Olivia Sparks

With Maxen's arms coiled around Olivia's waist, the two wobbled like conjoined penguins to the balcony at the end of the mansion's second-floor hallway. Leaning forward on the wrought-iron railing, Olivia looked up to Maxen and spoke, "I heard Ollie mention your garage earlier." "Oh, that. Yeah." He scratched the skin above his eyebrow. He remembered the day that Oliver caught them making out in the kitchen. Suddenly, everything that happened that morning flashed in Maxen's eyes. He could still feel how his jaw ticked, and his muscles tensed when Oliver walked towards him. To his surprise, that morning, Oliver beamed a goosebump-inducing Willy Wonka smile when he was actually anticipating a punch or two from the guy. "Relax, Brother." Oliver clamped a hand on Maxen's shoulders. "Remember that Batmobile you have in your garage that you won't let anyone touch?" Maxen ground his teeth. He knew where the conversation was going. If the wife was thick-skinned to ask for his pony, the husband shall ask for something too. "Max?" Olivia's voice snapped him out of his daymare. He smiled upon seeing his reflection in her eyes. His earlier trepidation dissolved into thin air. Clearing his throat, he tightened his hold on her, and responded, "Your brother… exchanged you for a car." Olivia giggled, her back rumbled against Maxen's c.h.e.s.t. "He didn't exchange me for a car. He knew there's nothing he could do so might as well gain something from you. Ollie is a businessman, and he's number one goal is to profit. You should know that since you're best friends." "He's not my best friend anymore," he scoffed. "Wait, is that how you think too? Profits before relationsh.i.p.s?" Maxen wondered, slipping his arm off Olivia and turning her to face him.  Every day he's surrounded by prominent people but he can't seem to wrap his mind around how their thought process worked because growing up, the king would often end their lengthy family dinners with a gentle reminder: "Remember to think about our people first."  "Okay, there's a significant difference between my brother and I. He's a businessman and I… I consider myself as a vanguard."  "Personality wise, that makes sense. Is that why you joined that organization?" "Honestly, at first… I wanted to see how my mother's life was. I want to feel what it's like to be in her shoes. But the longer I stay there, the more I see the potential of the Pyxis." Olivia emphasized the last word and raised a brow on Maxen who couldn't utter the word Pyxis as if it would burn his tongue.  "You see, it has gathered all the brilliant minds the world could ever think of. And once you're in, you have limitless information in your hands and surrounded with a plethora of philosophies. You often ask yourself: What's my contribution in all these? Am I just a mere brain and no action? But sometimes, you just have to accept that there will be things you're not cut out for." "Then why don't you at least try? Try to make a change on your own? Realize your dream?" Maxen challenged. "I'm lazy?" She tipped her head to the right, questioning her answer too. "Or I simply ran out of hope for mankind. Meeting countless powerful men and women who could make a change but went for profits instead could suck the soul out of one person." She pouted.  "But...I started a minor project earlier this year. It was after Auntie Martha brought me to an island where there's no electricity, a proper source of water, no BATHROOM."  A rueful smile painted Olivia's face, remembering the smiles of the children playing by the seashore. She couldn't fathom how those kids could smile even in such living conditions. "So I partnered with a friend who did the logistics for me and now we're focusing on installing solar-generators one island at a time." "Baby, I didn't know about that." "The project's under an alias, Max. And you signed the contract with us so you do know about it."  Olivia wiggled her eyebrows, sunnily smiling at Maxen who pinched her h.i.p.s because he thought she looked s.e.xy wearing that kind of smile. "Now you said that, I do remember one project in particular. So it was you, huh." "What about you? Do you have a dream, Your Highness?" Olivia jazzed. Her voice was enough to lull him to sleep and keep him awake at the same time. Nodding his head with his eyes closed, he replied, "I do have a dream." He snorted when he remembered working on his dream board, a year-end project of his mother, Queen Isla. "Hurry up. Why are you daydreaming?" Olivia drummed his c.h.e.s.t before tucking her hair when a warm afternoon wind blew past. She scrunched her nose when she assessed whether Maxen could sleep while standing because he probably could. "My dream used to be... a wildlife photographer." He grinned. The boyish grin that Olivia knew belongs to her and hers alone. "What about you?" "I'm not big on dreaming dreams. What I do know is I can make miniscule changes. But you, on the other hand… you have the power to make pivotal, long-lasting changes. So I will put all my bets on you. My. Dreamy. Boy." Maxen let out a hearty laugh, warmed at Olivia's confidence in him. Locking his gaze back on her, he said, "Wow. I'm not sure if that's a compliment or you're offering me as a sacrificial lamb for the common good." In that moment, it was Olivia's turn to shake from glee; her head thrown back from her unrestrained laughter. "Isn't that your purpose? To be the beacon of hope to your people?" "Again, wow. Olivia, I didn't know you have that romantic bone in you." Maxen pinched her chin adoringly, shaking it. Letting it go, he trapped Olivia in his arms, pinning her h.i.p.s to his. "Ouch, your belt," Olivia tried to escape from his hold, pushing his arms off her but he tightened it all the more. "That's not my belt, baby. That's my romantic bone."