Chapter 227 - Referee Shoes (1/2)
Later that night, Ollie let out a loud exhale the moment he stepped foot inside his London home. To his surprise, silence welcomed him instead of the noise he was expecting to hear upon arriving. Three creases formed on his forehead as he questioned himself, ”Weren't there six a.d.u.l.ts and two children staying in this house?”
Seeing the grand room was deserted, he loosened up his tie and glanced up at the second floor. ”Sweetie! I'm hooome!” he called out and craned his neck to scan the place.
Then he checked his watch and frowned. It was almost ten in the evening. His wife, Ava, should be home by now after spending the entire afternoon shopping with Olivia and Emily.
”Sweetie, we're heeeere in the bar.” He heard Wyatt call out to him in an annoyingly sweet tone that mocked Ollie to no end.
A scowl painted Ollie's face in an instant. Dragging his aching feet after the day-long conference, Ollie found his two brothers. No, just one brother. He only had one brother now. How could he forget cutting ties with the blue-eyed traitor he once called his brother this morning?
Along his way, he had to skip and hop, dodging the sea of shopping bags on the floor. It was a pleasant distraction for him to quell his anger.
”Oleeeeeh!” Maxen called out, cupping the corner of his mouth with his hand. His shoulders shook upon seeing Ollie flip him a bird. He thought it must be in the Lin genetics to flip birds on the Suis or maybe… he really deserved such a compliment.
”We can put up our own mall in this house. Did they buy the entire mall?” Ollie asked. He extended a hand on Wyatt and the two exchanged their signature handshakes.
”They splurged on Aerith. Now that you mentioned it, I think they didn't buy anything for themselves. All the bags the mall sent were for Aerith.” Wyatt flashed his cheeky grin. His heart warmed at the welcoming arms of the people around him for his daughter.
Patting Ollie's back, Wyatt jutted his chin towards Maxen's direction, telling the former to kiss and make-up with their brother.
”Heeeeey, don't forget about me,” Maxen barked at Ollie when the latter skipped him and went behind the bar to pour himself a drink.
”No handshakes for traitors,” Ollie deadpanned.
”Says the one who hid his sister from his best friends,” Maxen bit back.
”I wasn't informed that we are going on a trip down memory lane tonight,” Ollie said in snide derision before pressing the glass on his lips, taking a sip of his bourbon.
”Maxen,” Wyatt stole Maxen's attention just as the latter was to open his mouth. Wyatt then shook his head as if telling Maxen not to provoke the beast. This was Maxen's chance to patch things up with Ollie.
”I don't even know why he attacked me this morning,” Maxen said, and the hint of accusation didn't go unnoticed by Wyatt and Ollie. He wiggled his eyebrows at Ollie's direction, demanding an explanation from the other through his nuance.
”Okay. Okay. I'm guilty as charged with keeping my sister's existence. But you, Maxen? The least you could do is tell the world how much Livi meant to you.”
”First of all, don't dump the weight of your guilty conscience on me, Ollie.” Maxen poured himself another shot. He eyed Ollie who was pursing his lips, silenced by Maxen's words. ”Me hiding my marriage to Olivia is not a rite of passage for you to treat me as the recipient of all your anger issues.”