Chapter 51
The long–overdue cla*s gathering was merry. Everly was a social butterfly. She managed to make conversations with almost anyone at the event. The attendees were more shocked to see Olivia.
A lot of her cla*smates went up to her and asked, “Olivia, I heard you’re married. Why didn’t you invite us to your Are we not good enough for you?”
wedding?
Before Olivia could say a word, a woman interjected with a shrill voice, “It’s not that we’re not good enough for her. It’s the other way around, isn’t it? She probably hid from us because her family went bankrupt.”
The woman was Calista Davies, who saw Olivia as her archenemy. Back in the day, the Davieses were not as wealthy as the Fordhams. So Calista always ranked second to Olivia in whatever she did. She should have been the wealthy, popular girl in school, but her spark went out when she was next to Olivia. That was the reason behind her vengeful attitude.
Now that the Fordhams went bankrupt, Calista would not miss the opportunity to humiliate Olivia.
As the cla*s president, Calvin Atkins immediately came up to mediate. “Calista, that’s a bit harsh. Everyone goes through ups and downs in life. There’s no need to rub salt into the wound. It’s been a while since we met up. Let’s not spoil the fun.”
Calista rolled her eyes at Calvin, but out of respect for him, she dropped the topic. “Fine, I’ll drop it. But isn’t it kind of shameless of her to skip all our gatherings over the years only to show up now for a share of the pie?”
“What share? I thought this was a cla*smate gathering.” Olivia looked confused.
“Are you faking it, or do you really not know? Everyone came to this event to get in on the Oakland Hospital project.”
The remark made Olivia feel conscious about her wasted days, shut away from the world. She seemed ignorant of the happenings around her. Calvin kindly explained, “The Oakland Hospital is the biggest project in recent years. It’s a 3.5–billion- dollar investment.”
Calista scoffed. “The mission of the Oakland Hospital is to be a world–cla*s hospital. It will hire quality staff and set up top- notch facilities. Of course, the pay is better than the average hospital in the country. And our dear cla*s president is nice enough to introduce this opportunity to his old cla*smates.”
The other cla*smates were discussing the new hospital with excitement. If Oakland Hospital hired them, they’d earn three times their current pay. But the interview criteria were stringent. It’d help a candidate to have connections within the hospital.
Olivia had a better idea of the situation after hearing the explanation. Calvin came from a prestigious family of doctors. And she bet that he had a huge share in the new hospital. Perhaps, the gathering wasn’t what it appeared on the surface. It was just a front to scout for talents.
After all, their graduating cla*s was top of their cohort and full of talented students. Olivia guessed that Everly was too preoccupied with the breakup to fully grasp the nature of the gathering before dragging her along.
Unlike Olivia, Everly was deep in conversation. She was advertising the properties she was selling. Olivia felt awkward in the social situation. Thankfully, Calvin was caring and inquired about her life without looking down on her.
“Olivia, if you’re interested, the Oakland Hospital will always welcome a genius like you.”
She flashed a defeated smile. “Calvin, you must be kidding. I’m just a dropout.”
Calvin seemed confused. “No. You were on leave from school. But you received your proof of graduation and degree certificate.
It was her turn to be surprised. “Calvin, you must be confused.”
“That’s impossible! I was the one who distributed the proof of graduation. Your family accepted it on your behalf. Did you not receive it?”
It didn’t take long for Olivia to understand that Ethan must have pulled some strings. He must’ve taken her proof of graduation on her behalf.
It seems Ethan only ever married Olivia to take revenge for what happened to his little sister. While Olivia is plagued by her sickness, he holds her chin and says coldly, “This is what your family owes me.” Now, she has no family and no future.
Her father becomes comatose after a car accident, leaving her with nothing to live for. Thus, she hurls herself from a building. “The life my family owes will now be repaid.” At this, Ethan, who’s usually calm, panics while begging for Olivia to come back as if he’s in a state of frenzy …
