"Wha— what… do you mean by pervert?!" Olivia exclaimed. Well, this is her husband they are talking about here.
"Well, my father said he heard rumors that the second Bradford is a mentally deranged person, and the only way he can get cured is by sleeping with a lady. Crazy, right?" Tommie said, looking at Olivia with sympathy on her face.
"Then this marriage is not a blessing but a sweet tragedy," Sophia said, giving Olivia the same sad and sympathetic look.
"Well, have you seen him before?" Issa asked Tommie.
"No, no one has seen the second Bradford before. I guess that's why he's called mysterious. Even at all the banquets my dad takes me to, the first Bradford is always the one representing the family," Tommie replied.
"Let's forget about it for now. At least I haven't seen him myself since we got married. I haven't even heard his name before," Olivia said while sorting her things in her locker.
"True… so tell us, what do you want to do now that you're married… and what do you want to do regarding your fa— no, stepfather?" Tommie asked Olivia while munching on potato chips.
"As regards the marriage, I just want to avoid it as much as possible. Since my husband is mysterious, why don't I also become mysterious as the wife?" she replied jokingly.
"Can you be for real?" Issa said to Olivia, laughing at her joke.
"But I really want to avoid the marriage. I've been given permission to live in the school hostel by the Great Elder, so I'll make good use of that opportunity and avoid going back to the Bradford mansion," she replied seriously as she picked up a potato chip to munch on. She continued, "As for that man, my mother made me promise her to take care of him when she died, so I can't do anything about it. I can't renege on the promise I made to my mother," she said sadly. "At least he didn't sell me in black market for money."
"Okay, let's forget about this topic and prepare for lunch," Sophia said. They all knew the topic regarding Olivia mother's death is a bitter pill for her to swallow.
It was still mid-afternoon, and most students were still in class at that time. Luckily for Olivia and her friends, they didn't have any class that day, so they had more time to catch up during lunch and dinner.
The morning of the second day, Olivia went to class as usual, and the day went smoothly.
The following month after her marriage to the second Bradford, Olivia received a call from the housekeeper that her mother-in-law was coming to visit that day, so she had to go back to the mansion. It suddenly dawned on her that she was a married woman.
Well… my life didn't change much, Olivia thought.
After the day's activities, Olivia said bye to her friends and left for the school gate, where she saw a driver waiting for her. As soon as she got outside the gate, the driver got down to open the door for her. Once she was inside, the car moved toward the mansion.
Inside the car, she kept thinking about what she would meet when she got home.
"How would Mrs. Bradford behave"
"What will she say to me"
"Will the second Bradford be around"
She kept having these series of thoughts until the car pulled up in front of the mansion.
"Why is it so fast" Olivia thought while opening the door to get out of the car.
As soon as she stepped into the house, she saw a beautiful young lady sitting with the great Skyler Bradford.
Skyler Bradford, Olivia's mother-in-law, was the owner of "Great Sky Jewels," a luxury jewelry brand in Asia and America — the jewelry the elite wanted to have, a multimillion-dollar company.
Skyler Bradford herself is a woman of power and authority, the ice queen of the Bradfords, the mother of Matthew Bradford who is the most eligible bachelor in the country.
The beautiful young lady was handing a cup of tea to Skyler with a huge smile.
"Greetings to the second young lady," the maids positioned behind Skyler and the beautiful young lady greeted Olivia.
"Good afternoon," Olivia replied to the maids, nodding at them.
"Good afternoon, Madam," Olivia greeted Skyler as she got close to her.
"Hm," Skyler replied, still talking to the beautiful young lady next to her.
After her mother-in-law's response, Olivia stood beside the couch, waiting to be dismissed. While wondering whether she should leave or stay, she heard the maids' voices once more.
"Greetings to the First Young Master," the maids said in unison.
As soon as she heard the greeting, Olivia stiffened. The memories of her wedding night flooded her mind. The words of the first Bradford came alive in her ears.
"Good afternoon, Mother," Matthew greeted Skyler while hugging her.
"Good afternoon, son," Skyler replied in a very cheerful voice, holding Matthew's hand.
I never knew Skyler Bradford had this sweet side, Olivia thought. The rumors are true — Skyler and Matthew really are a loving mother and son.
"Good afternoon, Brother Matthew," a beautiful voice brought Olivia out of her thoughts.
"Afternoon, Vivian," Matthew replied, without much emotion in his voice, as he sat down on a single couch.
"Ohh… you're here. Why are you standing?" Matthew said, looking at something on the phone his personal assistant had handed him.
At the sound of his voice, everyone was confused, including Olivia — who was Matthew talking to?
Raising his head after a while, Matthew glanced at Olivia, and his voice dropped once again.
"Looks like you prefer standing."
At that moment, it dawned on Olivia and everyone else that the first string of sentences had been meant for her.
Olivia herself was shocked. After her encounter with the first Bradford on her wedding night, she hadn't had a good impression of him. But now, he's the only one who cares whether I'm alive or dead in this room, Olivia thought, tears rising in her heart.
She immediately looked at Skyler to gauge her reaction.
Skyler herself was shocked by her son's words, because she knew Matthew cared about no one but himself and his closest relatives. Still, she figured Matthew must have his reasons for speaking to her second son's wife. After hearing her son's words, she began to re-evaluate the young lady wearing a pink shirt and black slacks who had walked in not long ago.
Seeing that her mother-in-law had no opinion on whether she sat or not, Olivia decided to do herself a favor and sat down on a single couch, far away from the rest.
"Mother, why did you fly back to the country?" Matthew asked.
"I heard the second Bradford will be coming back from America next month, so Great Elder told me to come a month earlier to prepare."
Hearing the words "second Bradford," Olivia's ears perked up.
The second Bradford — "that's my husband, right?"
"He's coming back next month"
"He was in America this whole time the rumors were flying around"
Why does his own mother also call him "second Bradford"? Doesn't he have a name, like the first Bradford?"
A series of thoughts ran through Olivia's mind all at once.
"Why is he coming back now?" Matthew asked again, without much expression on his face.
"To see his wife," this time it was Vivian who replied, her voice calm.
Wife… ME?! Olivia's brain shut down