Chapter 31 - Loathsome Man (2/2)
King Alistair was about to leave when he caught sight of the loathsome man Henry Lin climbing up the grand staircase. They gave each other a civil smile and a curt nod before they went on with their own separate ways.
After Amelia's accident, the two greatest families of Nisia entered a cold war and the friendship cord between the Lins and the Suis was cut and abandoned, never to be tied again. The good part was, Lance and Oliver's brotherhood remained.
The youngins gathered inside a media room on the left wing of the mansion. This was their favorite spot in the house because it had its own dry bar and Wyatt did the honor of becoming their bartender of the night.
”You pig! Where are your manners, Maxen? Gosh,” Ava voiced out her frustration as soon as she saw Maxen enter the room with a grin on his face. ”Good thing Selena didn't throw a tantrum. Have you seen how her dad was holding his anger in?”
”That bastard started it. Ask Wyatt,” Maxen defended himself, a finger pointing at Wyatt's direction, the latter smirked as he filled a stainless steel c.o.c.ktail shaker.
”Even if he hadn't started it, that sleazeball deserved those punches. Not after what he did to Olivia,” Oliver commented, sniffing the faint perfume on Ava's neck as he hugged her from behind as they sat on a curved sofa.
”Olivia?” Maxen asked with his head bowed, afraid to meet Oliver's eyes. That guy hid his sister from his radar for a reason and if Oliver sees the truth in his eyes that would be a recipe for disaster. He needed to take a break and assess how he would break the news to his best friend. For sure Ollie would throw a tantrum and put up a fight once he finds out that Maxen was deeply interested with Olivia especially after all the stupid things they did together growing up.
Across the room, Oliver cleared his throat. He could not take his words back now. How could he be so mindless sometimes? He'd been keeping Olivia's existence away from Maxen for years now and all it took was seeing his best friend punch that Lance Go for his barriers to crumble down. ”My sister. You'll meet her this weekend. Auntie Martha's throwing a party for her. Intimate, that is. Father doesn't enjoy showing her off. You know… after that accident...”
Maxen kept mum and busied himself with the vinyl record shelf. He found his favorite ”Frank Sinatra” record and placed it on the player, the soft jazz music of the song ”Fly Me to the Moon” filled the room, setting the mood for the group of friends.
Wyatt slid a c.o.c.ktail glass towards his sweet honey and tipped his head, ”Cosmopolitan for the beautiful lady.” Emily pawed her platoon commander and flaunted her love and admiration - hashtag PDA - for everyone else to see. Now that Oliver knows of her and Wyatt's relationship, there's no need to bottle up her feelings.
Ava cleared her throat, slightly uncomfortable with Wyatt and Emily. Growing up, she didn't really hang out with the ”four clovers” as what the four friends call themselves because she belonged to a different circle of friends. It was only until after college that Ava and Oliver started to date. Suddenly, she remembered that Maxen added a plus one in the list this morning. C.a.r.e.s.sing Oliver's ears, she asked, ”Maxen, who is 'O Sui'? Is she perhaps your 'new friend'?”
Maxen almost snorted the champagne in his nose. He slumped on the adjacent sofa of Oliver and Ava and crossed his legs, splaying his arms on the rest, he replied to Ava, ”She's not my 'friend', she's someone special.”
”Ooh she turned down your invitation then,” Ava asserted.
Maxen shot daggers to Ava. This white-snake. When would she stop hissing at him? He gave her one scornful look and maintained his silence. Talking with a Lee woman would cause someone's death. He shifted his gaze to Oliver and felt bad for the guy. Of all the women in Nisia, why fall in love with a lady like Ava? He tinkered on his phone and sent a message to MIB1 to let him know when he's done with his sparring session with Shadow.
An hour later, just a second before the clock hit ten, Maxen felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His eyeballs almost popped out of its sockets when he read MIB1's message.
Edited by Swaning