Chapter 30
Chapter 30
The house was remote and quiet, with no other houses in sight.
The hot spring pool sat in the courtyard, surrounded by vibrant blooms in every color imaginable. Steam rose from the warm waters and curled gently through the flowers, making the place look like something straight out of a fairytale,
With no one else around, Olivia slipped straight into the hot spring. As her body submerged into the warm water, the soreness and fatigue that had weighed on her all day seemed to melt away.
She leaned her head back against the edge of the pool, eyes closed, slowly drifting into sleep. Just as she was about to nod off, someone approached her and scooped her into their arms.
Startled awake, she opened her eyes to see Julian’s face, hazy through the mist. She said in surprise, “I thought you were still in the meeting. Everything’s done so soon?”
When they first arrived at the house, Julian took a call and told her to go ahead and enjoy the spring while he had to handle a phone conference.
It’s only been a dozen minutes. He finished the meeting so fast?‘ Olivia thought, puzzled.
Julian replied casually, “It wasn’t anything major. I just gave a few instructions and wrapped it up.”
He leaned in, his teeth grazing her lips in a teasing bite. His voice dropped to a low, tempting murmur. “Wanna try it in the water?”
Olivia’s face flushed crimson. She gave his chest a little punch with her fist and said, “No, we’ll dirty the water.”
“It’s fine. The water circulates. By tomorrow morning, it will be completely refreshed. No harm done,” Julian replied smoothly.
Still pushing at his forehead with her finger, Olivia argued, “No, it’s not sanitary. We could get sick.”
Without another word, Julian lifted her out of the water and placed her on a platform beside the pool. He said with a smirk, “That’s easy to fix. We can just do it here.”
The next morning, Olivia woke up feeling lighter and more refreshed, than she had in ages. Her energy was back in full, and her mood was equally
radiant.
When she looked in the mirror, she saw rosy cheeks, gleaming eyes, and pink lips. She looked like a flower just kissed by morning dew. She looked so vibrant and alive, and she instinctively covered her face with a shy smile.
‘If any of my close friends saw me like this, they’d immediately know I’ve been well taken care of,’ Olivia mused.
Since Julian didn’t often stay at this house, the kitchen was completely empty. They had no choice but to head back to the residential area for breakfast.
On the way back, they walked hand–in–hand through the soft light of early morning. Neither of them spoke, yet the silence wasn’t awkward. On the contrary, it was full of a quiet tenderness.
The air around them seemed to be different. There was a sweetness in the air, subtle but unmistakable.
After breakfast, Julian began getting phone call after phone call. Noel had arrived on the island with a team, and Julian was needed to help coordinate and oversee several tasks.
Looking regretful, Julian turned to Olivia and said, “Something urgent’s come up. I won’t be able to spend the day with you. How about I let my grandfather take you around for the next couple of days?”
Olivia nodded cheerfully. “No problem. Go take care of what you need to. I’ll be fine.”
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Chapter 30
Julian brought Olivia over to Joe and gave him a brief rundown of the situation. The two of them ended up arguing. Eventually, Joo pay in vallan exasperated wave and told Julian to get lost.
But the moment Julian left, Joe’s face lit up with a warm smile. He said to Olivia, “There’s not much to do on this island. How about I take you out to see for some fishing? Deep sea fishing is a lot more fun than it sounds.”
Olivia agreed. And so, less than three hours after separating from Julian, she boarded a yacht with Joe and a few of his friends, heading out onto the open water.
The sea birds didn’t seem to fear people at all. They often landed on the yacht to hitch a ride or flew in tight formation alongside the yacht. They were practically flying at people’s eye level.
Olivia spotted one bird beside her and, with mischievous delight, gently caught it and spun it around before letting it go.
The bird flapped a few feet ahead before realizing something was off. It abruptly turned around and started flying back toward the yacht, squawking furiously–clearly scolding Olivia.
Then, the bird began chasing Olivia across the deck, trying to poop on her from the air.
Olivia ran in circles, dodged left and right, and even apologized as she fled from the poop–bombing bird.
Joe and his friends doubled over with laughter, watching the scene unfold. Eventually, they caught a fish and used it to feed the bird, which finally decided to let Olivia off the hook.
From that moment on, Olivia didn’t dare mess around again.
During their time at sea, a frantic seal being hunted by an orca suddenly leapt onto their yacht in a panic. Not long after, the orca surfaced again, nudging several manta rays onto the deck as if presenting them with gifts.
They encountered many creatures Olivia had only ever seen online–some she even got to touch. Each moment felt surreal, like she’d stepped into a nature documentary.
The yacht drifted across the sea for three days before they finally turned back. The return journey took another two days.
By the time they arrived back on the island, Olivia was stunned by what she saw–many buildings had collapsed, some reduced to rubble as if they’d been bombed.
“Was there a war here?” she asked, wide–eyed.
Joe chuckled. “Probably just some bad guys who made it onto the island. The military came to deal with them. Looks like the cleanup is already underway. Nothing to worry about.”
Joe dropped Olivia off at Julian’s seaside villa. As Olivia stepped inside, several uniformed military officers were just walking out. They all gave Olivia curious looks, but their gazes quickly flicked away, as though startled or unsure how to behave in her presence.
Why are there military officers coming out of Julian’s house?‘ Olivia wondered, puzzled.
She didn’t see Julian on the first floor, so she went upstairs to look for him.
Hearing voices from the bedroom, Olivia walked over and saw Julian lying in bed with a man in uniform standing beside him, speaking in Darcolnian.
Julian listened with a furrowed brow. He suddenly turned toward the door and spotted her.
He said something in Darcolnian to the officer, who turned to look at her and gave a polite smile and nod before excusing himself.
Olivia scratched her head, looking confused.
“Come in,” Julian said, snapping Olivia out of it.
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Chapter 30
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Olivia stepped inside. She noticed Julian looked pale, and his chest was wrapped in bloodstained bandages. Her heart clenched with worry as she asked, “What happened to you? Why are there so many soldiers at your place?”
Julian’s eyes flickered for a moment before replying, “Some fugitives made it onto the island. I got accidentally injured during the military operation. Those officers came to offer their apologies.”
Olivia nodded while glancing again at the wound on his chest. Her brows drew together in concern. “Is it serious?”
Julian gave a weak smile. “Not fatal, but I won’t be moving around for a while. You might have to take care of me.”
Olivia felt a pang of disappointment. She had secretly hoped to get pregnant during this vacation. With Julian injured, that plan was clearly on hold.
Julian murmured, “If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I grew up handling injuries and fevers on my own. I can manage this.”
Snapping back to the moment, Olivia immediately replied, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t. I was just thinking about something else.” She glanced at the blood- streaked bandages and said, “Your wound is still bleeding. Let me change the dressing for you.”
After asking where the medical kit was, she brought it over and began carefully cleaning the wound before rewrapping it.
When she saw the location of the bullet hole–just two inches from his heart–her breath caught in her chest.
If that had been just a little closer, he wouldn’t be here,‘ she thought, a cold shiver running down her spine.
That night, Julian developed a fever. She took his temperature and found the thermometer read 104°F.
Olivia stared at it in alarm, her face tight with worry. But Julian just looked unbothered. He took her hand, pressed it gently against his cheek, and rasped in a hoarse voice, “Wanna try the fevered version of me?”
