Chapter 176 - On Fire (2/2)

Aila Zhang's brows knitted. She elbowed Maxen on the stomach as she walked past him. To her horror, her lipstick was truly smudged.

”This… I had lunch and wiped my lips after eating. Then I got a call saying you wanted to be discharged so I rushed here. I didn't do anything. Swear!” She raised her palm up in a promise. Rummaging her pocket, she showed them her lipstick. ”See? It says smear-proof. Is that why Arthur was laughing at me? That asshat!”

”Okay, that's enough. We need you to sign Olivia's papers.”

”I already did,” Aila Zhang replied whilst wiping her face clean. ”I had a feeling Ms. Workaholic wouldn't stay still and caged inside this funky room.” She winked at Olivia who winked back.

”Is there anything that we should take note of?” Maxen asked.

”Beside heavy lifting which had the lowest chance of her doing… then nope. And yeah, no s.e.x for six weeks or until she's ready.” Aila Zhang pressed her lips into a thin line. She saw the subtle shift in his psyche.

Maxen was quick to school his feature, grinning as he said, ”I can't guarantee that. Olivia would be extending her work from home leave, so who knows, she might get bored and pounce on me.”

Olivia threw her pillow at Maxen's direction. ”How about we sleep separately for a while?”

Their bickering was cut short when the door to Olivia's room slid open. MIB2 seized Yana on the back of her collar, dragging her inside as if she was a freshly caught fish.

”Let the little lass go, MIB2.” Maxen tutted, shaking his head. He could not believe how so much drama could happen in the span of thirty minutes.

After a forty-minute drive, Maxen and Olivia arrived at the scene. They waited inside the car for Emily who was outside chatting with a man who handed her a phone.

”Do you know that guy?” Maxen raised a brow. Although the man seemed to be a gentleman, holding up an umbrella to shield Emily from the harsh sunlight, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive about men being near her.

If there's one thing about Emily, it's that she easily falls in love, and she falls harder than she should. That's how in love she was with the idea of falling in love.

”That's her doctor. Maybe she left something in his clinic or they had lunch together. Who knows. Have you seen this, Max?” She flipped the tablet and showed him a video.

”Are you kidding me?”

”What should we do?”

”Nothing. I don't want to start a war.”

Maxen rolled his tongue over his teeth. His jaw ticked as he did his best to calm down but failed. He punched the headrest of the front passenger seat, again and again until all his rage was released from his body.

”Max,” Olivia called out softly. It was bells to his ears, soothing his nerves. ”It's okay, we still have one more portrait. Maybe it has the clues we are looking for.”

Cocooning Maxen in her embrace, Olivia's eyes trained on the tablet, watching the video replay the moment Natalia Vasiliev lit the painting on fire.