CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

OLIVER


I strolled into the mansion, holding the Da Vinci painting I had just purchased. The things I do for Dallas Valencia.

I remembered she mentioned her mother had this type of painting and it was among the things Lucien sold.

When I saw it was up for auction at the Heritage Art gallery, I hadn't think twice before buying it at two times the price it was auctioned for. A whooping ten thousand dollars.

I couldn't stop thinking about how I spoke Dallas this morning. The thought that she might be mad at me made me feel uneasy in an unexplainable way. I spent half of the day coming up with ways to apologize to her and this is the only one that seem doable.

I placed a gentle knock on her door. It was the first time I would enter her bedroom since she moved here permanently.

A part of me contemplated if what I was doing was right. I just purchased an engagement ring for a gir,l and now I'm knocking on another girl's bedroom door. I could have asked her to come to my study or another place that's less intimate.

Technically, it's my house. I can go into any room I want to.

The door creaked open and Dallas popped her head out. She opened the door wider and stepped aside for me to enter. I left the painting by the side of the door before walking in.

My brows furrowed as I saw Dallas solemn expression.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

She tried to mask her expression with a smile but I could see right through her.

“Nothing. I'm fine.”

My frown deepened and I moved closer to her.

“You're clearly not fine. Tell me what happened right now.”

It occured to me that my authoritative voice isn't going to get her to open up, but I couldn't stop myself. For some reasons, I couldn't stand the thought of her being sad or hurt by anyone. I was already contemplating a million ways to kill the person responsible for her current mood.

“I said I'm fine.” She said, her tone sharper than earlier.

“Tell me who hurt you now, Dallas, or I swear…”

“So what if someone hurt me? What will you do about it?” she cut me sharply.

I simply stared at her. I couldn't give her a response because even I don't know the answer to the question.

She let out a shaky breath and strolled to the bed. She sat on the bed and folded her legs. She grabbed the big bowl of ice cream that was on the nightstand and placed it between her thighs. She took a large scoop and stuffed it in her mouth.

I wanted to sit beside her on the bed and console her. But I wasn't sure I could do that without acting on the thoughts swirling in me. Instead, I pulled out the chair that was by the dresser and turned to face her. I clasped my hands together and waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts.

“I saw Lucien today.” she said.

My jaws tightened as she said that, but I managed to keep my cool. I wanted to ask her questions about what he said and why she looked so sad.

Instead, I simply asked,
“Did he say something to you?”

“He told me not to contest the will and tried to bribe me with his car. He even threatened me.” She let out a sad chuckle.

I felt the sudden urge to teach Lucien a lesson he would never forget for daring to threaten her. But I was certain she wouldn't like that. Also, beating him up isn't the right choice at the moment. It might affect the court trial. Lucien's stupid move already gave us an upper hand. He shouldn't have threatened her.

“I don't know why I kept wondering if this is what I should be doing. I mean, would my mother want me to be this hellbent on revenge if she was alive? Is this even right? Should I just let it all go?”

Another large scoop of ice cream. I was starting to get worried with the amount of ice cream she had consumed within a very short period of time. That amount of sugar is certainly not healthy for her. But I decided to keep my medical concerns to myself for now. I was just going to let it go for today.

She is sad. She needs it.

“Well, I don't know what is considered right or wrong because I only do what's convenient for me.” Pause “But I'm certain it's not wrong to fight for something that was stolen from you. You shouldn’t feel bad for doing that.”

She stared at me, her lips slowly curved into a smile.

“Thank you.” She muttered.

I gave her a nod.

“Glad to know you're not just a first class jerk. Who would have thought Oliver Kang is capable of comforting someone.” She chuckled.

I simply told her facts and they were barely comforting. But I didn't tell her that.

She stared at me, her lips slightly parted and her eyes widened. My eyes fell on her lips but I quickly averted my gaze. Now is not the time to be having those erotic thoughts. Though they seem to never evade me every time I'm close to her.

“You just smiled.” She said, her voice laced with surprise.

I didn't even realize how wide I was smiling until she said it. I cleared my throat and quickly collected myself.

“Well well, my grumpy boss is a great comforter and can also smile. Wow, I guess miracles do happen.” she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

I scoffed and rose to my feet. I strolled towards the door.

“And now, he is walking out of the door.”

I grabbed the painting and went back inside.

“I brought you something that might cheer you up. It's also a small apology for how I treated you this morning. I shouldn't have done that.”

She placed the ice cream on the nightstand and strolled towards me. She unwrapped the painting and her expression softened immediately.

At first, I thought the tears that gathered at the corner of her eyes meant she didn't like it. I was starting to get worried by my choice of gift.

“How did you know?” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

“You talked about the painting the day we went to Mia’s.”

I hoped she didn't find it creepy that I remembered the day, the place she talked about it, and the exact description of the painting even though she didn't describe it fully. I have a photographic memory and I can't help it.

“Thank you so much.”

She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. I didn't know whether to be worried or relieved. I couldn't take it anymore so I just said it,

“I'm having a hard time understanding your emotion because of the tears. Do you like it or is it the opposite?” My brows furrowed as I stared at her, awaiting her response.

She laughed as she saw my expression. I don't even understand what she found funny. But I relished in the sweet sound of her laughter. I wanted to hear more of it.

“These are tears of joy. I love it.”

“In that case, you're welcome.” Pause “and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that.”

“It's okay. I understand.” She flashed me a smile.

I nodded.

“So, what do you say about a chess rematch? It's getting dark and I'm tired of sad-eating ice cream.”

I had a virtual meeting with some of my business partners in one hour, but someone I just couldn't bring myself to say no to her. That's the kind of hold she has on me.

“Sure.”