The morning passed by quickly, and Olivia went to meet the chef who was going to prepare all the meals for the banquet. On getting to the chef's place, she picked out the meals, pastries, and drinks that would be used on the day. Apart from the pastries, she also decided to have a cake made for the event, which she picked out with the chef.
The days went by quickly, and it was now a day to the arrival of the second Bradford. Apart from the couch and other things that had been changed earlier, some minor things, such as the plates and spoons used in the dining hall, had also been changed. To Olivia, the house looked brand new.
Apart from the house looking brand new, a lot of unfamiliar faces had been appearing within the Bradford mansion premises. Olivia knew they were also members of the Bradford family, because they occupied the wing that had been empty in the mansion since she arrived.
Everything was going as usual until the Great Elder asked all the family members present to have dinner together. To Olivia, it was nothing special, because she counted herself as an insignificant member of the family. She just needed to eat her food, mind her business, and go back to her room to prepare for second Bradford's arrival the next day. The dinner was to be held at the Great Elder's house in the evening.
Not quite sure how formal the dinner was going to be, Olivia decided to wear a short floral dress with white flats her mother had given her, the last gift her mother gave her before she passed on. She styled her hair into a ponytail and left the mansion.
Instead of using the car assigned to her, Olivia decided to take a walk to the Great Elder's house, since it was closer to the second Bradford's home. The evening breeze was cool, and Olivia was enjoying her walk until she saw someone she had forgotten about: the pretty man who had enraged her the previous day.
He was out for a walk with a beautiful white dog. The dog is as pretty as its owner, Olivia thought.
"I thought I dismissed you the other time. Why are you still stalking me? Tell her to send someone better," the man said.
"Stalking you? You must be joking. I have better things to do," Olivia responded in one breath, feeling the rage from the previous encounter bubbling inside her.
"Then why are you here?"
"It's none of your business." Not interested in talking to the man anymore, Olivia walked ahead toward the Great Elder's mansion.
"Just you watch," the man said with a smile as he continued his walk but realizing she was walking towards Great Elder's house
On getting there, Olivia saw that the house was already filled with Bradford family members who had returned from various countries. Everyone was talking to someone, whether in twos or threes.
She spotted her mother-in-law with Vivian by her side, speaking with a beautiful middle-aged woman and a handsome young man.
"Good evening, madam," Olivia greeted her mother-in-law as soon as she got to her side.
"Good evening," she responded.
"Good evening," Olivia greeted the middle-aged woman and the young man beside her with a nod, while ignoring Vivian as usual.
"Is this second Bradford's wife?" the middle-aged woman asked Skyler.
"Yes," Skyler replied shortly.
After hearing the reply, the middle-aged woman nodded at Olivia and continued her conversation with Skyler. Later, Olivia realized she was the younger sister of her father-in-law and the young man beside her was her son.
This made Olivia wonder why she had not seen her father-in-law's younger sister since the time she had married into the Bradfords.
The conversation between the family members went on for a while until the Great Elder called everyone in for dinner.
The Great Elder sat at the chair assigned to the head of the family. His younger sister, the family's Big Aunty, sat to his right, with her family members seated next to her on the right side of the hall, while the first branch of the Bradfords, the Great Elder's own family, sat on the left side of the hall. All the remaining seats were occupied except those of the first Bradford, the second Bradford, Olivia's father-in-law, and the only girl in the first branch of the Bradford family, Tasse Bradford, who would be landing in the country the next morning with Olivia's father-in-law.
The dinner started once everyone was seated, and it went on in silence until the end.
After the dinner, the Great Elder spoke "I organized this dinner just to remind us that second Bradford will be coming back tomorrow." He looked around after speaking, then continued, "I want all of us to be on our best behavior when he arrives. No arguments. No unnecessary drama."
After a short silence, the Great Elder opened his mouth again and said, "This is his wife, Olivia. She will be the wife of second Bradford, now and in the future. Make sure you treat her with respect." After saying his piece, he stood up from his chair and went to his room.
After the Great Elder left, everyone else began to leave his house without raising any objection or offering any opinion about what he had said. They knew they had to be on their best behavior in front of second Bradford, without the Great Elder needing to tell them. Experience has shown.
Olivia went back to the mansion thinking about the Great Elder's words that evening.
Everyone had to respect him and be on their best behavior in his presence. Who exactly did she marry? Olivia thought as she made her way to the mansion.
On getting to the mansion, she realized that Skyler and Vivian had not yet returned, so she went back to her room to finish preparing for the banquet happening the following evening, since that was when second Bradford would be arriving. After sorting everything out, Olivia fell asleep thinking about what awaited her tomorrow.