The following days went smoothly for Olivia, as she wasn't really involved in the preparations for the second Bradford's coming — well only preparing her body as she has had several test within the span of a five days. Olivia went to college as usual, and the only difference to her usual lifestyle was coming back to the Bradford mansion and having dinner with the cold Skyler and pretentious Vivian.
Speaking of Vivian being pretentious, Olivia could still remember the time Vivian tried to prove a point to her by calling Skyler "Mother," while she, the real daughter-in-law, could only call her "madam." To Olivia, the way she addressed Skyler wasn't really important, since she didn't want to be involved in the marriage in the first place, nor was she trying to purposefully build a close relationship with any member of the Bradford family.
The peaceful days went on for Olivia until she was summoned by the Great Elder on a fateful evening, after she got back from college — a week before the arrival of her husband, the second Bradford.
"Good evening, Great Elder. Good evening, madam," she greeted as she got to the living room, where the Elder was seated with Skyler.
"Good evening," Skyler responded first, which was quite surprising to Olivia, since she could count on one hand how many times her mother-in-law had responded to her greeting.
"Good evening," the Great Elder's voice sounded, as he continued, "I summoned you here to let you know that you'll be organizing a family banquet for your husband's return."
"Yes, Great Elder," Olivia responded, feeling conflicted about how to go about preparing a family banquet for the great Bradford family.
"You can ask your mother-in-law for help if you need any," the Great Elder said, after noticing the expression on Olivia's face.
"Thank you, Great Elder," Olivia nodded gratefully.
"Hmm… that will be all for now," he said, standing up from his seat and heading outside toward his own mansion with his housekeeper.
After the Great Elder's departure, Skyler left the living room to have dinner. Olivia, on the other hand, went back to her bedroom to draft a plan for the family banquet she was to organize. She also made a mental note to ask her mother-in-law about the number of people who would be attending.
While she was drafting the plans, she received a video call from her friends' group chat. Upon answering, she heard Issa's voice.
"Why are you sitting at a study desk, Oli? Don't tell me you're studying behind our backs," she said jokingly, making a face at Olivia.
"Why study behind your backs when I can study in front of you and still get good grades?" Olivia responded to Issa's playful antics. Cutting through their banter, Sophia asked, "What are you writing, Olivia? I can see some words scribbled on the notepad," pointing at the notepad visible from the angle Olivia was holding her phone.
"A banquet plan."
"Banquet plan… for who?" Tommie asked.
"The Bradfords'," Olivia responded.
"Why are you the one drafting the plans, and what banquet exactly?" Issa asked, confused.
"The banquet is for the return of the second Bradford, and I was told this evening by the Great Elder that I'll be the one organizing it," Olivia said in one breath, continuing to scribble in the notepad as inspiration struck while she spoke.
"You're organizing a banquet for the Bradfords?! Isn't that too much for you?" Tommie exclaimed.
"I know it's a lot, but I have no choice but to accept it, since it was an order given by the Elder," Olivia said, pausing her writing to stare at her friend through the screen.
"You need to make it perfect, since this is your first time doing this. It might be a test from the Elder," Sophia said as she looked like she was watching her usual romance novel play out in real life.
"I know. I'll be very careful about this," Olivia responded. The call went on for a while, with her friends — especially Tommie — helping Olivia draft out the banquet plan. After the call, Olivia suddenly felt hungry; checking the time, she saw it was almost midnight. She hadn't realized the call with her friends had run so long, and she'd missed dinner because of it.
Not willing to go to the kitchen, she decided to sleep on an empty stomach. The night felt long for Olivia, as she had an awful nightmare — she dreamt that the whole banquet she'd organized was destroyed, and her mysterious husband hated her because of it.
Waking up drenched in sweat, Olivia checked the time and saw it was just 7 in the morning.
Not willing to sleep anymore, she decided to go for a walk outside the mansion, since she couldn't assist the chefs in the kitchen.
Stepping outside in her jogging trousers and hoodie, Olivia realized she hadn't seen the Bradford mansion in its full glory until today.
She'd known the Bradford mansion was the largest house in the country, but she hadn't known it was this big. It had its own swimming pool, garden, children's park, and even its own airfield for their private jets. The mansion also had separate wings for different family members, even though most of them, like Matthew, the first Bradford, didn't actually stay there.
Olivia also realized that the Great Elder's house was just behind the mountain, situated next to the Bradford family mansion.
Not quite noticing when she'd wandered off the Bradford family grounds, Olivia came across a European-style house not far from where the Bradford mansion stood.
"I thought only the Bradfords had residential rights to this part of the country" Olivia thought out loud.
Still staring at the European-style house, Olivia made eye contact with a very beautiful young man who stepped out of the door — yes, beautiful, because the man was as beautiful as a woman with his long black hair tied into a ponytail and his striking green eyes.