"He is coming to see his wife?!" Olivia thought in her head. "I thought we were going to be mysterious."
"Why did you follow Mother, then?" Matthew asked Vivian, pulling Olivia out of her thoughts.
"To see the second Bradford," Vivian replied.
"He has a wife," Matthew responded.
What exactly is going on here? Who is this young lady who came to wait for my husband's arrival? Olivia thought, with absolute confusion.
"Well, let's forget about this for now. Since I'm here to prepare for the second Bradford's arrival, I'll be staying in his wing till he arrives," Skyler's words interrupted their conversation.
"I heard you're not done with college and you're staying in the school hostel," Skyler continued, her voice emotionless as she faced Olivia.
"Yes, madam," Olivia replied.
"Well, since your husband is coming next month, you'll be living in the house till he returns." As soon as she finished speaking, Skyler stood up and went toward the second Bradford's wing of the mansion.
"I'll be going as well," Vivian said, nodding at Matthew.
After the departure of both ladies, Olivia heaved a sigh of relief.
"Your husband is coming back. Make sure you prepare well," Matthew left those words with Olivia as he left the mansion with his personal assistant.
Prepare?!
What is there to prepare?!
Myself, or the mansion?!
Olivia wept inside as she remembered Tommie's words about the second Bradford being a pervert.
After everyone had left the living room, Olivia decided to go back to the room she'd stayed in first, when she got married. On getting to the room, she picked up her phone and saw that her friends had dropped several messages in their group chat.
"Olivia, are you there?" Issa's message popped up as Olivia was still thinking of how to reply.
"Hmm… I just got back to my room," Olivia replied.
"Wassup… is your mother-in-law satisfied with you?" Sophia's message came in next.
"Well… I'm not quite sure whether she's satisfied or not." After saying this, Olivia narrated everything that had happened when she got back home, not excluding the part about the second Bradford coming home next month and her having to live in the mansion until he arrived.
"You mean you weren't offered a seat when you arrived, and your mother-in-law was sitting there talking to that young lady?!" Tommie asked Olivia.
"Hmm," Olivia answered.
"According to my novel analysis, your mother-in-law definitely doesn't like you," Sophia said.
"Must you be so brutal?" Issa replied to Sophia.
"I'm just saying, based on my romance novels — that's how those mothers-in-law behave," Sophia answered.
"Well, yours might be different. She might just be testing your attitude… you know how rich people are," Issa said, trying to console Olivia over the phone.
"Rich people… please, my parents aren't even close to that," Tommie replied to Isabelle.
"Yes, yes, with the exception of Tommie's family. Her mum takes care of us like we're her own daughters — especially those times she sends us food," Issa replied instantly.
"Are you sure you're not just eager for more food?" Sophia replied, mocking Issa for her gluttony.
"Whatever you say, as long as I'm eating delicious meals," Issa replied.
The girls chatted for a long while, and it lightened Olivia's mood a lot. After ending the chat in the evening, a maid came to call Olivia for dinner.
One last battle to face today, Olivia thought.
After getting dressed appropriately, Olivia left the room and went to the dining hall. On getting there, she saw her mother-in-law and the young lady named Vivian already seated. She also saw an additional person she hadn't seen since the last time they'd had breakfast together.
"Good evening, Great Elder. Good evening Madam," Olivia greeted, then nodded to Vivian, who more or less ignored her.
"Good evening," the Great Elder replied, while her mother-in-law only replied with a "hmm."
Well, she could already confirm that her mother-in-law definitely didn't like her — but why, she wondered. She hadn't had any encounter with her prior to their meeting that afternoon, so why would her mother-in-law treat her with so much hostility?
"Let's eat," the Great Elder's voice sounded.
After the silent dinner, which Olivia was still trying to get used to, the Great Elder called all of them to the living room.
"As you all know, the second Bradford will be arriving next month," he started after a while.
"I called you back, Skyler, to prepare for his arrival, and also to prepare his wife for the arrival," the Great Elder continued, glancing at Olivia.
Prepare?! Why is everyone talking about preparing me? Preparing me for what, exactly? All these questions tumbled through Olivia's mind, but unfortunately she had no one to ask.
"No problem, Great Elder. I will prepare her well," Skyler replied in a solid voice.
"That's good to hear," the Great Elder said.
"Also, make sure you deal with this well," he continued, after a brief look at Vivian.
As if understanding what he meant, Skyler nodded.
"Okay, that will be all for now. You're all dismissed." After saying this, the Great Elder left, heading toward his own mansion, which was not far from the one designated for the second Bradford.
Skyler and Vivian also left for their various rooms, leaving Olivia alone.
Without much thought, Olivia went back to her room as well, to prepare for the night — after all, she had class the next morning, the class of the "great devil," as the students called him.
The following morning, Olivia woke up at 8 a.m. in order to make it to class by ten. After dressing in her usual slacks, shirt, and bun, Olivia stepped out of the room. Getting to the living room, she found her mother-in-law already seated on the couch with Vivian, reading a newspaper and sipping tea.
"Good morning, second young miss," the maids greeted her.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, madam," Olivia greeted Skyler, nodding at Vivian.
"Morning. Where are you off to?" Skyler asked coldly.
"To college," Olivia replied promptly.
"Make sure you get back here before 2 p.m. for your preparations," Skyler said, heading to the dining hall for breakfast.
My preparation starts at 2 p.m. today?! Olivia sighed and left the house.