Unwrap Your Desire

OLIVIA

I was thrilled to enroll in Steinfield’s University. I had actually prepared my requirements and did not waste any of my time. The thought of getting myself enrolled in a university to study business courses made me want to jump in the air. I literally felt as if I was back to being a kid who was very excited to go to school and meet new friends, and it was like I was on cloud nine at this very moment.

I could not seem to get a grasp of this change at all. To be honest, it felt surreal. For the first time in my life, I would attend a university to educate myself and would never have to worry that I might starve to death.

It was a baby step towards my goal-becoming a successful businesswoman and creating my own name, not just someone who was the wife of a billionaire. I had no idea what kind of business or company I would like to start in the future, but the thought of taking a step forward toward that goal truly elevated me.

This would never have been possible without Chase’s support, of course. In addition, if not for his father, who was the main person who motivated me to dream and become a better version of myself, I think I would never have experienced this thrill of taking risks.

I was all too aware of the possible consequences, and I knew that it would never be easy to study while doing my responsibility as a wife to Chase, but it wasn’t a valid reason for me to back out. Instead, I would do everything to make him proud.

“Chase, you do not have to come with me. For Heaven’s sake, I do not need a handsome chaperone at university. Just go to work and make your wife proud!” I snorted when he mentioned that he wanted to come with me to the university for enrollment. “On second thought, I am already proud of you. No lies.”

I was busy putting a lot of things in my bag. Those requirements I needed had been delivered by one of Mrs. Jones’s trusted men, valid IDs that had Reese’s name attached to them and some documents from her previous college.

Chase, on the other hand, was watching me while he leaned his back against the door frame of our bedroom, arms crossed against his chest, and was waiting for me to finish.

As soon as I zipped my bag closed, I turned in his direction. He definitely looked like a bad boy this time, wearing a black long sleeve shirt and pants, a luxurious pair of shoes, and accessories, which made him stand out more. Even though his lips were pursed, his expression kind of grim, indicating defiance, and his brows furrowed, there was no doubt that he was such a great sight to see. However, his expression made me narrow my eyes a bit. This good-looking man was seemingly acting like a child right now.

“Chase, I will be alright, okay? My goodness! Stop acting like my father. I am not a freaking child anymore. I can enroll all by myself,” I said, convincing him that I was already a grown up who did not need any guidance for me to be able to enroll.

“What if you run into trouble? I can’t seem to be at ease.” His forehead then creased.

I laughed a bit. “I am not a troublemaker, Chase.”

“That’s not what I meant, my love.” He walked near me and snaked his arms around my waist. “What if some students, particularly boys, start to hit on you? I’m kind of stressed at that thought. I don’t want any other men eyeing my wife.”

“So you’re playing the jealous type now, huh?” I raised one brow.

“I am always the jealous type of man, especially knowing that my wife is beautiful inside and out. A lot of men could easily flock to your way, and I don’t like it…” he said, his lips protruding as he looked at me as if he wanted to get my sympathy.

“You have nothing to worry about, Chase. You are only stressing yourself over nothing.” I held his hand and let our fingers intertwine. “It is only you who I want to be with. Even if there are men trying to hit on me, my eyes are set to only look at one man, and that’s you, Chase Maxwell.”

“Fuck, you’re making me turn on…” he murmured, closed his eyes and pressed his body against mine.

My emotions were exhilarated when I felt his hard on poking my tummy. I chuckled as I shook my head. He looked me in the eyes and simply gave me an apologetic smile while biting his lower lip. He looked so cute when he tried to maintain his cool, even if his body was already craving sex first thing in the morning.

“Should we stay for a little bit and-”

“No, you will be late!” I hissed with a smile.

“Oh, are you rejecting me?”

I nodded teasingly. “For now, yes, because you need to go to work and I need to enroll at the university.”

He sighed heavily and smiled. “Fine, you win. But you can’t reject me later.”

“We will see, my love.” I tiptoed and reached for his lips for a kiss. “Now, move. We have to go!”

He chuckled and nodded his head in response. “Aye, aye, my captain.”

***

At university,

My heart was filled with joy as I walked into the building where the registrar’s office was. Seeing a lot of students in every corner of this place made me feel that I had become normal again. This was just a hopeless dream before, but now I would be able to study the course I wanted the most.

I let out a deep breath. I could feel my heart racing too fast inside my chest because of the mixed emotions that I was keeping inside: excitement, fear, and positivity.

There were students that looked like teenagers, and there were some who seemed to be my age too. I could not help but observe the people in my surroundings while waiting for my turn to speak with the registrar staff to submit my requirements. It appeared that all of the students here were from the elite world based on their looks and postures, those who had golden spoons and had never experienced starvation at night. Their parents probably had to work hard so they could send them to a proper school for them to be well educated.

They were so fortunate to live a life without any worries and with parents that truly loved and supported them. I just hoped that all their parents’ sacrifices would pay off and that these students would really study well and make their parents proud of them.

The side of my lips curled up into a bitter smile. It was at this moment when the world seemingly slapped me with the hard and hurtful truth: that I had never gotten a chance to experience these kinds of situations. I was only an orphan who was abandoned by my biological parents, and no matter how I tried to get that thought out of my head, there were times like this when it would haunt me just to torture the weakest side of me.

“Come on, Olivia. This is not the right time for you to think about it. Cheer up. You’re going to be an excellent student in the coming days. You just have to focus on it,” I reminded myself as I ran my fingers through my hair.

It didn’t take a while for my turn to speak with the registrar staff. I walked in front of the registrar’s window and greeted her from the other side of the wall, “Good afternoon, Madame!”

“Good afternoon and welcome to Steinfield’s University,” she greeted back with a smile. “May I have your documents, please?”

“Sure thing!” I responded politely as I took all the documents from my bag.

I handed all of them to her and waited for the next procedure. While doing so, I noticed that there were a group of women around my age standing up behind me. They were having a conversation about the boys they dated over the summer and how they spent their vacation break.

“Here comes the ugly duckling. I thought I wouldn’t be able to see her again this semester, but it seems that she has a very thick face…” one of them said. Their conversation switched to another topic, particularly about someone who seemed to have just appeared in their sight.

I knew that eavesdropping was wrong, but I wasn’t able to stop myself from looking at them. They were a group of three, and as I followed their gazes, I saw a nerdy woman in her sweater, faded denim pants and ragged shoes. The woman they were eyeing was a complete geek who was wearing thick eyeglasses while her hair was braided into two. She seemed to be aware of how these three looked at her with disgust and insulting looks, but she never said anything and completely ignored them as if they weren’t there.

“Look at her. She really looks like a rug.”

“She clearly doesn’t belong here. I can’t understand why the dean accepted her. What an eyesore!”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make her life a little bit more thrilling this semester,” the woman who seemed to be the leader of the group spoke as she crossed her arms against her chest.

She was tall, slim, and undeniably beautiful in her purple fitted dress underneath his white formal coat. However, her eyes screamed of hate and dominance. They were indicating that no one should ever mess with her, or else they would be doomed.

She was a walking red flag, someone I wouldn’t want to hang out with. I shook my head and looked at her target once again. I felt sorry for that instance, thinking that she would suffer from the hands of these three women this semester.

“Mrs. Maxwell…” My attention was drawn by the registrar’s staff.

I turned to the window and walked toward it. I noticed that she kept inspecting my documents with her brows furrowed.

“Are we done? What’s the next step, please?” I asked politely.

“I am afraid you are missing one more requirement for your admission. Do you have a certified copy of your business ownership?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

My forehead creased upon hearing what she said. Business what?

“Can you tell me what that is?”

“It is basically proof that you own a business. It is one of the requirements our enrollees need to submit for the enrollment process,” she stated with her blank expression. “By any chance, do you own a business?”

“I am sorry, but I can’t hear you clearly,” I said and moved closer to the window.

“I was asking if you happen to own a business, Mrs. Maxwell.” The registrar’s staff said it loudly, which made me gasp a bit.

I swallowed hard and looked at my surroundings. Fuck! Their eyes were all pinned on me. It appeared that the registrar staff got the attention of most everyone here on the line.

“My…” I closed my eyes out of frustration, and huffed before I opened them again. “My family owned a company, Madame. I can ask my mother to send a certified copy through email if that would work for you.”

I was hoping that it would actually solve the issue. However, the registrar staff looked at me with an evident dismay in her eyes.

“I am afraid you need to have your own business or company, so you will be admitted to this university, Mrs. Maxwell. It’s one of the critical requirements as we aim to help people who already have established businesses, whether they be small or huge.”

“This is a school.” I shook my head in disbelief. “I don’t understand why I must have a business to show all of you so that you can admit me here. I just want to study. My goal is to learn how to start a business. That’s why I want to enroll here, not to show off my business or company…” I said this in hopes that she would understand and stop this minor fiasco, as I didn’t really want to be the center of attention.

“We are only following the university rules, Mrs. Maxwell…” she said as she handed back my documents to me.

People around me started to murmur something that I couldn’t comprehend. I turned around and saw how they were looking at me. It was as if I was an outcast in a pack of wolves. My lips formed a thin line as I tried to stop them from quivering. The three women who were just behind me eyed me with obvious insults.

So what if I didn’t have any business yet?

“The staff was right. Only people with businesses can enroll at this university,” said the woman who insulted the geek earlier.

Ashamed as to where I lacked that led my entire dream to crumple in just a matter of seconds, I walked away, trying to hold back my tears.

I still couldn’t believe the fact that I should have a freaking business or company in order to study here. What kind of requirement was that? All I wanted was to study, to learn and to become someone I wouldn’t be ashamed of, but here I was, humiliated by the fact that I had no business to declare so I could learn how to fucking start a business. It didn’t make any sense at all!

My tears were on the verge of escaping the sides of my eyes. I walked as fast as I could, if not for a familiar man in a black suit who blocked my way. When I glanced up at him, I realized that it was Mathias, the bodyguard who had been advised by my husband to watch over me.

“Mr. Maxwell is coming, Madame,” he stated, and that made my eyes widen.

“What do you mean, Mathias? Why is Chase coming here?” I asked in an instant panic. The last thing I ever wanted to happen was for Chase to see me in this state. I would never want him to worry about me, as I knew he had a lot of things on his plate. “Why is he coming here?”

“He found out what happened, Madame.”

“What?” I frowned. “You told him?!”

Mathias didn’t answer and only gave me a firm expression. I guess I didn’t have any say when it came to Chase’s men. He was the one paying them, so their loyalty was to him no matter what happened. But the fact that he already knew what occurred here made me feel very embarrassed and ashamed.

“Just tell him we can meet at home. Call him,” I demanded.

“I apologize, Madame. But he advised us to stay. He’ll be here in no time.”

“Fuck…” All I could do was palm my face.