Chapter 219 - Complete Honesty (2/2)
Biting the inside of her cheek, Olivia tried her best to taper her emotions but her hormones were all over the place and fat, salty tears welled her eyes.
”Very well,” she said and swallowed a lump in her throat. She bowed and scrambled as she opened her purse to look for her hanky, but Maxen was quicker than her.
He pinched her chin and tilted her face up so their eyes were fixed at each other. Their gazes screamed volumes of unspoken words, enough to brand their souls with their oath of undying love and loyalty.
Holding Maxen's wrist, Olivia uttered, ”That thing that happened in the lift with Fiona, it's still here.” She pointed at her temple. ”And here,” her voice dropped as she stabbed a finger in her c.h.e.s.t.
Olivia's heart painfully squeezed as the image of that incident which she kept on shredding into pieces came back to life. Was it her karma for the recording she sent to Selena on her Ting Hun? ”I tried to forget it but I can't. It's etched in my brain like a curse for ruining someone's happiness.”
”Baby, no. It's not your fault.” Maxen caged her in his embrace and buried his face in the crook of Olivia's neck. ”I regret ever putting you on that pedestal, Olivia.” Maxen peeled away from their embrace and cupped Olivia's face with both of his hands. ”But trust me when I say that I will make up for it and fill our days with memories of nothing but us—happy, sad, and I think, occasional fighting too.”
A corner of Olivia's lips tugged up. Words were usually empty for her, but the sincerity in Maxen's voice put enough weight to his declaration. ”I like the sound of that.”
”First things first, we need to speak with Madam Chanel.”
”Exactly,” Olivia agreed, drawing out a breath.
”And maybe a pin to clip this neckline a bit higher?”
”You said you liked my outfit?” Olivia frowned. She glanced at her outfit. Although she loved the boost of confidence from showing a little skin, she'd rather cover herself in the presence of professionals, especially when doing a business transaction.
If you want people to take you seriously, then you had to dress the part. It was the one rule she lived by when she's doing business; she never wore articles of clothing that showed skin. And her outfit was exactly that.
A black pencil skirt with a peplum short jacket that ruffled around her waist was her ensemble for the day. And by Emily's account that morning, Olivia's outfit looked more serious than Oliver's face.
”But I can see your collarbone.”
Olivia's eyes rapidly blinked. Did she hear him right? ”Collarbone… what?” She glanced in her c.h.e.s.t and saw a portion of her exposed collarbone. ”Of course, it will show, especially if what I'm wearing has a neckline unless I'm wearing a turtleneck sweater!” she exasperated.
”Can I bite you?”
”One hundred and one percent, no way you can!”
Grinning like a fool, Maxen had to let it go. The urge to bite and leave a mark on his wife was deafening, but he didn't want to sleep in the doghouse in the entirety of their vacation.
A rap of knocks on the window snapped them from their moment of raw and complete honesty.
Rolling the windows down, they were met with Ollie's glare, reeking with scorn—it could sear their skin.
”How many sticks should I smoke before you guys finish?” Ollie asked, the sarcasm tickled Olivia instead of annoying her. The grumpy older brother was back, and whoever that monster she saw a while ago was no longer in sight.
”I'm coming. Just a sec,” she answered, holding a finger up. She bit her lip when Ollie rolled his eyes on her.
”I'll wait for you in the lobby then. Hurry up, Princess Livi,” Ollie scoffed as he opened the door and held it for Olivia. All the while, he never once looked at Maxen's way, ignoring the treacherous snake he called 'brother'.