Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Olivia picked out a pale green fairy–like dress from the wardrobe.
Julian’s lazy voice drifted in from the doorway. “You really like green, huh? Someone said green isn’t a lucky color. No wonder you got cheated on.
Olivia shot back calmly, “It’s fine. The cheater eventually gets cheated. Besides, didn’t I even the score by cheating with you?”
After a pause, she said, “I’m changing now. Mind stepping out and closing the door for me?”
Julian raised his brows, complaining, “We were in the same bed naked this morning. Now you’re feeling shy to get dressed in front of me, huh?”
Olivia didn’t know how to respond to that.
“So I’m disposable now, huh? Fine, I’ll leave.” He turned and exited, shutting the door with a faint click.
Olivia couldn’t help but laugh as she shook her head and began to change.
The dress fit her perfectly–neither too tight nor too loose. She ran a hand over the fabric and muttered, “What a professional gigolo. Just a few interactions, and he’s already got my measurements down. Honestly, this dress fits better than the ones I bought for myself.”
By the time she stepped out of the room, Julian was already waiting by the entryway bench on the first floor.
As she approached, he gently tugged her down to sit, knelt in front of her, and helped her slip into a pair of woven straw sandals.
helpea.
Then, hand in hand, the two strolled slowly through the island paths. The setting sun cast long shadows behind them.
Olivia glanced up at him and asked, “By the way, you still haven’t told me where exactly this place is. Why did you bring me here? I told you to take me to a hotel, didn’t I?”
Julian answered, “This is Silvermoon Island. A great spot for a little getaway. It’s far from the mainland, so there is no chance of running into your ex and his mistress.
“You can relax here for a while, and when you’re ready to go back, I’ll drive you. It takes just six hours, not too bad, huh?”
She asked, “Is that villa yours? It doesn’t really look like a rental.”
“Yeah. I stayed here to recover when I was sick a few years ago, so bought a house,” replied Julian.
Olivia smiled, “You’ve got taste. It’s really beautiful here, and the air’s so fresh.”
They chatted as they walked until they reached a courtyard with no signage out front. Inside, a few tables were set up. It looked like a local eatery.
Julian led her inside. He said something in Darcolnian, and a gruff reply came from within, also in Darcolnian. Olivia couldn’t understand a word of it, though the language sounded almost aggressive with its rolled consonants and clipped cadence.
“You roll your R’s pretty well,” Olivia commented.
Julian arched his brows. “You’re just realizing that? Thought I gave you a full demo last night.”
Olivia’s face went instantly red. She pinched his waist hard and hissed, “Hey, we’re in public.”
Julian bit back a laugh, leaning down to whisper against her ear, “Tell me, do you want another try tonight?”
Her face turned even redder. She shot him a death glare, thinking, ‘Shameless. Absolutely shameless.’
“No? Then forget it,” he teased.
“Yeah, I want,” she muttered under her breath.
Julian laughed outright, reaching up to squeeze her flushed cheeks. “Bad kitten.”
Just then, a burly man stepped out of the kitchen. Towering at around 6 feet 3 inches with a thick beard and a cigarette clamped between his lips. He Julian’s grandfather, Joe Hudson.
At first, his face was set in a scowl as he barked something at Julian in Darcolnian. But the moment his eyes landed on Olivia, who still held Julian’s hand his scowl softened, his eyes lit up, and his gruff face took on something close to friendliness.
Joe’s eyes scanned Olivia up and down, but the question was directed at Julian. “Who is this lady?”
Julian replied casually, “Let’s say… my girlfriend. I’m planning to spend a few days here with her, so I figured I’d bring her by to meet you. But don’t mention anything about our connection yet. She might get overwhelmed.
“I’ve got a few other things to talk to you about later. Before that, could you get us something to eat first? She hasn’t eaten for the whole day.”
Joe gave Olivia another look, his tone softening slightly. “Nice taste. Is she Gravellian?”
Julian nodded. “Yeah.”
Joe turned to Olivia and spoke in stiff, awkward Gravellian, “Hi, I’m Joe Hudson.”
Olivia forced a polite smile. “Nice to see you, Mr. Hudson.”
Joe continued, “Fuck! I’m so damn excited to meet you.”
The smile froze on Olivia’s face. She couldn’t tell whether he had a problem with her or was just being weirdly passive–aggressive.
Julian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Grandpa, seriously, stop with the Gravellian. You’re tired, and it’s exhausting for everyone to understand you. Just speak Auralian. She understands that.”
Joe switched to Auralian without missing a beat, and he could speak more fluently now, “My Gravellian’s not bad, huh? Learned it from Julian’s mother. She told me that was the Gravellian way of showing the highest form of respect.”
Olivia forced a smile. “Your pronunciation is pretty accurate.”
But she didn’t finish her words. ‘But the meaning? Let’s not even go there,‘ she thought.
Julian explained, “My mom used to swear at foreigners in Gravellian whenever she got into arguments. But since she didn’t want them to know she was cursing, she always told them she was giving them blessings, and that it was part of Gravellian etiquette.
Since they couldn’t understand a word, they actually thanked her for it. Grandpa totally bought it. He started practicing in secret. Now every time he meets someone from Gravellia, he greets them with all the same ‘blessings‘.
“He looks so intimidating that no one dares correct him. They just smile and nod. It only reinforces his belief that he’s being respectful. You know what, each single Gravellia he saw was once ‘blessed‘ by him,”
Olivia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Julian chuckled. “Don’t let his appearance fool you. He looks scary, and his manners are questionable, but his cooking skills are good. Let’s geto make us dinner.”
Olivia remained silent, though she thought inwardly, ‘Taking advantage of your grandpa not understanding Gravellian, huh?”
Julian added, “There are fresh ingredients in the backyard. Let’s go pick something.”
Olivia nodded, and Julian led her toward the courtyard. He clearly knew his way around well, and he also clearly wanted to avoid more of Joe’s chatter.
Chapter 27
The backyard was enormous, almost like a petting zoo. Sectioned off by wooden fences, each enclosure held a different kind of misal. geese, and even ostriches, peacocks, rabbits.
Some enclosures housed animals that were considered wild delicacies back in Gravellia. To Olivia’s surprise, there were even crocodiles,
Olivia ended up picking a rabbit and a young crocodile. She’d never had crocodile before and figured it might be fun to try.
Julian helped her get the animals selected. But when Joe came to collect them, he went ahead and grabbed one animal from each enclosure to be processed.
As they passed the prep station, Olivia caught sight of Joe deftly skinning the rabbit. It took him less than ten seconds to pull off its skin. Even more disturbing, the rabbit’s legs were still kicking during the process.
Olivia winced. “That’s pretty cruel.”
Julian smirked. “Yeah, and I want my portion extra spicy.”
“Make mine spicy too,” Olivia muttered, her eyes still a little wide.
Joe asked Julian to stay and help with the prep, suggesting Olivia go rest outside. But she felt bad being the only one taking a break, so she stuck around.
Looking around for a task, Oliva picked up a rock and knocked the crocodile unconscious with a clean hit to the head. The crocodile instantly passed out. Then, grabbing a knife, she began skinning it with focused movements.
Julian looked over at her, amused. “Didn’t you just say this was cruel? You’re way more brutal than Joe.”
Olivia replied earnestly, “It’s different. That rabbit was still twitching while it was skinned. I gave the crocodile a quick, clean knockout–humane and painless. It’s practically a mercy kill.”
Julian shook his head and chuckled softly, watching her with a mix of admiration and disbelief.
