Everlastingly Loving You - Chapter 138

“So, do you plan on telling me who this mystery woman is or intend to keep it a secret from me?” Clarisse questioned.

She coaxed, “It wouldn’t hurt to tell me, would it?”

“Unless it’s Sophia, which I doubt it is,” Clarisse added.

Oliver shook his head, “You’re right, it isn’t her.”

“If it was, I’d be dead right now.”

“My brother would’ve brutally murdered me in my sleep,” he uttered, seemingly terrified.

Nicholas wasn’t one to mess with. He knew how to fight.

Clarisse chuckled, “Alright, so you’re not telling me who she is.”

Oliver nodded, “Moving on.”

“Regarding the previous thing we discussed, in my opinion, I think it’s normal to get bored in a relationship. It’s not out of the ordinary and it’s not something to fret over. You make a wonderful girlfriend, I don’t have to be Blaine to know it. So don’t feel guilty about it and just find a way to fix things – or I don’t know, make things interesting again if you think he’s worth fighting for.”

A sly grin formed on Clarisse’s face.

“You were the right person to confide in after all, Oliver,” she grinned.

Their drinks arrived. The waiter handed both of them their respective drinks.

Clarisse swirled the contents of her glass, gazing thoughtfully at Oliver.

“You make an excellent adviser, you know.”

“No one’s ever told me that before,” Oliver laughed softly.

“Well then I’m glad to be the first.”

Oliver shot her a smile, disregarding the things his head was telling him.

‘STOP TALKING TO HER! SHE’S TAKEN, SHE’S FORBIDDEN FRUIT, YOUR FEELINGS DON’T NEED TO GROW ANYMORE.’

He couldn’t care any less; he was glad to be there for her, even if he wasn’t his first choice, or his second or even her hundredth.

“Would you look at that, it’s time for dinner,” Clarisse mused.

Oliver glanced at her, “You could go, if you have plans with Blaine or something.”

Much to his surprise, Clarisse shook her head at him.

“I don’t mind staying, besides Blaine’s not arriving home till later in the night,” she shrugged.

Oliver found himself relieved she decided to stay, that and how perfect people could get boring at times.

Who knew Clarisse would get bored of perfection?

“So, where’d you like to grab some dinner?” Oliver questioned once she and him had finished their drinks.

“Hmm.”

“I’m fine wherever we go,” Clarisse nodded.

“The palace then?” Oliver suggested, choosing the safe option.

Of course, he was still new to Beldovia, unlike Nicholas he hadn’t spent time researching where to bring girls on dates or anything remotely similar.

Clarisse nodded, “Sure.”

Truth be told, she was trying to return back to Blaine’s place the latest she could possibly return.

She figured she was better off not seeing him while she was dealing with things – she just didn’t know how to face him.

Oliver paid for both their drinks before they got in the car.

“Ladies first,” he opened the door for her.

Clarisse thanked him before entering the car, sitting shotgun.

Oliver sat on the driver’s seat.

__

“You’re back!” Sophia exclaimed.

She blinked. She did a double take.

Oliver stood beside her.

Goodness, Clarisse had actually followed through with it.

“You’re here,” Sophia said in surprise.

Oliver nodded.

“Me and Clarisse went out to grab some drinks,” he explained to Sophia.

Clarisse’s eyes widened.

‘Oh crap,’ she whispered for only herself to hear.

‘Sophia’s never letting go of this one,’ she shut her eyes.

‘Never,’ she realized the gravity of the situation.

Sophia looked back and forth between the both of them.

“So, you both grabbed drinks?” She asked, a twinkle in her eye.

Clarisse stepped in, “We did.”

“Fascinating,” Sophia remarked.

“We’re about to have dinner, want to join us?” Clarisse questioned.

Sophia knew better than to get involved.

“No thanks, I already have plans with my boyfriend,” she lied.

“You too go ahead, I’ll see you two in the morning.”

Before she whirled around and walked the other way, she mouthed to Oliver, ‘No funny business, got it, Jaxson?’

He nodded, ensuring he wasn’t up to anything, which was enough for her.

She left swiftly afterwards.

Their small interaction hadn’t gone unnoticed by Clarisse.

“Oh, Sophia, always worried for nothing,” she sighed – the damn irony.

Goodness this was too much for Oliver to handle.

He laughed nervously, “Haha, yeah.”

“We should get to the dinner hall.”

Clarisse nodded, “Yeah, we should.”

Hours later, at Blaine’s place…

“What did you spend the day doing?” Blaine asked her as he laid beside her.

Clarisse shrugged, “Grabbed drinks and ate dinner with a friend, that’s all.”

“A friend?” Blaine raised his brow.

“So it’s a guy,” he said, his expression turning bitter.

Clarisse reassured, “It’s Oliver.”

She noticed the look he had on his face.

“Oh come on, there’s no need to get jealous, babe,” she placed a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s Nicholas’ brother, you know, Oliver,” Clarisse told him.

“Oh right, you told me about him once,” Blaine nodded.

He had a strange gut feeling that told him to look into things, but he chose to ignore it. She was his girlfriend, if she said he didn’t need to worry, then he didn’t have to worry. Not until she gave him reason to, which he doubted she would.

He calmed down.

“So, what about you?” Clarisse asked.

“How was your day?” She asked Blaine.

Blaine sighed, “Nothing much happened.”

“It was just another day at work, meeting important people, approving things, etc.”

“As much as I like the job, it can get boring at times,”  he admitted.

Clarisse looked over at him, “That’s what being a CEO comes with.”

Blaine sighed relievedly, “Well, at least at the end of the day I get to look forward to ending up in bed by your side.”

He yawned, “I’m tired.”

Clarisse – who had wanted to ask if he wanted to watch a movie with her – nodded instead.

“Me too.”

They embraced each other before Blaine fell asleep in her arms.

Clarisse inhaled.

“It is worth fighting for, so I’ll fight for it,” she whispered just before she fell asleep.

__

“So you told her you liked her?” Nicholas asked in surprise.

He never thought Oliver would tell her this soon. Couldn’t he have waited it out a while before telling her that he liked her? She had a boyfriend, how could he do that?

“In a way, I did,” Oliver nodded.

Nicholas crossed his arms, “Go on,” he coaxed.

“What did you do this time?” He mused.

Oliver looked offended – as though Nicholas had expected him to mess up or something.

“We grabbed drinks and had dinner together,” he explained.

“And at a bar, I told her I liked this sweet, compassionate girl.”

“And?” Nicholas raised his brow.

“…and I never told her who the girl actually was.”

Nicholas’ hand flew to his face.

He facepalmed.

“Oliver,” he began disappointedly.

Oliver knew that tone of disappointment in Nicholas’ voice.

“You’re incredibly foolish,” Nicholas said with a exasperated sigh.

“Of all the people you could’ve posisbly told, you told Clarisse you liked her without telling her it was her you were talking about.”

“You just wait till she discovers it was her, she’ll be furious with you, I hope you know that,” Nicholas said.

Oliver furrowed his brows, “Whose side are you on?”

Nicholas shrugged, “No one’s.”

“A month ago you were my extranged brother. And Clarisse is my friend.”

“I’m neutral,” he said truthfully.

Oliver glared at him.

“And your girlfriend?” He asked him.

“You try telling her what you told me and see how she reacts,” Nicholas said, an amused look painted across his features. He could already imagined how Sophia could react; man did he want to be there to watch everything unfold.

Nicholas chuckled.

Oliver looked terrified, “I refuse to tell her.”

“You do it.”

Nicholas raised his hands in the air, like he was surrendering to something.

“I’m not getting involved in this, you were the person who confessed, so you’re the one who gets to tell her, not me.”

“But you’re her boyfriend,” Oliver reasoned.

“It is because I’m her boyfriend that I refuse to take part in this,” Nicholas admitted.

“So I’m supporting you,” Nicholas began.

“Just all the way from here,” he took a couple steps back and gave Oliver a thumbs up.

Oliver narrowed his eyes, “How are we related to each other?”

“How do I share blood with you?” He wondered to himself aloud.

Nicholas shrugged, “That’s a question I ask myself everyday.”

Oliver came close to strangling his brother. Or punching him right there, god, the nerve.

“What do I do?” Oliver inquired.

His brother told him jokingly, “Run.”

It was then Nicholas told him he had to leave, since Sophia was waiting for him for an impromptu date, and minutes afterwards, he left his brother’s quarters and headed for his quarters.

“How am I going to tell her?” Oliver wondered.

“Sophia’s going to rip me to shreds,” he fretted.