Olivia Sparks

Clearing his throat, Maxen glanced at Olivia who was having a hard time looking at her mother. He squeezed her hand as if telling her to stop hiding behind his back, which she did, taking one step to his side. 

After taking a deep breath, she rolled her shoulder and tilted her head to the side, revealing her face in full view for the two best friends to see. 

"Hi. Olivia Lin. You can call me Olivia," she introduced herself with a rueful smile. Awkwardly waving her hand all the while, her eyes never left Amelia's. She almost choked when she saw her mother touch her flat belly. 

Yes, that's where she came from, or who knows, was forcefully taken by Henry Lin himself. 

"May I have a word with Olivia?" Amelia broke the silence in the room. She felt Queen Isla shuffle and get off the bed but she, too, never left her sight at the younger version of herself, who was five steps away from her.

"Sure." Queen Isla patted Amelia's l.a.p, a soft and sympathetic smile painted her face before stepping out of the room. She felt how confused her beshy was seeing a child she never knew she had. 

Passing by Olivia, Queen Isla paused and beamed with too much excitement that she had to tame down herself. "Nice to meet you, O Sui," she whispered, winking at the young lady whom her son shamefully claims to be his. After exchanging smiles, Queen Isla went on her merry way.

Across the room, by the hospital bed, Amelia's gaze never left Olivia. She watched as Maxen enveloped the young lady in a hug, kissing her temple, then planting another kiss on her lips. 

The two lovers talked with their eyes, finally letting go when Queen Isla cleared her throat to remind her son that it was time to leave the room.

Amelia could feel her blood pressure rise at the thought of Henry Lin. She knew how he hated the Suis and if this child is their child, then that man wouldn't stop at nothing to separate the two.

From her bed, Amelia's hands scrunched the duvet the same way Olivia scrunched the back of Maxen's suit coat earlier as her mind wandered to the years that she thought she lost her child. She's her child. She knew it. And she's not dead like what Henry told her when she woke up years ago. 

The sound of the study's security lock snapped Amelia out of what felt like a lucid dream. She always dreamt of her, her Olivia. The little girl who endlessly kicked her belly. And even after years of knowing that her child was lost in the car crash, she could still feel the kicks now and then as if her Olivia was still there, inside her.

Amelia tried to dispel the heavy air in the room. "Hi," she started, gesturing towards the seat beside her hospital bed but the stubborn girl stood rooted to her spot.

"Hello. As you can see, I'm your daughter." Olivia didn't beat around the bush. There's no use in going around in circles because they were breathing on borrowed time. 

A little lost, she anticipated what Amelia would do or say next.

"Oh, I can see that," Amelia chuckled. "I look exactly like you but you talk exactly like your father. DNA never lies, huh? You look like me but everything about you screams Henry." A restrained smile crossed Amelia's lips. "Was he good to you? Did he treat you well?"

"Ha!" Olivia looked up the ceiling to keep herself from getting emotional. "I'm faring well, that's what matters." She kept her words short. She didn't want to look like an abandoned kitten.

"Hmm," Amelia agreed, nodding her head. She could sense the animosity from Olivia after mentioning Henry's name and she could only take a guess that the father and daughter didn't get along well. 

Amelia patted the space beside her. "It's hard for me to speak, come sit here." Seeing Olivia still standing, she thought, if Olivia refused to sit on the chair, then perhaps her child wanted to sit closer.

Giving in to her mother's request, across the room, slow and careful, heavy steps brushed on the floor. In under a minute, Olivia found herself sitting in proximity to her mother.

"Seeing that you are here, I can safely assume that you're the one who got me out?" Amelia asked, her hand itching to touch the girl beside her, but she restrained herself, afraid to scare Olivia away. It was weird seeing a grown woman who was supposed to be your child.

"Yes. I saw it by chance. I saw you waking up and fighting with him, Henry. Then I asked Ava to help me sneak you out after I found out from your nurse that you were being held against your will." Olivia shifted in her seat. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Ava? Who's Ava? How about Alexa? Is she alright?" Clasping Olivia's hand, Amelia pleaded, "Please be nice to her. She's a good and innocent girl. She didn't want to do any of that, but I told her to do it because Henry might harm her."

Olivia's eyes dilated. She pulled her hand away as if the touch burned her. She didn't like the hint of concern in her mother's voice over a person who drugged her. "Ava is Oliver's wife and they have a son named Finn. Alexa, on the other hand… I have to marry her off in my stead, but Tristan is a good man. He'll take care of her. There is absolutely nothing that you should be worried about."

Amelia's hand flew to her mouth. Shocked and lightheaded at the overload of information. "Really? Oliver has a son? And you? You're supposed to get married? Oh, everything's too much." Amelia rubbed her forehead. Maybe the drugs in her system haven't worn off?

"I know. You know what? I'll come back in a few days. I just wanted to check if everything's set in here for you." Olivia abruptly stood up, cutting the conversation. 

She hated it. It wasn't what she had imagined. In the past weeks, she always thought of a happy reunion. A mother, jubilant over the discovery of her daughter. And a daughter, hugging her mother for the first time. But none of the countless dreams she had ever happened. 

Was it because people like them pay less attention to other people's feelings and focus on their personal interests more? Shouldn't her mother be excited to see her?

Olivia bit the inside of her cheek. Her breathing labored, as heavy as the dead weight in her heart.

Just like Amelia, she had a lot of questions too, like why would Henry lock Amelia up? But what did she expect in their first meeting? She was a stranger even to her mother who didn't even ask how she was all those years and was more concerned about the well-being of a nurse. 

"There are nurses and doctors at your disposal. For the meantime, you have to recuperate so we can talk about more important matters. If you want to see Ollie, I can bring him over with me next time when everything is calmer in the Lin Estate. I'm sure they're looking for you. But don't worry. This would be the last place that they will look into."

"Olivia." Amelia reached out to her child, but Olivia was elusive, sparing her a small smile before walking out of the study.

Without looking back, Olivia dragged her feet out of the room. Her hands clipped to her sides, her knuckles turned white from the sheer control that she held in for she didn't want to break down in front of her mother in a messy sob.

Time lost is time irretrievably lost.

And Amelia's rather clueless how to engage with Olivia that all she did was sit quietly, watching her daughter's back.

Once she got outside, Olivia curtsied to the queen. "I apologise for my lack of manners earlier, Your Majesty."

"Oh, no. You don't have to do that. Just kiss me like a normal auntie." Queen Isla waved her hand in front of her. She could see how restless Olivia was so the queen tried her best to be as casual as possible.

Looking over the Queen's shoulder, Olivia saw Maxen walking towards them.

"Max." Olivia clung for life onto the sleeve of his navy suit coat. She tipped her head, exposing her glassy eyes—she was honestly, on the verge of crying. "Let's go home."

Maxen whispered something in Olivia's ears, making her smile that reached her eyes. Seeing her in a lighter mood, Maxen glanced to his mother who playfully shooed them away.

With their retreating backs facing her, Queen Isla clutched her c.h.e.s.t, satisfied and overjoyed at witnessing the different side of her son. The side that she knew belonged to only one person—his O Sui.