Chapter ninety seven

Dallas

Those eyes. I've seen them before somewhere. They felt familiar.

I ran through scenarios in my head trying to figure out where I might have seen him before.

“You two know each words other?” Oliver's voice jolted me out of my trance.

A big smile was on Ron's face as he stared at me.

“I don't know whether she knows who I am, but I know who she is. I'm a big fencing fan and she was quite popular in the sport.” His smile grew wider. “What a wonderful coincidence, I never thought I'd come across such legend in New York.”

Right. He probably watches my sport's videos. It's not surprising that he knows me. But I was certain that I've never seen his face before, yet he looked so familiar.

Or maybe I came across him in some magazine and just forgot. His daughter is quite popular after all.

But there was something about the way he looked at me that felt so familiar. Like this isn't the first time he was seeing me. I brushed it off and put a smile on my face. I was here for Oliver, not to wonder about his future father in law.

“I must say it's tragic that you left the sport. Are you planning on returning any time soon?” Ron asked, his eyes gleaming with pure fan excitement.

The man was ten times famous than I am, yet he was staring at me like that. Jenna is nothing like her father. If I didn't know the main reason behind her robotic behavior, I might find it hard to believe she was his daughter.

“How about we discuss all matters regarding my date later?” Oliver said, rescuing me from having to answer the question.

I was extremely grateful for Oliver's intervention. It was the first time I'm speaking with a true fan of mine in many years. If that's even what this man is. And I don't have an answer for him regarding whether I'd be participating in any competition soon.

Well, at least he didn't seem concerned that his future son in law showed up to his house with a woman by his side. Good start.

Or maybe he just hadn't noticed yet.

“Sure. My bad. Come on in.” He stepped aside for us to enter.

He led us to the dining table where Jenna, Regina, and an unfamiliar woman were already seated. Three pairs of eyes landed on us with varying emotions of shock, irritation, and surprise respectively.

Jenna quickly masked her expression with her poker face. She probably didn't expect that I would show up with Oliver to what was supposed to be her wedding planning meeting.

Honestly, I wasn't sure I should have either. But I didn't want to turn down the request when Oliver brought it up. I asked for full disclosure after all.

I made sure the smile on my face doesn't falter as I took my seat beside Oliver's and directly opposite Regina. She scoffed as soon as our eyes met. Oliver was sitting opposite Jenna who has her lips pressed into a thin line. Ron took his seat at the head of the table.

“Ms Valencia, meet my wife, Julianna, and I'm sure you know my daughter, Jenna.” Ron introduced.

He had a big smile on his face and I melted at how loving he sounds. I wonder if he knows about his daughter's deranged obsession and manipulation skills.

Julianna seem to be like her husband as she faced me with a big smile.

“Nice to finally meet you, Ms Valencia. I've heard quite a lot about you. Ronald has been a fan of yours ever since you started your career.” She said.

“Yeah, Dad watched all of your competitions before you got to the Olympics. It's quite a shame how you left. You caused quite an uproar in the sport.” Jenna said in an accusatory tone.

Oliver was about to say something, but Ron beat him to it.

“Anyway, to what pleasure do I owe this visit? I assume you're a close acquaintance of Oliver here.” Ron asked.

His tone was not in anyway accusatory, it sounded like he was just looking out for his daughter.

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. I had no idea how best to answer the question without revealing too much. Maybe I shouldn't have come here after all. This was a bad idea.

The weight of everyone's gazes started to become unbearable. I squeezed Oliver's hand under the table, silently warning him not to say anything. I knew he'd flat out announce that we were dating, not minding how it might affect what he needs from Ron.

“She works for him.” Regina answered for me. “Oliver is quite close to all of his workers. He treats them as family.”

That wasn't entirely a lie. I used to work for him.

“Oh my God, that is so sweet. You're so different from what the media paint you as.” Julianna gushed, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

“You and my Jen will make a cute couple together. Your characters are so similar.”

Jenna's lips tilted into a small smile but she replaced it with indifference as soon as she glanced at Oliver. She wouldn't even let herself be happy. Does her mask ever fall off?

I scoffed inwardly.

“Are we going to get to the main reason we're here or what?” Oliver said, his tone laced with irritation.

“Right, sorry about the change of subject, Oliver. Let's eat.” Ron said.

“Actually, I'd like to discuss something with you first.” Oliver turned to face Ron slightly.

“Straight to business, huh? You're just like your father.” Ron chuckled slightly. “Let's eat first. We'll talk business later.”

Oliver didn't seem satisfied by Ron's response but he didn't argue further. Ron asked the servants to bring more food since they weren't expecting me. I declined but he insisted anyway.

The tension in the room was too palpable that it was impossible to enjoy the meal. Ron and Julianna tried to soften the atmosphere but their combined efforts were not enough.

I tried to focus on the plate of food before me but it was impossible to do so. Regina kept throwing disdainful glances at me while half-heartedly chatting with Julianna, while Jenna was straight up glaring at me. If she gritted her teeth any harder, they'd definitely turn to dust.

I could feel Oliver's discomfort radiating from him. He hadn't taken a single bite from the food in front of him. He held his fork in a death grip, but kept his gaze fixated on the plate.

After what seem like eternity, the meal finally ended. Ron and Oliver excused themselves from the table to go discuss business. I gave Oliver a reassuring smile that I'd be fine. He didn't seem convinced but thankfully, he left.

“Since the men have left, let's take our discussion to the living room.” Julianna offered.

Jenna excused herself, saying she had something she needed to do. I have a strong feeling that whatever it is has something to do with Oliver.

Julianna, Regina, and I moved to the living room with a glass of wine each. Julianna kept the atmosphere light by chatting about different things, mostly about her relationship with Ron. I nodded and smiled throughout the conversation. Thankfully, Regina chose to ignore me.

Julianna's phone rang and she excused herself to answer the phone.

“She never shut up.” Regina muttered under her breath before taking a long sip from her glass.

If I hadn't been paying attention to her every move, I'd probably not have heard that.

“She is a very sweet woman.” The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

The glare she threw at me could send me six feet under if looks could kill.

Note to self: learn to control my tongue.

“She kept going on about her perfect relationship with her husband. You call that sweet or being obnoxious?” She retorted.

It was on the tip of my tongue to remind her that she had a perfect relationship with her husband too, but it's best not to remind her about that when she already hates me.

“It's called being in love.” I said instead.

“Or stupidity.” She scoffed and took another sip from her glass.

“You must think that's how you and my son would end up like. That he'd eventually go against me to be with you because of love.” Her nose scrunched up as she said the last word.

I arched an eyebrow as if to tell her that he was already going against her for me.

“Well, that's how the woman Ron cheated on his wife with many years ago thought too, but he left her and came back to his legal wife.” She let out a sarcastic laugh.

My eyes widened. It was hard to believe that Ron would ever cheat on his wife. They seem to be so in love with each other despite being married for many years.

“It wouldn't take long before Oliver comes to his senses and dump you. You're no good for my son.”

She ran her eyes over my body and scoffed.

“I think your son is more than capable of deciding that for himself. And the fact that I'm currently sitting here means he has.” I retorted, pushing down the anger inside me.

“Oh no, he hasn't.” She smirked. “I gave birth to him. He'd never go against me. It's only a matter of time.”

“Why are you forcing your son into a loveless marriage?” I asked the question that has been bugging me.

I still couldn't fathom why she was so hellbent on destroying her only son's life. It couldn't be because she blames him for his father's death. Right?

“You must think love is everything, right?”

An undecipherable emotion crossed her eyes but it disappeared as far as it came. It was the first time I've ever seen something like that on Regina's face.

I didn't get to ask what she meant by that statement before Julianna returned.