Life As We Know It

Chapter Twelve: Engagement Announcement

Ashley stared at Olivia like she had lost her mind, she couldn’t believe that the brunette had agreed to marry Gavin especially since she had Lionel waiting in the wings.

Shifting nervously, Olivia waited to see what Ashley would say about her announcement; she knew that it was a shock but she wanted her child to have a family and she knew how happy this would make her father.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Ashley asked her as she came out of shock, she had thought for sure that things had been going well with Olivia and Lionel; she had hoped it would be enough for Olivia to leave Gavin.

Ashley knew why her friend was dating the lawyer and it had nothing to do with the fact that she loved him; it was what Olivia’s father wanted and it kept him happy.

“I want my baby to have a father… I can’t always count on Leo to be there,” Olivia said making Ashley look at her, she didn’t know what the hell was going on but she didn’t like it and she wondered if someone had gotten to her friend and pushed her to say yes.

The two women sat in silence, Olivia had hoped that Ashley would have been a little more supportive about her official engagement; she didn’t need anyone causing her to doubt her decision even more than she already had.

“What about Lionel?” Ashley asked as the brunette sipped on her hot chocolate, she watched her best friend before setting the mug down; she sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.

“He can still be a part of our baby’s life… but I want some stability,” Olivia said, she had no intention of pushing Lionel aside; it was his baby growing inside of her but she knew that he would never be interested in her that way.

However Ashley didn’t get a chance to speak as Cesc, Lionel and Gerard arrived from training; the dark haired woman forced a smile at her boyfriend as Lionel smiled at Olivia, happy to see her.

“So what have we missed?” Gerard asked sitting next to Olivia, Ashley looked at Olivia who bit her lip as she slipped her left hand off the table to hide her engagement ring from sight.

The three footballers looked between them wondering what was going on, Olivia shifted nervously before Gerard spotted her engagement ring; he furrowed his brow confused at the sight of the ring.

“What’s this then?” Gerard asked making the brunette blush as he took her left hand to reveal the ring to the rest of the table; Lionel stared at the ring that lay on her finger, disappointment filling him as he realised what was had happened.

“Gavin proposed,” Olivia revealed awkwardly making Lionel stare at her, he felt sick as he stared at the ring that was on his finger; he knew that she had a life without him but this hurt more than he thought it would.

Cesc glanced at his friend sadly, Lionel hadn’t stopped talking about Olivia since they had started to spend time with each other and he knew that Lionel was really starting to fall for the brunette that was pregnant with his baby.

“Congrats,” Gerard said before an awkward silence fell over the group, no one was quite sure what to say and they knew that this wasn’t going to be pleasant or easy.

Ashley took her boyfriend’s hand and flashed a smile at Olivia before they slipped away followed by Gerard, they knew that Lionel and Olivia needed to talk about her engagement especially since she was having his baby.

Olivia sighed as she watched the man who was the father of her unborn child, she knew that this would cause problems for them; Lionel was a wonderful sweet man but he wasn’t hers and he never would be.

“Where do we stand?” Lionel asked as he watched the brunette, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair and watched him; she knew they would have to talk about this and she hoped that he would be okay with this.