Against Their Wishes

Chapter 22

Sorry that it took me so long to update but here it is! Hope you enjoy it. Please vote and I look forward to your comments :)

When they finally reached the house, Olivia rushed out to greet the carriage. Gregory quickly hopped down from inside with a smile on his face at the sight of her running towards him. Caught up in the image of her coming towards him, he forgot to help Vivien down from the carriage, leaving her to grumpily stumble out.

“You're back,” Olivia smiled at him.

“Very observant, my dear,” he chuckled at her. Her eyes twinkled when he reached for her hand to give it a squeeze. They pulled apart, however, when a loud and angry Vivien stomped past them and into the house. Olivia stared after her with surprised eyes before turning a questioning look to Gregory.

“It is a long story. One that I will tell you later,” he told her. Olivia nodded her head as she tried to decipher what could have occurred during the outing to anger Vivien in such a way. Although she was curious about what had happened, Olivia could not feel upset that Vivien was upset. Instead, she smiled inwardly at seeing Vivien unhappy after all the worry and pain she had caused Olivia.

“Alright, if that is what you wish.”

Gregory did not find an opportunity to talk privately with Olivia until after everyone had gone to bed. Looking for her, he found her reading a book beside a candle in the library. He stopped in the doorway for a moment to admire her. The candlelight was dancing across her skin, creating shadows around her. Gregory could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she quietly tuned the pages of her novel. He stared at the slope of her neck and imagined what it would feel like to kiss his way down her alabaster skin. Before he could get anymore distracted, he pulled himself away from the doorway and walked into the room. At the sound of his footsteps, Olivia looked up.

“Good evening,” Olivia she told him, smiling. He offered her a smile in return as he came to sit down beside her on the small couch.

“It is now,” he replied. If possible, Olivia’s smile grew wider and a slight flush rose up on her neck. The words still felt a little foreign to her ears given how new their relationship was, but it pleased her greatly. “Olivia, I wanted to talk to you about today,” he said. Olivia slowly shut her book and set it on the end table in order to give him her full attention.

“Did something happen?” she asked calmly.

“Yes, something happened but I do not wish for you to get upset. I handled the situation, but I felt like I should still let you know what happened on the picnic.”

“So it was something Vivien did?” Olivia guessed correctly.

“Yes, you were right about her wishing to be married to me,” he admitted. It looked as if Olivia was going to cut into his speech so he quickly continued. “She made it very noticeable that she felt she would make a more suitable wife.”

“Why that—” Olivia started to angrily say but Gregory quickly cut in.

“Olivia, calm down. I made it very clear that she had no right to say such things and that I will soon be happily marrying you.”

“Really?” she asked on a breath. He nodded his head in confirmation.

“Olivia, I know that what I am feeling now will only continue to grow. It has already grown over the past several days, and there is no possibility that Vivien could change my mind. This is what I want, and I am sorry to say that if you were to change your mind there would not be much you could do for I am not letting you go. We’re building something here; I can feel it,” he insisted. Moisture began to grow in Olivia’s eyes as his words touched something deep inside her.