Olivia Sparks

"I wanted to divorce him. I was up all night thinking about it. How can I stay with a man like him?" Selena silently cried, wiping every tear that poured over her doe-eyes down to her rosy cheeks. "That's when it all started and I couldn't get out of this nightmare." "What do you mean?" Ava kneeled in front of Selena, comforting the crying pregnant-mess called Selena Go. She knew her cousin had a knack for crying to get sympathy but as of that moment, Selena was a perfect image of a woman shaken with terror. "I… I thought about going somewhere nice and cold for a while, or maybe even give birth in a foreign country." Selena laughed a scornful laugh and Ava thought Selena must be mocking herself. Sniffling, Selena continued, "So I tried to book a ticket but my card won't go through. Then I… I…" Selena cried, shaking her head. "I checked our bank accounts online and it was all empty. Not a single cent."  "This is serious Selena." Ava's heart rammed into her c.h.e.s.t, confused at what the heck was going on. How could something like that happen unnoticed? "Have you talked with him? Was he into something suspicious lately?" "I don't know and I don't care. I just want to wake up from this bad dream. I want to get out of this cursed marriage." Selena covered her face with her hands to muffle the howls that escaped her lips. Was this karma getting back at her? "We have to tell your parents about it. I'm sure they know what to do." "I already told them. They said it's my marriage and my problem to solve." Selena straightened her back. The sudden shift in her demeanor puzzled Ava. Wasn't Selena a damsel in distress just a second ago? Ava offered, "How about we go and ask help from my dad?" Selena shook her head. "I don't want things to escalate. Maybe Lance just had to shuffle funds, I don't know. That's why I am here in the mall to clear my head and then I saw Uncle Henry. And for the record, he's not my daughter's father and even if he is, my child will bear the name of a Lee and not a Go. Certainly not a Lin too." Selena stood up from her seat and studied her reflection in the mirror. She opened her purse and took out a lip balm, freshening up before they headed out of the fitting room. "It's just a small bump. Everything will be okay once I get home tonight. And… I don't know. I want to end things with him. He's a different man now, Ava. I swear." Ava patted the back of Selena's hand, hoping the gesture would distract her cousin. She wanted to stay positive despite the facts at hand because first of all, she didn't like her unborn niece growing up without the presence of a father. "You know what? Let's fill up this baby registry, and then, I will drive you home. Let me just call Ollie and tell him that I have to cancel our dinner." Ava regarded her cousin one more time and a painful knot formed in her c.h.e.s.t. All the while they went around hunting for the best baby gears their eyes could lay upon, Ava was secretly stealing glances on her cousin.  Selena was a senior in uni when she first met Lance Go. He was a speaker for a career forum their faculty hosted for graduating students. She was so smitten by one of the youngest billionaires in the country.  Her cousin would often brag about her boyfriend during family gatherings but never brought up his name. If she did, Ava would have caught on to their cheating and have it ended immediately, but everything was too late when to her surprise, Selena brought Lance home one night. It was then Oliver and Ava found out about the truth after piecing the puzzle together. Oliver was so furious, he wanted to beat Lance Go to a pulp but Ava held him back saying that Olivia must have broken up with the guy if Selena and Lance were now dating out in the open. When news reached their household about the Go-Lee wedding bells, Ava felt her cousin's marriage with Lance was rushed but it was no surprise since Selena was head over heels with Lance. It was right after graduation when she told her parents about her plan of getting hitched that she even threatened to kill herself if her parents wouldn't agree to her, forcing them to give their blessings to the couple as they were afraid of a scandal breaking out from their camp. Ava thought that must be the reason why Selena's parents didn't bother to support Selena when she cried for help. Ava's mind continued to wander off elsewhere, nodding at Selena like a robot while she took a trip down memory lane. She thought Olivia might have gone overboard with her scheming after Lance broke up with her, selling all her shares in the company. This move caused a domino effect, pushing some shareholders to sell their stocks too. It caused the company's stocks to fall, however, Lee Family was quick to lend a helping hand, announcing the marriage of Lance Go to Selena Lee, a lady from the main branch of the Lee Clan. Bored with how fast the problem was solved, Olivia put another plan in motion: purchasing the building where GL.com signed a lease. The contract for the company's lease was about to end, and that's when Olivia swooped in, buying the whole building and doubling the rent for GL.com. Since GL.com was recently hit by a financial woe, the board decided it was better to accept the deal than move to another building which would incur them more costs in the long run. To add to the absurdity of it all, Olivia was there every month to personally 'collect' rent in Lance Go's office, staying inside for an hour or more and the staff would hear crashing noises inside most of the time and the two would be in a screaming match.