Chapter 265 - Mark My Word

"Color me surprised, but I have seen it miles away that she'll pull that stunt," Olivia commented after hearing what should be Tristan's breaking news.

"Olivia, Olivia…" Tristan shook his head. "When will I ever see your stupefied face?"

"Never." Olivia's lips tipped in a smirk.

"Never? And what made you so sure about it?"

"Hmm… let me see. Oh, first, you always take the easier path with fewer complications and less drama. Second, you don't want to waste brain space over something that could easily be solved with money. Lastly, you're a mama's boy."

"What's wrong with being a mama's boy?" Maxen and Tristan asked in unison.

Their heads snapped facing each other before they both cleared their throats and regarded their real enemy—Olivia. They didn't miss the mocking tone in her statement.

"Hey, I'm not the villain in this story." Olivia raised a single brow on the two boys in front of her. She was about to say more, but she felt a slight tug on her hand and saw Beauty yanking her leash so she could walk around the pond.

Pursing her lips, Olivia held her palm up as she listened to Maxen and Tristan blabber their cases.

Not far from where Olivia, Maxen, and Tristan were standing, the gesture was enough to call Yana's attention to step forward and take the leash from Olivia so Beauty could wander as she pleased around The Pond.

"Okay. Stop. I heard what needs to be said." Olivia held a palm up. "I was just trying to make a point that somehow, your mom's good nature skewed you into choosing morally accepted decisions which isn't bad… and isn't surprising."

"Okay. That's an acceptable explanation. Mark my words. One day, I'll give you the surprise of your life."

"Sure." Olivia shrugged.

"And Prince Maxen? Would you mind if you could for a minute, stop frisking your wife? You're in public for Pete's sake."

"Frisking? Like this?"

Instead of listening to him, Tristan was met with defiance when Maxen coiled his arms tighter around Olivia's waist.

Tristan couldn't believe how the prince's hands never left his wife's body. He couldn't believe how rumors in the Lin mansion about Maxen being head over heels on Olivia were true.

At first he thought it was just a whirlwind romance, and both parties were smitten with each other. But seeing Maxen's possessiveness first hand told him it wasn't a whirlwind romance—the prince was whipped so badly, he turned into mush.

On top of that, Tristan wanted to rub his eyes just to make sure he was not seeing an optical illusion.

This was his first time seeing another side of Olivia. They knew each other since they were seven, and he saw her as someone detached and lacked emotions.

Back then when Olivia and Lance were dating, he never saw the two held hands out in the open. And if Tristan would give an honest opinion, Lance looked more like Olivia's assistant than a boyfriend because of how intimidating Olivia could appear beside her supposed boyfriend most of the time.

Scrutinizing the couple from head to toe, Tristan huffed, "Here I was squashing reports of your relationship, when you're here smooching out in the open."

"Mr. Yang, this area is secured. You're the one invading our private time," Maxen said in a matter-of-fact tone. He released Olivia from his arms, but didn't forget to lace their hands together.

He saw the look of ridicule in Tristan's face over his overbearingness, yet he chose to ignore it. He never liked the guy before, and he would never like the guy now or in the future.

For one, it annoyed him how Tristan and Olivia spoke with a language of their own. And of course, he couldn't erase the image of their engagement announcement flashing on the billboard.

"Okay." Tristan held his hand in surrender because it was obvious that Olivia wouldn't take his side. Dipping his hands inside his pocket, he flashed his pearly whites at the couple.

He exchanged goodbyes with the couple and went on his merry way. One more second with Maxen and Olivia's nauseating display of affection would definitely send him to the hospital.

"What did he ask in return?" Olivia asked Tristan.

"I'll cross the bridge when I get there," he said nonchalantly, sweeping the conversation under the rug with a shrug.

There was no NDA between Tristan and Connor Ma, but the former thought it was best to keep the details of his contract to himself no matter how thankful he was to Olivia.

Olivia, on the other hand, didn't press on and sent Tristan a thumbs up. She could egg him into telling her the details, but it wasn't her life, and it wasn't her problem to deal with anyway.

Watching Tristan's form being swallowed in the darkness of the paved road, a sarcastic smile painted Olivia's lips. She then turned her attention back to Maxen, punching him softly on the arm.

"Ouch!"

"Don't make me punch you harder," Olivia seethed, yanking her hand free from Maxen's hostage.

"Why did you punch me? That hurts." Maxen cried foul yet he was grinning like a fool that was why Olivia just ignored him and went on to scoop Beauty into her arms.

"You saw Tristan, that's why you kissed me. Don't deny it," Olivia accused, landing another punch on Maxen's arm.

What was more annoying was Maxen grinning from ear to ear, that her hand subconsciously landed another tickling punch, this time on his stomach.

"Baby! Stop. I said it hurts!" Maxen w.h.i.n.ed but Olivia didn't as much as spare him a look.

She walked farther away from him, cradling Beauty in her arm as if she was the original owner of the feline.

"Will you still be mad after an all-you-can-eat xiao long bao meal? My treat." Maxen wiggled his eyebrows.

Stopping in her track, Olivia pivoted on her heels and stomped her way back to Maxen. "I'm still mad at you," she said.

Olivia glared at Maxen, obviously furious at him for using her just to show off, but she still held his hand, yanking him on their way out of The Pond to get her fill of xiao long bao.

She might be angry, but she would never refuse a free meal.

Later that night, Olivia's nose was buried deep in the towering stacks of doc.u.ments on the table while a cup of tea steeped beside the brass table lamp in the right corner.

She might still be technically on a vacation, but her empire didn't stop growing in her absence.

Back then, Olivia was always on the go and on her feet that nothing could make her stay in one place, even after her engagement was broken after finding out Lance Go's cheating.

That was why she felt as if she was slacking on work even when she rarely used her allowed vacation days.

Work was what kept her going. She couldn't sleep without signing important contracts and combing through her email for doc.u.ments which needed her attention.

For a second, Olivia paused and wondered what her life would be once she relinquished her responsibilities.

Although she could come up with a never-ending list of why she should stay at work, Olivia felt she needed a break in her life.

Every night, before she went to bed, she would constantly battle with herself, questioning what her true purpose in life was.

The constant moving around was exhausting her, and it felt as if she was just going around in an endless loop. And the more she thought about it, the more it didn't help her into finding an answer to the question that plagued her mind at night.

A rueful smile painted her face. She didn't have to find answers. She needed to pick one. Her eyes then shifted from the steam of the tea back to paper on the table.

With a stroke and a wave, Olivia's fountain pen danced on the paper, gracing it with jet-black ink.

She didn't have to personally sign the doc.u.ments. She had a stamp that could do it for her, but the smell of ink gave her a different kind of high which was why she preferred signing the doc.u.ments in that manner.

She might be done for the night, but tomorrow's another day for her to face her battles, one that includes seeing Fiona Chung and her bangle.