Chapter 199 - Swimming In Pain (1/2)
The marble wall closed in on Olivia and the coldness seeped out of it, wrapping her entire body with a blanket of fear.
For a brief second, Olivia stood frozen, paralyzed with crippling anxiety. She felt her stomach somersault, shaking the contents inside which threatened to climb out of her throat. On top of the unsettling fear, she could feel her heart ring in her ears as it pounded in her c.h.e.s.t.
But she had no choice, had she?
All she could do was to face the monster in the room and kill it before it kills her.
Olivia inhaled through her nose, her eyes closed as she filled her lungs with enough air to drown her distress away.
She swallowed down a lump in her throat and pressed the panic button pinned on her blouse, praying that it was working, so she could get back-up as fast as she could.
Earlier when she felt an intruder's presence, she opted not to dash out of the room and scream for help because danger flags raised in her head telling her she didn't know if Lance had a gun on him or not. It was the reason she calmly walked into the ensuite where Maxen stashed a gun under the vanity. She thought she'd rather arm herself than rely on other's protection.
Olivia knew that going hysterical won't help her cause, and Lance placed his life on the line just to see her. Whatever he planned to do today, he surely came in prepared—do or die—given that he had the guts to see her, despite his ruined reputation. It only meant that he was there to get something from her.
Bracing herself on the vanity, she faced the mirror one more time, nodding her head upon seeing a fire of determination blazed in her eyes. It was enough to catapult Olivia from her spot, dead set on ending the nightmare named Lance Go.
She pushed herself off the vanity and ran the faucet. The sound of water gushing out soothed and calmed her nerves. She then kneeled by the vanity and opened the cabinet, frisking under the sink. A smile bloomed on her face when her fingers brushed on the cold barrel of a pistol.
Maxen's words rang in her ears as her brain went into autopilot survival mode. As instructed by her husband, she checked if it had bullets loaded in it even though she knew it had because she was there when Maxen planted guns around the decoy apartment and penthouse suite.
He did that a while back when the security system started acting up, saying that they would never know when it would come in handy, but there was nothing wrong with coming in prepared. According to him, it's better to arm themselves even though they had a security detail at their disposal in times of a threat.
Olivia's grip on the marble countertop tightened. She never thought a day like this would happen, and her ties with Lance would come into a full circle.
Turning the tap off, Olivia rolled her neck and pressed the panic button again, frowning when she realized it had been a minute since she pressed the button yet she hadn't heard a commotion outside.
”Is this messed up too?” she whispered, speed-pressing the button in her frustration. With one more deep inhale, she dropped her purse on the floor and took a stance.
”I can do this. Aim and shoot,” she murmured and shook her shoulders to relieve it from the weight of the gun. Even with the small size of the gun, it felt heavy in her arms.