CHAPTER NINETEEN
OLIVIA KING
One month later…
“But I don’t understand, I didn’t apply for any scholarship. There must be a mistake. I’m here to pay with a check,” I explain.
I’m standing in the middle of the accounting office at Tennessee State and while the lady in front of me is kind looking, she’s clearly confused me with some other student.
“My name is Olivia King. K-I-N-G. Maybe it’s a popular last name but I assure you I haven’t received any scholarships.”
Talking with my hands, I shuffle from one foot to another waiting for her to reevaluate her computer screen and recognize the error.
“Honey, I don’t know what to tell you; it posted to your account this morning. An anonymous donor set up the funding and you’re the only recipient in the whole school,” the gray-haired lady informs me.
The only recipient in the whole school.
It doesn’t take me long to piece two and two together and come up with Sebastian. There’s no way another stranger would feel inclined to randomly cover the cost of my education.
I’m stunned and angered by his interference all at once. He refuses to just leave me alone.
Magically, he found out about the new apartment I’ve been renting and huge bouquets of peonies arrive every other day. Each time, there’s a card attached with a straightforward message letting me know that he has no intention of giving up on us.
The same day I’d received my acceptance letter to nursing school, a brand new car was delivered to my doorstep. Not just any car — a shiny, red BMW with a bow on the hood to be exact. Upon opening the driver’s side door, balloons with the word “Congrats” written all over them floated up into the air.
As stunned as I was by the gesture, I haven’t driven it once.
No amount of expensive gifts can make me forget the pain he caused me. At least that’s what I tell myself. I’ve been second guessing my decision so much lately.
What if I overreacted because of the shitty day I was having? Sebastian had no reason to lie. Was he really telling the truth?
It doesn’t matter. It’s over.
“The scholarship covers your tuition for every semester, as well as a book stipend. So make sure you come back a week before school and we’ll cut you a check so you can buy your books,” she continues to go on and on, knocking me out of my reverie.
Numb, I thank the woman and turn just as she tells me congratulations.
A thank you doesn’t fall from my lips because I’m too busy rustling through my bag to find my phone.
This is enough. I’m calling Sebastian to get to the bottom of all this.
My stomach is attacked by nervous quivering as I hold the phone to my ear and wait for him to answer the call.
He does so on the first ring and I suddenly realize I’m not ready to hear his voice again. Especially surrounded by a crowd of strangers as I walk through campus to get back to the main road.
“Olivia?” his voice is as deep and sensuous as I remember. My knees nearly buckle at the sound.
I’ve missed him.
The urge to just hang up looms over my head but I can’t chicken out. I have to give him a piece of my mind. But all my bossy remarks have suddenly fled my mind.
I can only muster his name.
“Sebastian.”
“Olivia,” he says again but this time my name is a relieved sigh. As if he’s been waiting a hundred years for this moment and it’s finally happening.
“I-I, um.” Are you freaking kidding me? I’m stuttering like a fool. Clearing my throat, I try again. “Why did you pay for my tuition?”
The question sounds accusatory and in a way it is. I don’t need his money. I’d already won a million dollars from his company. Why did he feel the need to keep rubbing it in my face how much money he had?
“What makes you think I paid for your tuition, baby?”
My eyes slide closed and my heart constricts at his easy endearment. Thankfully, I’m waiting at a crosswalk by this time so I don’t get trampled by a rush of people.
“The lady said it was a scholarship fund set up by an anonymous donor. And I’m the only one in the school who received it. Don’t you think that’s a little too coincidental?”
“Hmm,” he hums noncommittally and lets me keep speaking.
“I don’t know anyone with that kind of money lying around. So it has to be you.”
He doesn’t say anything right away.
“Sebastian, you can stop throwing your money around. I can afford to pay for my own education, thanks to you. So I don’t see the need for you to keep showing off.”
“I’m not showing off, I’m investing in your education,” he snaps defensively.
Don’t ask me why but the anger in his voice is just plain seductive. I have to fight hard to keep my composure as I cross the street and head in the direction of my new apartment building.
“Fine, well what about the car?” I want to know.
“I thought you might need a way to get to school every day.”
“I’m okay with walking. It’s not that far,” I volley back.
“Jesus, Olivia. Why won’t you just let me do something for you?”
“You’ve done enough!” I explode unintentionally. The emotion that’d been rising in my chest since he picked up finally erupted. “Expensive gifts don’t fix a broken heart, Sebastian.”
His silence is ominous before he clears his throat. “I’m fucking lost without you, Olivia.”
His usually confident and sure tone is masked by what I want to say is sadness.
“I miss you more than you can imagine. The gifts are my only way of getting through to you because you won’t pick up the phone. Do you know how frustrating that is?”
Emotion jams the words in my throat, so I just look to my left and blink away the tears forming in my eyes.
“Olivia, you have no idea how many times I’ve picked up the phone to call you after a big win at work or a frustrating meeting that went sour. I call you anyway even though I know it’s going to voicemail just so I can hear your voice. I’ve run out of ways to tell you I’m sorry so I’ve resorted to showing you instead. It’s all I have left.”
“Sebastian,” I whisper through a cloud of tears.
“It’s not the same without you, Olivia. I need you,” he says earnestly.
Just when I think my heart can’t hurt any more, his words amp up the pain even more.
Because I need him, too. It’s taken me a while to realize it but he became my lifeline in such a short period of time.
When things ended abruptly, I wasn’t prepared for the crushing pain. It was unbearable.
“I swear to God I didn’t do anything with that woman and I never will because my heart belongs to you. Only you.”
Rounding the corner, I bite my bottom lip to still the tears. My apartment is in view now and I will myself to make it inside the elevator before I open the floodgates and start wailing like a baby.
I shouldn’t have called him. This was a bad idea. I’m not over him.
I don’t think I’ll ever be over him.
“I have to go,” I croak out miserably.
“Olivia, please—”
But I hang up before he can get in another word.
The sincerity in his voice makes it clear that I made a huge mistake and I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself for that.
Finally, I reach the high-rise luxury building that I splurged on. It’s about a twenty-minute walk from campus and has every amenity I could ever need.
I fling open the door to the lobby of the building and sprint for the elevator, ignoring the warm greeting from Ralph, the doorman.
Once the elevators doors slide close, I dissolve into a pile of tears near the back of the confined space. Sobs are shaking my shoulders by the time I reach the tenth floor. My floor.
Stepping off the elevator, I wipe my tears and try to focus on calming breaths as I search for my key. Eyes cast down, I collide with a solid figure just near the end of the hall.
Looking up, an apology is right at the tip of my tongue until I realize who it is.
“Sebastian?”
“Olivia,” he breathes before crushing me in a hug.
His arms engulf my small frame in a warm embrace, causing me to melt against him because I’ve been craving his touch for weeks and the moment has finally come.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, my words muffled against his solid chest.
“I missed you,” Sebastian says into my hair.
His familiar scent greets my nostrils and I breathe him in deeply.
Sebastian.
He’s really here.
Ravenously, his mouth devours mine in the most sensual way. I’ve never been kissed quite so thoroughly. He pulls away roughly, his fingers firmly grasping my chin to hold me in place.
“Forgive me,” he says and I know it isn’t a request. His intense eyes are trained on me.
All I can do is nod.
“I had no idea about your shithead ex. That explained a lot. I got why you were so disappointed in me.”
Amazed, I stare at him wide-eyed. “How did you find out about that?”
A secret smile touches his perfect lips.
“Your friend Winnie has been very helpful in the last few weeks. I hacked her phone carrier and got her number,” he says nonchalantly.
“Sebastian!” I whisper, scandalized, and look around to make sure no one heard him.
“What? I was desperate. I had to put the resources I had to use.”
I only narrow my eyes at him playfully, still so happy that he’s standing in front of me.
“Shit, I missed you,” he declares before pulling me closer to him. So close that I can feel the erection straining against his fly.
Instantly, my center starts pulsing in sync with his erection.
“I love you,” he says, never breaking eye contact. “I think I knew it the second you got off that damn plane.”
Stunned, my gaze is glued to him. I love him, too. So much. Warmth spreads through me knowing that the feelings I have for him are reciprocated.
“I love you, too.”
Sebastian drops his forehead to mine and makes a command I vow to never disobey.
“Never leave me again.”