Chapter 271 - Brink of Conking Out (2/2)

”It's okay. Nobody's immune to nightmares, Max. I just have to toughen up every time it visits me.”

Olivia broke their eye contact and focused her sight on the sculpted ridges on Maxen's c.h.e.s.t.

She wasn't dodging the topic, and she knew Maxen just wanted to see her well, but sometimes, there were wounds so deep that even when it healed, the scars would never fade.

Silence ensued as the husband and wife let their heartbeats do the talking. Their five minutes was up, yet Olivia craved for more. ”Five more,” she said, biting her bottom lip.

Giving in to his wife's demands, Maxen exhaled an okay. Soon the two watched the duvet move in waves as their feet sparred against each other.

”Let me win!” Olivia contested, elbowing Maxen's solid physique.

With one last fight, Maxen locked Olivia's legs and rendered her trapped in his hold. ”Not today.”

A shriek then echoed in Notios Estate, alarming the security details standing guard outside the bedroom.

Armed and ready to shoot, one guard signaled to his buddy, holding two fingers up.

One. Two. The two guards silently stormed inside the room to catch the perpetrator off-guard.

Not to everyone's surprise, a portrait of the prince pinning down his wife on the bed welcomed them.

He was holding her wrists hostage above her head whilst his face buried in the crook of her neck.

”Maaaax! That tickles! Stop it! Okaaaay you wiiiiiin,” Olivia pleaded, her legs kicking up in the air as Maxen's day-old stubble tickled her skin.

Temporarily relieving Olivia from her misery, Maxen lifted his head and faced the two security detail.

Winking at them, he said, ”You're dismissed, gentlemen. Thank you for your service.”

The two security details bowed and excused themselves, and just as they closed the door of the bedroom, another hair-raising shriek reverberated in the hallways, rendering one guard scratching his head, while the other just shrugged.

Later that morning, the chief doctor in the psychiatry department of Notios General Hospital welcomed Maxen and Olivia like he always did every Saturday morning when the two would pay Amelia a visit.

”You're lucky, Ms. Olivia. Mrs. Lin is in a good mood this morning unlike two weeks ago when she had to be sedated.”

Olivia swallowed and remembered that day. Her mother was inconsolable as she begged for Henry Lin upon Olivia's arrival.

Half an hour later into their visit two weeks ago, Amelia was in a complete meltdown, scratching Olivia's arm which prompted the nurse to administer sedation on Amelia.

Snapping Olivia back to reality, she peered at her and Maxen's entwined hands. His grip on hers tightened the closer they got to the door.

From the way Maxen stanced, it was as if he was ready to shield her from another attack.

”I honestly came in prepared to lose a limb,” she mused to lighten up the mood. Instead of a smile, she saw Maxen's shoulders tensed up, and his jaw ticked.

When the double doors opened to the psychiatric ward's garden, Maxen tugged Olivia's hand backwards, shielding half of Olivia's body with his own. ”Disobey me and we're heading straight home.”

Olivia didn't retort. She knew full well how Maxen kept his word. She could understand where his apprehension stemmed from.

It's not just the incident two weeks ago which vexed Maxen, but the other visits they had as well.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia, the once esteemed Amelia Lin was long gone. The doctors did their best, providing cutting-edge treatment and medicines on her, yet Amelia couldn't seem to pull herself out of the rabbit hole in which she spiraled down.

”Alexa! My daughter Alexa is here,” Amelia gasped in excitement. Even when her eyes twinkled in delight, her hollowed cheeks and darkened eyelids made her look frail and ghostly in her white hospital gown.

Olivia choked a sob when her own mother didn't recognize her. Her only consolation was Amelia's calmness, a rarity in the last visits she had.

She freed her hand from Maxen's clasp and met her mother halfway, welcoming the hug Amelia was giving for Alexa—just like what she always did during her visit. Nodding her head, Olivia said, ”Hi, mom. Yes, it's me, Alexa.”