Chapter 3 I'm Not in Love with You

Olivia had settled into the headquarters of her vast company. She would only be there for two months-just enough time to finish her pending business. It was almost time to leave when she heard a knock at her office door.

She wasn't expecting any visitors. Curious, she opened it, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was standing on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, facing Harrison.

"Good afternoon, Olivia. I've come to talk to you."

The woman hesitated to let him in, but the vulnerability in her ex-husband's eyes made her relent.

Harrison entered Olivia's office with the caution of a man stepping into hostile territory. The air was thick with unresolved tension-years of arguments, silences, and unhealed wounds. Olivia, though curious, kept a composed expression, prepared to hear him out.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Olivia said, crossing her arms. "Especially not here, in my company."

Harrison averted his gaze, a gesture that betrayed his discomfort.

"Olivia, I needed to talk to you. I've been thinking a lot about everything that happened between us," he began, his voice heavy with sincerity.

Olivia remained silent, her face unreadable.

"I know I made mistakes-mistakes that hurt you more than I could ever truly understand. But I've also realized what you meant to me, and..." He paused, his voice faltering. "I realized that I never stopped loving you."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, her expression dripping with disbelief.

"After everything you did, now you show up to profess your love?" she replied, her tone laced with disdain.

Harrison sighed, acknowledging the weight of her words.

"I know it's hard to believe, Olivia. I lost the most precious thing I ever had, and now I understand that I can't live without you."

His words lingered in the tense silence of the office as Olivia absorbed his confession.

"Well, Harrison, what do you expect me to do with all of this?" she asked defiantly.

"Olivia, I want your forgiveness. I want a chance to talk about us again. And... why not? To win you back."

Olivia laughed bitterly. She looked him over from head to toe and began to circle him with slow, deliberate steps.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked coldly. "I've always known you never loved me.

Where did this sudden 'love' come from?"

"I don't know what you mean, Olivia. Maybe it was a mistake coming here," Harrison said, shaking his head and turning toward the door. But she stopped him.

"No, Harrison. Coming here wasn't the mistake. Everything you're telling me is the mistake. But if you really want to hear the truth, then listen carefully-I don't believe you. Not one word. I'm completely sure your motives are different. I know your company is bankrupt and about to collapse. You came here because you need a lifeline."

Her words struck him like a slap. How did she know? She was far more cunning than he remembered-no longer the naive woman he once took for granted. But he denied it anyway.

"Olivia, that's not true. I'm speaking to you from the heart. But I understand that you don't want to talk to me. I caused you too much pain."

"Harrison," she said coldly, "just so you see that I can still be generous-I'll help you." Harrison raised his head in confusion. His eyes met hers with anticipation.

"I'll help you," she repeated, "as long as you give me your company."

"I'm not following. What do you mean, Olivia?"

"You heard me. I want your company. I want you to work for me. I'll pay you a generous salary-as CEO even. One that will let you live comfortably while your company regains some ground."

Her offer was like a dagger to his pride. He had never imagined that the woman who once swore eternal love to him, the one who had once been at his feet, would now speak to him this way.

"I will never do that, Olivia!" he snapped. "You're humiliating me!"

"I didn't humiliate you. You humiliated yourself-walking in here with your cheap lies, thinking I'd melt at your feet."

She looked at him with contempt as she fidgeted with her fingers, then slipped a beautiful diamond ring back onto her hand with slow, deliberate grace.

"Olivia, look me in the eyes," Harrison said, stepping closer. "Tell me you don't feel anything for me anymore."

She said nothing. She stared into those gray eyes-the ones that once made her heart race. A part of her wanted to throw herself into his arms, to kiss him until she couldn't breathe. But she couldn't let herself. He had hurt her deeply. He had betrayed her. And now he was back-not for love, but because he had finally discovered her true identity.

"Harrison," she said quietly but firmly, "you have to understand-I'm not in love with you anymore. Now, please leave. If you decide to accept my proposal, you're welcome back. If not, don't ever set foot in my company again. Because I swear, I'll call security."

Harrison felt his pride crumble beneath her words. She had humiliated him beyond repair. And so he turned around and walked away-at least for now. He had no idea that the building housing his company was about to be auctioned by the bank.

It was likely he would return-on his knees-begging his wife for a second chance. After all, she had everything a man like him could ever want or need.

Meanwhile, Olivia was brimming with pain-and with a thirst for vengeance that she no longer cared to hide. She wanted him to feel just a fraction of the agony he had caused her. She wanted to see him humiliated, just like the Martens family had once humiliated her.

She had always had power. But after her divorce, she came back stronger than ever- with a multimillion-dollar inheritance that could set the whole world on fire.