Unwrap Your Desire

OLIVIA

It was around one o’clock in the afternoon when I decided to call Mathias to pick me up at Lara’s apartment. I had to wait for Mikael first to return home from his school camping as I had missed him too.

When I arrived home, I went straight to our bedroom to take a rest. I threw myself on the bed, exhaled out loud, and massaged the bridge of my nose. Even though a lot of things happened today, my mind could not seem to get tired of thinking about Chase. I shifted my position sideways and caressed the part of the bed where he usually slept. Even the pillows and duvet smelled like his familiar perfume. I hugged the pillow he used and snuggled with it.

I missed him…

It had only been a day since I had not slept here, yet my entire body seemed to be craving him already. I did not know what kind of emotion this was… but I guess it was fine for me to go along with it.

Was he mad that I flinched when he kissed me earlier this morning? I hoped not, but my eyes had seen that he was somewhat confused by what I did. If ever he brought it up, I would clear things out, even if it meant telling him white lies.

“I missed you, Chase…” I murmured under my breath.

I heard my phone ring, and my gut feeling told me that it was Chase. I rose from the bed and grabbed my phone, too excited to answer his call.

“Hello there, Chase!” I greeted him as soon as I answered the call without checking the caller ID number.

“Oh my God!” My expression changed when I heard the familiar and irritating voice of Chase’s sister.

I looked at the phone screen, brows furrowed, and asked myself why this bitch was suddenly calling me. I mean, we weren’t close as far as I recall.

“What’s up, Chandria?”

“What the hell were you doing last night? I heard that you got drunk with your friend and didn’t go home! Aren’t you supposed to take care of my brother?” she yelled at me from the other line.

I winced at her annoying tone. It was as if she was telling me that I was not a good wife when she did not have any idea about the entire situation.

“Where did you hear that, Chandria?” I asked coldly as I was getting so annoyed too.

The fact that she argued with me previously, and Chase’s suspicion that she was the person behind the death threat, made my entire blood boil out of rage. Now, here she was, making me feel angry all over again.

“You do not have to know, Reese. And may I remind you that you have no right to question me.” I could feel it from here that she was already gritting her teeth while talking to me. “How dare you leave my brother so you could party with your friend? You’re supposed to play your role as his wife, not act as if you were a single woman who goes out whenever you feel so. Shame on you, Reese!”

I could have sworn that my ears were so irritated by her high pitched voice that I intentionally dropped the call. How the hell did she get my phone number, anyway?

“Chandria, you smart ass bitch. You are really getting on my nerves!” I yelled while glancing at my call logs.

I went all the way to block her phone number as I valued my peace of mind more than her capriciousness and whines then I received another call. I carefully checked the phone number and it was different from the one Chandria used a while ago, so I thought it was safe. I decided to answer the call just to check who was calling me.

“How dare you, Reese Jones! Did you just hang up on me?!” Another voice, of a seemingly crazy woman, just yelled from the other line. Then I realized that it was Chase’s annoying sister once again! “Did you freaking block my number?!”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. How could she be so stupid?

“Perhaps it was only an accident,” I replied but of course, knowing this woman, I knew she would never believe what I said.

“Who are you fooling? Don’t tell me it was just an accident that you went all the way into your contact settings and blocked my phone number instantly, because I will never believe you, Reese. I wasn’t born yesterday to be so ignorant of what you did!”

I shook my head and massaged the side of my head. “Whatever, Chandria! But I wouldn’t block your number if you only chose to behave properly while talking to me.” I sighed heavily and thought of something fun to do instead. “How about this? Since Chase is not yet home and I am also bored to death, why don’t we meet?”

She laughed sarcastically. “Why would I meet with you? Aren’t you aware that we’re not even close?”

I just said, “Tell me where you are right now,” ignoring what she said.

“I am still in class. I’m just taking my break,” she answered.

“Great. I’ll go there and fetch you. You can skip your classes, then we can go somewhere else to have fun.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

She may have thought that I’d lost my mind. There was no reason for me to meet her either, but I’d like to kill some time and observe her personally. I wanted to judge her actions myself to see if she was the one who sent the death threat a couple of weeks ago.

“You really are crazy. Why would I skip my class just to meet a bitch like you?” she hissed, and I could only smirk while listening to her rants.

“Don’t forget that this bitch you are referring to is your sister-in-law, Chandria. So, being the wife of your brother, have some respect and listen to me. In fact, I really think that you don’t want to attend your next class. So, let’s just meet. I promise it is my treat.” I tried to sound as sweet as possible.

“I can’t believe what you just said, Reese. You’re out of your mind!” she yelled at me. “Whatever! Do what you want, but leave me out of it! I only called because I wanted to warn you. If you want me to be cool with you, be a great wife to my brother!” After saying those words, she hung up the phone.

I grinned and shook my head. Chandria was truly a brat. I wonder how Ernest and Chase put up with all her whines in life.

But whatever it was, she told me on the phone, it would not stop me from doing what I wanted. I took a bath and wore a trendy outfit-a floral dress partnered with white sneakers. I rushed downstairs and asked Mathias about Chandria’s school.

“I am sorry, Madame, but I do not have that kind of information,” he answered.

“It’s fine. I am going to ask Chase,” I said as I hopped inside the car.

I sent Chase a text message, asking him to which Uni Chandria attended, but he seemed to be so busy that he didn’t reply to my text message. I then decided to call Chandria. I was lucky enough that she did not reject my call.

“What is it, bitch?” she asked as soon as she answered my call.

“I swear you do not want to use that tone on your sister-in-law, Chandria.” I leaned my back against the backrest of the passenger seat. “Where do you study? Tell me.”

“Are you really this insane?!” She then ended the call.

“What the hell?”

I gritted my teeth as she was clearly testing my patience. I was so annoyed that I ended up sending her some text messages multiple times. After what it seemed to be my hundredth text message to her, she then replied with the exact address of the university where she studies.

“There you go,” I said, smirking widely. I told Mathias to drive me to the address Chandria provided, and he followed my order.

While we were on the road, I could not fight the urge to call Chandria once again, to make sure that she was not fooling me.

“If you are lying to me about the school you are attending, I will make sure to tell Chase and even your father about this,” I said warily when she answered my call.

“For God’s sake, Reese. Don’t ever push your luck! Don’t go here. My class will start soon, and I only have a thirty minute break.”

“Don’t worry, I will help you sneak out.”

“No, I don’t want to-”

I ended the call. Same thing as what she did to me earlier. I laughed devilishly in my seat, not minding Mathias’ confused look at me from the rearview mirror.

I realized that her school was only thirty minutes away from our home. Mathias stopped the car in front of the main gate of the campus, and all that was left for me to do was pursue that devilish woman to come out.

I sent her a text message:

I am already here. I’ll go inside and ask for your room.

I was grinning from ear to ear when I walked to the main gate. Many students looked at me. Some were astounded, and some gave me a confused look. If I didn’t know that Reese was kind of popular, I would have really felt anxious by the way they stared at me.

“That’s Reese Jones-Maxwell, right?”

“Chase Maxwell’s wife is really pretty!”

I heard many whispers about me, but I decided to ignore them and went straight inside. I thought that the security guards would question me before they let me in, but it appeared that they were stunned by my beauty and aura. Instead, they greeted me happily.

“Good afternoon!” I greeted them back, trying to be nice and polite.

A lot more students threw their gazes at me when I walked into the building. To ensure my safety, Mathias was walking behind me. I felt more safe and confident with him by my side. Just in case Chandria threw a tantrum or started picking up a fight with me, I had Mathias to defend me.

A cute student walked in front of me, and I immediately held her shoulder.

“Hi there, pretty lady. Do you know what class Chandria Maxwell belonged to?” I asked politely.

“Chandria?” Her brows furrowed. I nodded.

“She’s in the cafeteria right now,” she answered shyly. “I can take you there if you need help.”

“That’s so nice of you! I appreciate your help,” I said, and I smiled at her widely.

A surge of excitement went through me. I wanted to see how Chandria would react when she saw me in the flesh…

While we were walking our way to the cafeteria, my mouth felt so itchy to ask questions to this lady who was kind enough to help me.

“How’s Chandria at school, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She gazed at me and shrugged. “She does whatever she wants, I guess.”

“Is she a pain in the ass to her professors?”

“Mostly…”

I giggled. Based on Chandria’s personality, she clearly had the ability to make everyone angry. I was actually curious about why she ended up having that kind of behavior. Her brother was so kind, and I could really tell that their father was also the same. I thought about their mother, who had been showing how displeased she was with me ever since I met her. Perhaps Chandria got her rude behavior from their mother? I mean, it was actually obvious that Mrs. Maxwell was ill-mannered.

I shoved that thought away as it wasn’t the right time for me to ponder it. The last stopped in front of the cafeteria, raising her index finger and pointing to the woman who was sitting on the table in the corner of the place, chatting with her friends.

“There she is,” she said.

OLIVIA

“Thank you so much for your help!” I replied and smiled at her.

She offered me a shy smile. “No worries. I was a fan of yours when you were still competing in swimming competitions. You were cool, Mrs. Maxwell. Hopefully, you can find a way to get back to swimming.”

I was taken aback by what she said. So, she was Reese Jones’ fan, eh?

“I am so honored to meet a fan like you. And we’ll never know! When my memory comes back, I will be able to return to swimming.”

But I was not Reese Jones, and the memory I was referring to would never come back as it wasn’t mine to begin with.

“I am looking forward to that. So, I will go now,” she said, as she scratched her head a bit.

I nodded and thanked her again. I watched her walk away, and when her presence was no longer visible, I turned to the cafeteria.

I did not waste any time and rushed inside. I went to the table where Chandria was sitting comfortably, holding her stylus pen while her eyes were looking down at her expensive tablet and giggling with her friends.

“Hey there, my little Chandria!” I greeted her as soon as I stood in front of their table.

Her friends’ attention immediately went to me, astounded and confused by my sudden presence. Chandria froze in her seat, cleared her throat and did not bother looking at me, as if I was invisible to her. Instead, she continued talking to her friends while jotting down some notes on her tablet.

“Chandria, I know you just heard me. Come on, do not ignore me!” I said and to get her attention, I waved my hand and smiled at her friends. “Oh, I am sorry if I suddenly appeared without introducing myself. My name is Reese Jones-Maxwell, and I am Chandria’s sister-in-law. It’s nice to finally meet you!”

They came back to their senses and nodded at me in response. They also greeted me and offered their hands for handshakes.

“I can’t believe that I finally met you, Reese! You’re a great swimmer! I am indeed a fan of yours!” One of Chandria’s friends said. “I was rooting for you and Chase Maxwell back then and did not believe the rumors. I am glad you two have finally married!”

“Andrea, stop it…” Chandria gave her a wary look.

I smiled and turned my gaze on Chandria. She exhaled loudly, stood up, and walked out without saying anything. Her friends gasped at her sudden change of behavior. They looked so worried about her.

I shook my head as I crossed my arms against my chest. “She actually does not feel well, girls. So, I went here to pick her up and escort her home.”

These two friends of hers frowned and glanced at each other.

“That might be the reason why she was so irritated earlier,” the woman named Andrea said.

“Okay, you can send her home, Reese. I will tell our professor that she is not feeling well today. We will take notes and give them to her tomorrow.”

“That’s so nice of you. I’m going to follow her now. Nice meeting both of you!” I said and stormed out of the cafeteria to follow the little devil.

I ran as fast as possible and then grabbed her hand to stop her from walking away from me.

“Not so fast, bitch!”

“Let me go, Reese!” she said and tried to get her arm from my grip, but I did not give her that chance.

“Not your lucky day, my dearest evil sister-in-law. You will come with me,” I said as I gripped her arm tightly and dragged her out of the school with me.

“What the hell do you want?”

I then brought her in front of the car and only let her go when Mathias blocked her way. I clicked my tongue as I looked at her, amused by her reaction.

“I already explained to your friends that you do not feel well and that you need to go home. Now, I am here to take you out with me,” I said and grinned. But she only rolled her eyes at me.

“It is not up to you, Reese. I need to go back!” she said, but I grabbed her arm right before she took a couple of steps.

“Don’t play hard to get on me, Chandria. I know you don’t like to go to school,” I said, as a matter of fact.

“What did you say? Are you trying to offend me?”

“If you really care about your next class, you are not going to let me drag you all the way here!”

What I said made her shut up. She looked at me angrily, and I could really tell that she was upset with me, but even if she snarled at me, I would never flinch and run.

“What the hell do you really want from me, Reese? Again, we are not that close for you to take me out.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I am more convinced that you are getting insane. Is that the aftermath of your so-called amnesia?”

I rolled my eyes. “What’s wrong with making up with you? Geez, you are my sister-in-law and even though you almost got me killed previously, I wouldn’t be able to escape the fact that you are part of my family.”

“Well, then you no longer need to make up with me. Just try to be a good wife to my brother. Even if I hated you, I wanted him to be happy,” she explained.

I narrowed my eyes and smirked. “How cute, Chandria. You love your brother that much, huh? That’s enough reason for you to make a lot of fuss to make me go away… even if you resorted to it by giving me a death threat?”

“Mind your language. I am not the person who sent you that freaking death threat. Why would I even waste my time playing games with you? That’s worthless!”

I observed the expression on her face. She grimaced and offered me nothing but a glare. She did not even flinch even though I gazed at her for that long. There was no hint of guilt or lying in her eyes… That only means that she was telling the truth.

Chandria was not the one who sent it.

“Try to calm down a bit, little girl.” I was about to touch her hair but then she immediately pushed my hand away.

“Don’t even dare touch me!” she yelled.

I winced at hearing her voice. A memory of me when I was a child flashed through my eyes: a kid that pushed me away. He was a visitor to the orphanage who came with his parents. That arrogant kid told me that I had no right to talk to him or become his friend because I was a filthy orphan… The way Chandria looked at me reminded me of that kid.

Chandria shook her head and was about to go but I held her hand once again.

“Chandria, why don’t you give me a chance first? I want to end this conflict between us, and spend some time with you because your husband’s sister.” I sighed heavily and looked her in the eyes. “I want to be closer to you, and to apologize for how I acted before. Just please, let me. It’s my treat.”

Her chest was moving up and down in rage, but soon her expression softened and she became a little bit calmer.

“I don’t really know what you are up to. You’re so weird,” she commented, and then hopped inside the car, wearing the grim expression all over again.

I turned to Mathias. “Let’s go to a nearby beach.”

“Sure thing, Madame.”

I hopped into the passenger seat beside Chandria. She moved a bit away from me, and I could only giggle because of her childish actions.

“Where would you take me?” she asked after what seemed like half an hour of being on the road.

“We will go to a beach and have fun there,” I replied. “We’ll have some coffee, too. I badly need it because I still have a bad hangover.”

I picked my phone from my bag and took a picture of me and Chandria pouting her lips in annoyance. I then sent it to Chase and then informed him that I was with her sister.

To: Chase

Hello there, husband. I am with your sister. I took her out for a girls’ date to try to mend things between us. Wish me luck! I miss you! 😡

I could not help but smile. I bit my lower lip and showed Chandria my phone screen. She only rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Can you at least smile a bit? Come on. We’re going out for a sisterly date!”

“Yeah, right, and you’re creeping me out…” She pouted her lips.

“Feisty!”

Even though Chandria was a bit sour to me, I could not deny that I was kind of excited about fixing the conflict between us. Sitting beside her without us fighting like wild cats was actually a good start. I hoped that after this day, she would be able to open her heart to me. I bet Chase would be so happy once he saw me and her sister on good terms. I mean, who wouldn’t want a peaceful life without an enemy to mind, right?

My phone vibrated. I opened my inbox hoping to see if Chase had already replied, but it was Lara who had just sent me a text message.

From: Lara

Heyoo! Little Devil, I hope you’re fine! Are you with Chase? Make sure to give him a wild night, to the point that he can no longer walk the next day! Or try to give him a lap dance. I bet he would love it!

I shook my head and massaged the temple of my nose after reading her message. I sent her a reply, informing her that I was with Chase’s sister, as I planned to treat her somewhere nice. I even sent her our selfie.

After a few minutes, I got a reply from her.

From: Lara

Oh my gosh! Liv! Are you trying to get Chandria to like you? You’ve already fallen for the trap! First, you’ve become close to Chase’s father and enrolled at Steinfield’s Uni. Then now you are going to spend some time with Chase’s devilish sister?

You know what that is? You are already in love with Chase! Liv, run away. I am warning you. You will get hurt at the end! It’s not worth it!

I bit my lower lip and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. I deleted her text message and turned off my phone. Something was wrong with me… I did not know why, but my chest felt so heavy after reading her text messages.

“Interesting. Now, you look annoyed,” Chandria commented, her eyebrows raising.

“Don’t mind me. I just received a terrible message from a friend,” I replied.

“Things that make us annoyed are mostly the hard truths,” she responded.

My forehead creased by what she said. I cleared my throat as it made me ponder.

“Yeah, maybe…” I said after a few seconds, and then laughed a bit.

Geez, Olivia. Are you completely out of your mind? I shoved all my thoughts away and focused on my goal for today-to get closer to Chandria Maxwell.

“I am getting bored. I hope you’ll treat me to something fancy. I am not cheap.”

I then gave her a sweet grin. “Seems so.”

“We are here, Madame,” Mathias announced as he stopped the car.