans into me, resting her head on my shoulder. "I love you too, Adrian. I just hope we can make this work."

We stand there in silence for a few moments, lost in our thoughts. Suddenly, overnight, my world has shifted beneath my feet.

"I ... I really got to go," I say as I notice David staring through the window.

"Don't," says Olivia. "Don't go. I ... I can't breathe," she starts crying.

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