Olivia Sparks

"Where are you going?" Olivia sprang up from the bed. It was almost one in the afternoon, and she was laying on the bed for a power nap with Maxen.

"Emily sent a message. She said I need to meet her in Cultural Center." He dipped for a kiss, tipping her chin up to meet her lips.

"I want to go with you," Olivia protested, kicking the duvet off her legs.

Maxen scratched the skin above his eyebrows. He knew how stubborn his wife could get and he was not up for an argument at the moment.

If Maxen would tell her to rest some more, she would rebut with getting a clearance with her doctor.

If he would agree to that and they called Aila Zhang in, she would threaten the doctor to sign her discharge papers ASAP.

So he had to improvise in order for Olivia to stay behind and rest for another day. Anyway, Aila Zhang told them that Olivia could go home the next day because they still had to observe her for forty-eight hours after they administered the antibiotics in her system.

Yana, who was sitting in a far corner, stood up and took the laptop on the table, tiptoeing on her way out of the room. 

A second ago, she saw Olivia stole a glance on the laptop that was sitting on top of the coffee table and knew right away that if Maxen sees that, he would advise Olivia to use her 'eyes' to check where he was headed to.

"Where are you going, thief?" MIB2 snarled. He knew exactly what Yana was up to which was why he called her out. He blocked the sliding door with one arm across, halting Yana in her steps.

"Ooof!" MIB2 whimpered. Yana just kneed him in the groin, and left him limping as she sprinted out of Olivia's room.

Maxen turned to face MIB2's direction, bewildered at the trail of smoke Yana left behind as she ran for her life. 

"La-la-laptop," MIB2 stuttered, writhing in pain. His knees rubbed together to alleviate the zing in his family jewels.

A proud smile painted Olivia's face. She knew hiring Yana was a good investment on her part. To reward Yana for her alertness, Olivia made a mental note to increase the former's salary by a dollar per hour.

"I guess you're coming with me then." Maxen sighed. C.o.c.king a brow on Olivia, he added, "But you're staying in the car."

"I can do that… if you and Emily will discuss things inside the car."

"Jeeez, Olivia. So clingy."

To their shock, after a few minutes, Aila Zhang stepped in with a smeared lipstick.

"Seriously? What is going on in this hospital?" Maxen scratched the skin above his eyebrows. How could an esteemed chairwoman walk around looking fresh from a quickie?

"You're the bad juju here, Your Highness."

"Says the one who mixes business with p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. Could you fix yourself in the mirror? Please?"

Aila Zhang's brows knitted. She elbowed Maxen on the stomach as she walked past him. To her horror, her lipstick was truly smudged.

"This… I had lunch and wiped my lips after eating. Then I got a call saying you wanted to be discharged so I rushed here. I didn't do anything. Swear!" She raised her palm up in a promise. Rummaging her pocket, she showed them her lipstick. "See? It says smear-proof. Is that why Arthur was laughing at me? That asshat!"

"Okay, that's enough. We need you to sign Olivia's papers."

"I already did," Aila Zhang replied whilst wiping her face clean. "I had a feeling Ms. Workaholic wouldn't stay still and caged inside this funky room." She winked at Olivia who winked back. 

"Is there anything that we should take note of?" Maxen asked.

"Beside heavy lifting which had the lowest chance of her doing… then nope. And yeah, no s.e.x for six weeks or until she's ready." Aila Zhang pressed her lips into a thin line. She saw the subtle shift in his psyche.

Maxen was quick to school his feature, grinning as he said, "I can't guarantee that. Olivia would be extending her work from home leave, so who knows, she might get bored and pounce on me."

Olivia threw her pillow at Maxen's direction. "How about we sleep separately for a while?"

Their bickering was cut short when the door to Olivia's room slid open. MIB2 seized Yana on the back of her collar, dragging her inside as if she was a freshly caught fish.

"Let the little lass go, MIB2." Maxen tutted, shaking his head. He could not believe how so much drama could happen in the span of thirty minutes.

After a forty-minute drive, Maxen and Olivia arrived at the scene. They waited inside the car for Emily who was outside chatting with a man who handed her a phone.

"Do you know that guy?" Maxen raised a brow. Although the man seemed to be a gentleman, holding up an umbrella to shield Emily from the harsh sunlight, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive about men being near her.

If there's one thing about Emily, it's that she easily falls in love, and she falls harder than she should. That's how in love she was with the idea of falling in love. 

"That's her doctor. Maybe she left something in his clinic or they had lunch together. Who knows. Have you seen this, Max?" She flipped the tablet and showed him a video.

"Are you kidding me?"

"What should we do?"

"Nothing. I don't want to start a war."

Maxen rolled his tongue over his teeth. His jaw ticked as he did his best to calm down but failed. He punched the headrest of the front passenger seat, again and again until all his rage was released from his body.

"Max," Olivia called out softly. It was bells to his ears, soothing his nerves. "It's okay, we still have one more portrait. Maybe it has the clues we are looking for."

Cocooning Maxen in her embrace, Olivia's eyes trained on the tablet, watching the video replay the moment Natalia Vasiliev lit the painting on fire.