Chapter 92
OLIVIA’S POV
“What other ideas did you have?” Adrian asked as he passed the phone back to me.
Our fingers brushed against each other, but I tried my best to pay no mind to it. Against my better judgment, I found myself indulging his question.
“I had a passion for food,” I told him and then, proceeded to open the document containing the details plans for the restaurant I had plans of opening.
I could feel his gaze on me – watching, observing, and searching for something as I tried to locate the file. The intense feeling of his eyes on me made the pit of my stomach churn in the wrong way.
“I always dreamt of opening a restaurant,” I informed, passing the phone back to him.
Adrian took a long glance at it and I watched as his expression constricted, a mixture of bitter realization and something else flashing within his
eyes.
Was that…guilt? The thought was fleeting, quickly discarded when Adrian’s expression returned to the usual as he nodded.
You have some good business plans and strategy. With a little bit of capital, you should be able to get a good business going.” He said, staring me straight in the eyes, almost as if he wanted me to see the sincerity of his words.
But I could focus on that. The fact that we had been in a room for more than five minutes without throwing snide comments or accusations at each other, still felt like a huge anomaly to me. One that I couldn’t see myself getting used to after all the treatment I had endured in the marriage.
But perhaps, if he had been this way during our marriage…
My fingers curled up against my lap, but I caught myself before my thoughts could spiral any further.
“Of course I do,” I answered, reaching for my phone.
Just as I collected it from Adrian, he parted his lips to speak, but my attention was immediately drawn as I felt my phone vibrate and a text notification popped up at the top of my screen.
It was a message from Julian.
Like the A.C. in the room was suddenly malfunctioning, the temperature of the room dropped drastically and then I heard it, Adrian mumble incoherent words underneath his breath -curses, I was sure, especially with the way his expression had darkened.
However, before I could process what was happening, another message from Julian came in and right about this time, it felt urgent, like a reminder of our plans which had been forgotten.
Well, I guess that’s enough time spent on Adrian.
Seriously, I thought as I stood up. I really should pick wisely, how I spend my time. Spending it fruitlessly like this on the wrong set of people would get me nowhere in life.
“I have somewhere to be,” I said to Adrian as I walked toward the bathroom, my cold side almost slipping out without much effort. I didn’t even look back at him, expecting, as usual, to hear one of his snarky comments or sarcastic remarks.
But to my surprise, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he just picked up his phone and started tapping away like I wasn’t even there. It caught me off guard for a moment. Lately, Adrian had been… different. Calmer, less confrontational. Almost like he was carrying some heavy secret he hadn’t told me about. Did he hit his head or something? I found myself wondering, half serious.
Shrugging it off, I walked into the bathroom. If he wanted to act weird, that was his business. I had more important things to deal with. I opened the cabinet, grabbed a brand–new tube of toothpaste, and then paused. A small, mischievous idea crossed my mind. I looked around until I found a black marker and wrote “DON’T TOUCH” across the tube in bold, angry letters.
This was a clear enough warning for Adrian. If he still decided to use it after seeing the message, then it would be obvious–he was just looking for trouble. It wasn’t even about the toothpaste anymore. It was about principle.
Satisfied, I put the tube back neatly and quickly finished getting ready. A few minutes later, I grabbed my favorite handbag, slung it over my shoulder, and headed toward the door.
As I passed through the hallway, I noticed Adrian was no longer around. Good. At least I wasn’t the only one with places to be today.
On my way out, my mind drifted unexpectedly. I thought about my adoptive parents–more specifically, my adoptive father. It had been a while since I last checked on them. What they did to me was absolutely unforgivable, a betrayal I could never truly forget.
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Chapter 92
But still, I wasn’t the type of person who believed in repaying evil with evil. I wasn’t raised that way, no matter how hard the world had tried to turn me cold. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to at least check on him, just to see how his health was. That much, I could manage.
But first, the orphanage.
It didn’t take long for me to arrive. As I pushed the door open and stepped inside, I immediately noticed something was off. The office was crowded. A group of unfamiliar men loitered inside, most of them rough–looking and intimidating in a way that set my nerves on edge.
They all turned to stare at me the second I entered. Their gazes felt heavy, lingering in a way that made my skin crawl. I ignored them as best as I could, keeping my head high and my steps steady. I wasn’t here for them.
My eyes scanned the room, searching for the one person I trusted her. Julian.
It didn’t take long to spot him. He was standing awkwardly near his desk, shoulders tense, hands twitching at his sides. The moment our eyes met, he stiffened even more, his face a strange mix of emotions. He looked… scared. Surprised? I couldn’t tell.
Concern prickled the back of my neck.
I walked over to him, weaving my way through the silent, watchful crowd. The closer I got, the more I could see how pale his face looked, and how tightly he gripped the edge of the table beside him, as he needed it to stay upright.
“Is something wrong?” I asked as I stopped in front of him, keeping my voice low.
Julian opened his mouth to answer, but for several long seconds, no sound came out. His throat worked, and his eyes grew shinier. Finally, he sniffed loudly, wiping at his nose and quickly brushing away a tear that had escaped.
My heart squeezed. Whatever this was, it was big.
“Hey,” I said more gently, “are you good? Talk to me.”
He took another shaky breath, and then, finally, the words tumbled out.
“I, hmm….” he began, voice cracking slightly, “I found your parents.”
The words hit me like a bowling ball to the chest. For a moment, my brain froze, struggling to catch up, struggling to even understand.
And then everything happened at once.
I let out a strangled sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob and threw my arms around Julian in a tight, desperate hug. Tears pricked my own eyes as the reality of what he said sank in. After everything, I was finally going to meet them. My real parents.
Julian hugged me back just as tightly. His arms were shaking slightly, and I realized he was just as emotional as I was. Maybe even more.
“Thank you,” I whispered fiercely against his shoulder. “Thank you so much for doing this for me. I owe you, big time.”
I pulled back a little, looking up at him with gratitude shining in my eyes. But before I could say anything else, Julian’s expression shifted.
“There’s something else you should know,” he said, voice low, eyes clouded with something I couldn’t quite read.
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