Chapter 6. The Beautiful Beginning

At Olivia's Bedroom.

She sobbed all through the ride to her house on Baden Powell Road. Then, the cab driver, a thirty-year-old man who felt for her, could not help but console her, “Young lady, I can feel your pains, but my advice is simple. Another door cannot open if one does not close. Cheer up.”

“Thank you, for your concern," she appreciated him.

She got to her house at 10: 25 PM and brought out her suitcase from the taxi. Afterward, she walked to her apartment. Meanwhile, her parents, who were Missionaries, had been on foreign missions in Egypt, and that made her matter less tasking.

“Olivia, you are back. We were not expecting you home tonight," one of her siblings said.

“I see," she gave a perfunctory response before walking to her room.

She sat down all alone, talking to herself and walking up and down, "' What will mummy say about this? How do I face her? Father will certainly disown me. No one has ever done this in my family. I’m so ashamed of myself. Can Louis do this to me? Do I deserve this? What do I do now?'

She asked numerous questions to no one but herself. She was truly ashamed of herself, so she sobbed and meditated a bit, and came up with an idea.

'I will go down to Dover to see my school mother, Julie Bailey. Although I have not heard from her for some time, I will trace her through her family. She is the only one who can harbor me until I have my baby. Abortion is never an option.'

Now, different thoughts flew in and out of her mind while she soaked her pillows with tears.

'Just like that? Is it over between us?’

She wailed uncontrollably and rubbed her stomach when her eyes drifted to her purse, which contained her phone, and a thought came to her mind.

'He must have called to say he was sorry.'

The black bag had been on the reading desk since she walked in. She hurriedly picked it up, opened and removed her phone. She pressed the power button and, to her whammy, no call from the first man she had ever loved. Furthermore, she tossed her phone aside and cried buckets until she drifted off to sleep.

Three Years Ago.

Olivia was eighteen years old when she gained admission into the Grandcrest University, Seven Oaks. She met Louis, a twenty-one-year-old student who was in his final year. The university was one of the most prestigious in the city. At that time, she was leaving home for the first to be away from her family because she was a day pupil all through her high school.

To ensure that she would succeed, her parents armed her with the right counseling when they brought her to the campus.

“Remember, Olivia, you are born to succeed. If you hold on to the teachings of your mother and me, you will be victorious.”

“Olivia dear, in addition to your father's advice, I want you to know that as a beautiful young girl, you will get love advances from the opposite sex. It is not bad to have male friends but placing your relationship with them above your future and your studies is what makes it bad.”

“Thank you, Father, thank you, Mother. I promise to live up to your expectations.”

“It is all right, Olivia. May the peace of God be with you,” her father prayed for her.

“Amen. And also with you," she replied.

“We will be on our way.”

“Take care, Olivia.”

“Bye, Father, bye, Mother," she said as she watched her parents drive off.

She kept waving at them until they were out of sight. Likewise, she dragged her luggage to her hostel as tears trickled down her cheeks. Not only that, she fought hard to conceal them from the other students. Later, she managed to comport herself and settled down.

She met Louis three weeks after her resumption. He was in the same faculty with her, but they never met each other until that day at the canteen. She was having her lunch alone at a table in a secluded area of the canteen when Louis walked in. She was not the affable type, so she had not made new friends since she resumed her studies. Her friends had been her books and parents, whom she communicated with daily.

Now, Louis spotted her the moment he walked in and developed a likeness for her. She was beautiful, but that was not what captured his interest. It was the quietness and peace that she radiated that attracted his attention. He was also a quiet and principled person who hated any form of lousiness, and Olivia seemed to fit into his lifestyle.

To join her at her table may be repugnant because there were many empty tables in front of him. So, he sat on one of the tables in the middle of the canteen to have his snacks while keeping his eyes on her. When Olivia was done with her meal, she walked out of the canteen, feeling upset. Louis, who had just begun to eat had to forgo his meal. He picked up only his bottle of water and followed her.

At his age, he had not been intimate with any lady and had no idea how to start a conversation with one without discomfiting himself. So, it was not easy for him to stop her.

At that point, Olivia became so upset that she could not hold on anymore. Then, she sandwiched herself between two cars and began to puke. She was very uncomfortable that her whole concentration was on how to eject every substance that was discomforting her from her system. For that, she hardly noticed that someone was by her side. Louis stood by and watched her, not minding the stench.

After some moments, he spoke, “Maybe you are allergic to something.”

Olivia, who was getting giddy, was startled for a moment. She looked up to see the owner of the baritone voice she just heard. She saw a handsome young man of twenty-one who was modestly dressed standing in front of her.

They maintained eye contact for a while before he advised her, “Take water. You will be fine.”

He lifted the bottle of water in his hand, removed the lead, and handed it over to her. She collected it with her shaky hand and that was all she could remember.