Chapter 10: Loneliness Ends
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Chapter 10: Loneliness EndsOlivia’s time in Europe really did feel like a film on fast-forward. There were moments where she woke up unsure of what country they were in. The hotel rooms were under different names all the time, modestly furnished and impeccably clean.
Gus was an excellent travel companion, always just as bright-eyed and cheerful as the day she’d met him. He taught her how to lay low in a crowd and how to best disguise herself when she needed to. Their travel schedule didn’t slow down until several months later.
Olivia still watched the news rabidly, examining every scrap of information she could find about Byron’s trials. The most recent blow had been his extradition to Germany, where he was being held in a federal prison while awaiting trial. Deemed a flight risk, it seemed. She’d thought having him on the same continent would be an improvement, but his sudden closeness only made her ache more.
She wanted to forgive him, like Rita said. After that, everything else would work out, but she had to talk to him. Gus insisted it was far too dangerous to do so, and acted shifty when asked when it would be safe. Olivia got the message loud and clear.
That day she turned on the television with a casual flick of her wrist, the act of flipping through the cable news channels while searching news websites becoming such a habit that she barely gave it a second thought.
“Byron Furgettar was found dead today in a German prison cell.”
Any casual attitude and leg strength she had possessed left her, her knees knocking against the floor. The remote fell next to her.
“In an apparent suicide, World Leaks founder Byron Furgettar was found strangled in his cell early this morning. Sources say that Furgettar had a history of depression, and witnesses at the prison report that he had become uncharacteristically cheerful in the recent weeks, something experts say can be a sign of an impending suicide attempt. Many are asking why Furgettar wasn’t put on a health watch...”
Olivia had stopped listening. This was it. They’d won. Olivia was in hiding, Rita and Nelly were all alone, and now Byron was dead. Had he gone thinking she hated him? Had he seen no end in sight? Had he suffered?
The morbid thoughts kept coming, crashing over her in waves. There was a frantic knock on the door.
“Miss?”
It was Gus. She stayed silent. She didn’t want to talk. He knocked again, louder this time.
“Miss? It’s very important--”
“Go away Gus!” Olivia cried out. She hadn’t even felt the words in her throat, much less planned to say them, but there they were. Tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, dear, I think she saw the news report. One moment please, yes, I think it’s wise that I go in first.”
She heard the keycard slip into the lock, and a soft beep when it opened. Gus let himself inside.
“Miss, I’m terribly sorry, I certainly didn’t want you to find out this way, nobody did.”
Olivia was silent, save hiccoughing breaths that fought their way out through her self control.
“He’s dead Gus.”
“Miss--”
“He killed himself. He must have been so hopeless.”
“Miss, he’s not.”
“What?”
“He’s not dead.”
Olivia’s jaw hung open, lips parted into an O.
“He’s not...”
“No miss.”
“But why?”
Gus had a coy smile on his face, like that of a young boy keeping a very big surprise a secret.
“Well, perhaps you should ask him yourself.”
Olivia turned, screaming at the sight of a more clean-cut version of her boyfriend. His hair was dyed black, a heavy contrast to the sandy locks she knew, but she’d recognize his contagious smile anywhere.
She was still screaming when she leapt into his arms, knocking them both to the floor. They laughed at first, quickly dissolving into tears of joy in one another’s arms. Gus left quietly.
“How?” She asked, incredulous.
“That’s an incredibly long story that I’ll tell you another time. I’m here, though, and I’m out of lies.”
It took her a moment to process his declaration, a blank look on her face. She winced, waving him off.
“It’s OK, I understand.”
“No, I want you to know. I mean it literally, Olive. World Leaks is in new hands, all of my aliases have been erased or destroyed. Byron Furgettar is dead.”
Olivia’s eyes grew wide as saucers when she realized what he meant.
“Really?”
“Really.” He assured her. “A fresh start. We’ll disappear, we’ll find a place, and we’ll live there together. Once it’s safe we’ll bring Rita and Nelly over.”
“Won’t that--” She objected with alarm, but Byron cut her off.
“No.” He soothed. “Like I said, we’ll wait until it’s safe. It won’t be long, they’ll stop paying her any mind, if they’re paying her any now, by the time they realize that she’s not involved.”
Olivia nodded, throat dry at the thought of Rita by herself, those men watching her. She knew Byron had someone in Rita’s building just in case, but it wasn’t enough to quell her fears completely.
Byron stood, pulling her to her feet. He pressed his forehead to hers before dropping a chaste kiss on her lips. She tried to deepen it, but he pulled away.
She felt a pang of disappointment, but she understood. After all, he probably needed space after what he had been through.
Not that you could tell from the bright smile on his face.
“Olivia.” He called her out of her reverie, watching her fondly. “I have something I want to do. It’s my first act as Carter Erickson.”
He dropped to one knee.
“Olivia,” He told her from the floor. “I don’t think I need to tell you how much you mean to me anymore. We’ve been tried by fire, and we’ve come out on top. There is nobody I want to spend my retirement with more than you. Will you be my wife?”
Olivia took a deep breath.
“Yes.”
EpilogueThe Greek shoreline was beautiful all year round. Olivia had worried that the dazzling blue waters would disappoint them during the winter, but the weather was so moderate that the difference was hardly a difference at all.
Nelly was running up and down the beach, chubby little legs kicking out great fans of soft white sand behind her. Byron was running up the beach after her, crying out in amazement at her unthinkable speed. He’d let his hair go back to its usual color over the course of the year, and their google news alerts hardly pinged anymore. What had been a tornado that ripped their lives apart was only a blip on the radar to the rest of the world.
Rita was enjoying Greece as much as the rest of them, though Olivia thought it might be their Greek lifestyle her sister was really a fan of. Olivia couldn’t blame her either, because having the ability to pay for anything was certainly a load off her mind as well. She’d never realized how much stress money caused her until that stress was gone.
Byron came over to her chair, leaning over her sun-bathed face to kiss her from above. That was the moment where Olivia really started to believe that their ordeal was over. They could all be a family, their past lives laid aside.
THE END
Billionaire Romance
Beauty and the Billionaire
Kathleen Hope
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Daily Occurrences of Autumn Van Ross
Chapter 2: The Belle of the Ball
Chapter 3: The Talk around Town
Chapter 4: A Visit with Mom
Chapter 5: A Dinner with the Finn Family
Chapter 6: A Surprise Visitor
Chapter 7: Charm School
Chapter 8: Appearances
Chapter 9: The Afterglow
- Writer
