Olivia Sparks

Olivia sprang up from the bed drenched in cold sweat, her hair sticking to her face. 

She just had the worst episode of her nightmare to date.

Checking the clock, she felt helpless when it registered to her that she was just asleep for twenty minutes, yet it felt as if she was stuck in her nightmare for a full night.

She felt every second of fear she experienced in that dream, including the throbbing in her nose from hitting a step in the flight of stairs, and the pain of rolling down it.

Her hand flew to her c.h.e.s.t where her heart was drumming in a painful rhythm, she swore she could hear it in her ears.

For years, she ignored her nightmares, charging it to her subconsciousness taking over her brain activity while she's asleep. However, for almost two months after her rhinoplasty surgery, what she thought was some harmless nightmare was in fact a can of worms. 

To make matters worse, it didn't make sense why she didn't have any recollection of that happening in real life. 

In their desperation, they even went as far as doing a background search on all the present and past household workers that were employed by the Lin family, especially those who worked for her in England but found nothing suspicious, except for the death of her butler because of a burglary that happened while she was reportedly out of the country.

Soothing the creases on her forehead, she let out a sigh, helpless at what seemed like a dead-end case for her.

Left with no choice, she convinced herself that she had to live through her nightmares and she shouldn't let it deter her from living a normal life.

A few minutes later, she was able to gather her senses back, reaching for the glass of water on the bedside table.

She scoffed at herself for counting along as she drank a glass of water to quench her parched throat, making a mental note to try and hold back from that habit.

Looking to her side, she smiled upon seeing Maxen sleeping peacefully. She secretly loved watching him sleep. It was one of the rare occasions where he looked relaxed, unlike when he's conscious where he never stopped moving, always looking for something to do.

She saw him shiver when a cold air blasted from the air conditioning unit, so she pulled the duvet up to his c.h.e.s.t but was taken aback when his toes peeped out on the foot of the bed. 

Scrunching her nose, she got off the bed and walked over to the edge, pulling the duvet down to cover his feet. However, she frowned when her eyes landed back on his exposed c.h.e.s.t. 

She didn't want him to get cold so she walked to his side of the bed, and pulled the duvet up, yet again.

"Baby, it's fine. I appreciate the gesture," Maxen mumbled with his eyes closed, linking his fingers with Olivia's, catching her by surprise.

"Are you awake?" she asked, even though she knew the obvious answer to her question. Maxen might fall asleep faster than the blink of an eye but he was in fact a light-sleeper.

"Going back to sleep now. Your laptop's in the drawer. Just do your thing here," Maxen patted her side of the bed. 

He had an inkling that Olivia would tire herself to sleep again—reading doc.u.ments or doing a bit of research on her laptop—that was why he brought it in the bedroom earlier while she went to sleep ahead of their bedtime schedule. 

Lately, Olivia's sleeping schedule had gotten so bizarre he almost thought she might be pregnant but according to his math, her period should be coming any time that week.

Olivia kissed the shell of his ear, cupping his face as she fixed her gaze on his sleeping face. She was always thankful of how Maxen was perceptive to her needs. "Thank you, Max," she said, rubbing the pad of her thumb on his cheek which he playfully bit.

"Don't stay up too late." Maxen kicked the duvet off his legs, he never liked blankets anyway. It was Olivia who loved to jack up the a/c and cover herself with layers of sheets afterward which he had grown accustomed to. 

To him, he didn't need a blanket, because right beside him was his wife—his source of warmth and comfort. So he stretched his arms, reaching out for Olivia and lazily planted his hand on top of her belly. That'll do the trick.

Olivia glanced at his hand that was busy giving her a belly rub, making her smile. "Goodnight, Max," she jazzed, lovingly patting his hair until he jerked his leg—a sign that he was back to sleep.

Pulling out the drawer on her bedside table, Olivia took her laptop out. She busied herself with reading doc.u.ments that she had been ignoring for weeks due to the fact that because of her mental state, she had to cut back on her working hours. 

However, the amount of work that needed to be done didn't cease to pop up but kept piling one on top of another to the point that she felt as if she entered a wormhole as she had been scrolling endlessly in her email for almost an hour.

When her eyes felt dry, she paused. Her eyes closed for a brief second as she pinched her nose bridge. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

All her life, she was busy doing background checks on other people. It never occurred to her to check her own background.

What if they were looking in the wrong direction all this time?

Olivia, who was always calculating and on-guard, didn't want to alert the Pyxis, specifically Rona Co—the headmistress. 

The idea of the organization finding out about her doing a background check on herself didn't bode well with Olivia. 

She remembered months ago how the Pyxis was notified of the Suis running a check on her which means that whatever she digs up, the Pyxis would find about it too.

A lopsided grin painted Olivia's face as she sneered in derision in her head. Who would have thought that having access to the two most powerful database search engines would, at one point, come as a disadvantage?

Her index finger played circles on the mouse pad. Out from the corner of her eye, a yellow, green, and red pie icon stole her attention. Cl.i.c.k.i.n.g it, Olivia Lin—multi-billionaire heiress and wife of the Sui Family's Crown Prince—googled herself for the first time and she didn't like what she dug up online.

The following morning, Maxen woke up alone in the bed. The light in the ensuite was turned off which was a telltale sign that Olivia would be somewhere around the mansion. He frisked the bedside table, grabbing the phone that was facing upside down.

He quickly launched the security feed in the mansion and found his wife in the kitchen, swinging her h.i.p.s, looking cheery and bright, as she cooked up a storm in the kitchen.

Peeling the duvet off of his body, which Olivia definitely wrapped on him earlier, Maxen watched her live feed as he got ready for the day in the bathroom.

By the time he was done with his morning routine, Olivia was back in their bedroom, carrying a tray with two glasses filled with what she called a "green poison".

"You're up early? Or you didn't sleep?" he asked, picking up a glass and downing it straight. He gagged on reflex but managed to push the bitter liquid down his throat and into his stomach.

"I didn't. I was googling myself and found this." She pulled up a piece of paper, it was a copy of the news about that fatal night which took the life of her butler.

"Ok, before we talk about that, please finish emptying your glass. I have to send a photo of us drinking this to Mom or else she would drive here to personally deliver another glass for us this evening."

"Is this from her garden?" Olivia's brows furrowed. She pinched her nose and gulp by gulp, she emptied her portion.

"Some concoction she got from the herbalist. It's good for the… baby? Are you okay?"

Olivia covered her mouth. She gagged, shaking her head in a no. She held her breath to keep the contents in but the bitter taste crawled up from her belly to her throat that she had to race to the bathroom to empty her stomach. "Please tell your mom I won't have any of those. I'll die of dehydration from throwing up every morning."

Maxen knelt beside her, rubbing her back. He rubbed the skin on top of his brows when Olivia threw up one more time. 

She wasn't as ashen as she was at that moment when they received their first batch of green juice from Queen Isla, so he thought that Olivia must be drinking too much of it that her stomach couldn't handle it anymore.

"Yeah, I'll tell her you're s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the taste. I'm sure she'll understand. Oops," Maxen bunched her hair, holding it for her as she clung for her life onto the toilet bowl.