Chapter 249 - Institution Escapees (1/2)
”Eli?” Olivia's nose scrunched. Right in front of her was her cousin Eli, tearing up as he adjusted the baroque-style pearl tiara she picked as her headpiece earlier.
”Why are you crying?” she asked, choking on her own tears. She couldn't help but be swayed by her emotion and be teary-eyed too.
”Aish! Don't cry. You'll ruin your make-up,” Eli reprimanded her. He dabbed a hanky on the corner of Olivia's eyes.
”I can't help it when you're crying.”
”But you look divine, Livi darling.”
”All credit goes to you, Eli. Hey, no more sniffles, okay? Let's enjoy this photoshoot. Is everything ready? I don't want you to be late for the wedding later.” Olivia smiled from ear to ear at Eli who went back into his one-eye crying like the diva he was. ”Whaaaat?”
”Just… ignore me, okay. It must be my hormones messing up with me.” Eli tipped his chin up and faced the ceiling as if doing so would stop the tears of joy from streaming down his eyes.
A soft knock stole Eli and Olivia's attention, and their heads snapped in unison towards the door's direction
”Come in,” Eli commanded in a sing-songy voice. Two steps were all it took for him to reach the door, all thanks to his long legs. The door opened ajar and his assistant's head popped in.
”All systems go, sir Eli,” the assistant informed them with a thumbs up and a smile.
”Thank you. You may leave.” Swatting his hands, the assistant took it as a cue to close the door and leave.
Then, Olivia got up from her seat and checked her reflection one more time. Her neck craned, scanning the room to look for her phone. ”I wanted to take a photo,” she trailed off, ”But I can't find my phone.”
Lifting the pillows on the bed, one by one, she went for a scavenger hunt for her missing phone. She was bent by the waist when a thunder rambled, jolting both her and Eli. ”Uh-oh. I hope it won't rain. It would be a waste if your team had to pack up.”
Eli nervously laughed. His mind wandered back to yesterday's incident. He thought it must be the egg he slipped that was causing the thundering skies. With a hand on the curtain, he slid it open, peering out the window.
His heart sank. Heavy gray clouds floated in the sky, orc.h.e.s.trating a series of thunder and lightning.
”Please move faster,” he uttered under his breath, silently pleading on the weather to cooperate just for today.
Letting go, and letting God to gift them with a miracle in the weather department. He didn't want to stress over something that was beyond his control.
Instead, Eli pivoted on his heel and marched to the bed where Olivia was still looking for her phone. ”I can't find it,” Olivia whispered. ”I remembered placing it on the bed. Oh, got it.”
She yanked her arm that was sandwiched between the mattress and the headboard. Waving her phone in the air, Olivia's face painted a smile of triumph.
”I want to take a selfie,” Olivia huffed, s.u.c.k.i.n.g in breath after her phone hunt. Her finger then danced over the screen.
She was about to take a photo. Looking over her shoulders, she mused, ”I'll send it to Maxen just to tease him. Oh. Can I take a photo, Eli? Just the back detail.”
”What!” In a flash, Eli jumped over the bed, snatching the phone from Olivia harshly. ”No!”
”Eli! What on Earth is going on?” Eyes wide open and mouth agape from shock, Olivia sought an answer to Eli's strange behavior the entire afternoon.
It wouldn't alarm her if he just said no. She would perfectly understand him.
After all, it was his creations that was why she asked for his permission before snapping a photo first. However, Eli snatching her phone was uncharacteristic of her cousin. Something about his demeanor alerted Olivia.
”Eli,” Olivia called her cousin. Her voice was stern, the same tone she used in the boardroom. Whoever heard her speak that way could easily nail a person on the chair. And it did the exact thing on Eli.
Rounding the bend, Olivia stood tall against Eli, and he cowered to her commanding presence that he didn't notice his bum kissing the edge of the mattress.
”Livi darling…” Eli uttered under shaky breath. His thoughts ran haywire wondering if he was too obvious that he got caught by Olivia's sharp senses.
He mouthed an ”Oh my God” and jerked his hand when Olivia's cold fingers touched him. To his surprise, Olivia rather looked amused at his meltdown.
”Relax. Breathe with me. Inhaaaaale. Exhaaaaale.” With Olivia's coaxing, Eli followed suit, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his pursed lips with his eyes closed.
”You have to relax, Eli. I know this is your first bridal collection and you want everything to go according to plan.” She smiled at him, rubbing circles on the ball of Eli's hand.
She'd seen him like this before, and it was his first runway show, which was why she totally understood if Eli was at his wit's end at the moment.
Olivia waited for Eli to collect himself, little did she know that he was having an internal breakdown from all the pent-up stress of keeping the surprise under wraps.