[Olivia]:
I was carrying a child. A child that belonged to the man who was soon to be married to his best friend and he had sent me an early invitation because he thought it was 'right' that I should know.

I grabbed two bottles of whisky from the supermarket before driving home dejectedly. My new apartment was nothing to ride home about. It was a studio room and too small to even contain most of my belongings. I'd stashed my boxes in the corner, unable to hang any of my clothes as the past few weeks had been nothing but depressing for me. My kitchen was a mess. There were lots of unwashed plates in it but I didn't bother as I'd gotten a Chinese take out for dinner.
Settling down before the coffee table I'd stolen from Jason's home, I placed my food and drinks on it, staring into blank space for almost five minutes as I went back to the events of today.
After I'd been sent out of the studio rudely by my boss, I'd spent my time at my office, staring into space before I was called by my boss to his office.
"If you're tired of working for this company, why don't you just resign?" He had asked, his eyes filled with disdain. "If you're going through something, you resign so someone who isn't depressed over a divorce can take over and push this company forward! We don't need people like you bringing us down. Look at what happened. We almost lost a well paying client because of how you looked! I am giving you the last chance to make amendments or I will be forced to have you fired!"
A tear slipped down my cheek and I leaned back against the couch, sobbing softly at how my once perfect life had turned around and gone to shit.
I knew I needed to get serious with my job so I stashed the bottles of whisky to the side and pushed to my feet to arrange my closet. It was time for me to move on as it was obvious that the world wasn't waiting for me. If I needed to keep this job, then I had to look like I used to before my divorce.

My phone rang just as I brought out a black dress. Scoffing to myself, I walked to my purse, wondering who would be calling me. I really didn't have anyone anymore. So whoever was calling had to be the wrong number.
"I knew it." I muttered to myself when I saw it was an unknown number. I hesitated for a moment before picking it up. "This is Olivia speaking."
"Hello there, Olivia." A voice that sounded like exotic arabica laced with Irish cream, which I immediately recognised, wafted into my ears. My eyes widened and I muffled a squeal, wondering if I was in a dream. I mean, it had to be a dream if Hermes was calling me. "This is Hermes Giorgio, speaking."
Hermes Giorgio was one of the The Tycoon Gods. He was the Casanova of the group, unlike his friend, Stefan who was known to be the Devil's incarnate. He had a way of flirting with women that had them dropping their panties in a matter of minutes and he's...he's calling me?

I found it hard to speak. Even when I opened my mouth, no words came out.
"Olivia? Are you there?"
"Y-yes, I am. Really sorry. I think the network is bad?" I scrunched my nose up at my horrible lie.
"Alright. Sorry for calling this late. Are you free tonight?"
I blinked. "Free tonight?"
"Yes. Stefan was rude to you back at the company today. Not that I am stalking you but I heard you scream and cry in the rest room and felt absolutely bad."
Embarrassment washed over me and all I wanted was for the ground to open and swallow me. "Oh...it's nothing. I was just having a bad day. Mr Stefan had nothing to do with it for real."
"I beg to differ," He laughed. "If you're free tonight, I'd like to invite you over to my club downtown for a few drinks. You know, get acquainted with you. By the way, your assistant showed me a few of the shoots you took and I think you're phenomenal. The look on Stefan's face when he saw it was priceless. I know he's not going to apologise but he feels bad."
"So you're doing this on his behalf?" I frowned.
"Nah. I am doing this because I might want you to be my permanent photographer. Come tonight, let's discuss it."
And of course, I left all I was supposed to do tonight and flew into the next cab as soon as I was all dressed up.
*****
"Shit. Why did I wear this?" I hissed to myself as I struggled with the dress I had on. I'd decided to slay tonight in this red dress I hadn't worn in a year.
It was tighter than usual and thankfully, my baby bump wasn't showing yet but it was obvious that I'd gained weight around my hips and my breasts had gotten fuller. A few men whistled and catcalled as soon as I stepped out of the car, asking if by any chance, I'd gone for a Brazilian butt lift surgery. I ignored them.
It was a red dress and its bodice was a halter top that barely covered my breasts. It was armless and backless and I was glad I wasn't wearing a bra.
    I looked up at what was one of the biggest, most expensive clubs in the state: The Blackburn Exclusive.
This was my first time here as I couldn't afford to pay for a drink here. The only people who came here were the rich men and their gold digger girlfriends, the rich women and the models and celebrities.
I finally got into the club. It was filled up with people dancing and frolicking on the floor. Thankfully, there was a staircase at the side and I immediately bounded my way upstairs only to be stopped by a bouncer.
"You have to show us your card before you are allowed in, ma'am."
"I was invited here by Hermes Giorgio. I don't know if you know him. He owns this place." I replied with a grimace, noticing that some women were staring at me.
"Everyone knows Hermes, chica, but you must have a VIP card before you are allowed in."
For one, I was extremely embarrassed but I tried not to show it. "Can you let me in? Your boss wouldn't—"
"Why are you in the way, Yuri?"
I was flooded with relief when I finally found Hermes, looking all handsome in a dark turtleneck shirt and dark slacks. His blond hair was brushed back and tied into a bun. The bouncer immediately bowed and apologised before stepping out of the way.
Placing his hand on the small of my back, Hermes smiled at me. "How are you doing, Olivia?"
He sounded so exotic. "I am good, Hermes."
He led me past the ladies seated on the golden booths. I didn't miss the look of surprise on their faces. Of course, I was walking with one of the hottest males in the whole of this club.
We finally got to one of the seats and he turned to look at me with a smile on his face. "You look beautiful tonight."
"I know I looked like a mess at the office today and I shouldn't be giving excuses right now—"
He stopped me by placing his hand on mine. "You don't have to apologise. People go through stuff and I figured you were going through the same thing, you know? It's easy to tell when someone is."
Before I knew what was happening, a tear slipped down my cheek and I wiped it off immediately, hoping he didn't see it.
"Are you crying, Olivia?" Hermes asked, a look of concern creeping into his face.
Blinking back tears, I shook my head immediately. "Not at all. I am not crying. Why should I?"
"Do you want to have a drink?"
I nodded immediately. Anything to shut me up and keep me from saying what I didn't want to say.
In no time, drinks sat before us and he offered me a glass. I gulped down the first, then the second and the third. Just as I was about to take the fourth one, a hand stopped me and I turned to look at Hermes. He shook his head and took the glass from me. "I don't want you getting drunk. You know."
But it was too late as I was already drunk. "There's no need for that, Hermes. This is the only way I can escape."
"Escape from what?" He asked, his voice riddled with curiosity.
"From reality."
"Why do you say that?"
"I am pregnant. I walked into my husband cheating on me with his best friend who is a guy and my best friend who is a woman on the day I was to announce my pregnancy to him. Then he said all sorts of nasty things, Hermes. Very nasty things that would have anyone jumping down to their deaths. Work is messed up because my boss expects me to be over a divorce really fast when he doesn't even know what's wrong. I hate my life!"
I broke down into a fit of sobs, my chest heaving and when he wrapped his arms around me, the floodgates opened and soon enough, my cries filled the whole room.
"What the hell is going on here, Hermes?" A voice I immediately recognised came and I immediately sat up, wiping my tears with immediate effect.
Standing before me was the one and only devil, Stefan Volkov. And he was glaring down at me like I was his arch nemesis.
"What's this bitch doing here?"
Hermes pushed to his feet, his eyes wide in anger. "I know you don't like her but you have no right to call her a bitch. That's terribly disrespectful!"
But Stefan only burst into laughter, throwing his head back. "Don't tell me you like this woman."
"Of course I do."
I sat there in shock as both men exchanged words, surprised at what Hermes had said. But I was more than angry at the fact that he was rude to me.
"You have the option to pick any woman you want and yet, you choose this piece of filth and ugliness?!"
Okay, this was it. Pushing to my feet, I grabbed my glass of whiskey and crashed it into his face. It dripped down to his shirt and he glared at me like all he wanted to do was kill me.
I ran out of the club in tears.