Piece of Nirvana

One by one, the four-course lunch rolled out and was served tableside by the head royal chef and his team making the entire meal service feel like an afternoon affair.

It started with a hot and sour soup made with bean curd, black mushrooms, bamboo shoots and of course chili and vinegar, warming up the ladies' stomach for the smorgasbord that awaits.

After taking a sip of their soup, the ladies were served with a wide array of bite-size appetizers and a small portion of entrée before they got to the main star of the meal: the Peking duck.

The royal chef gave the ladies a courteous nod before he started carving the Peking duck expertly. The Peking duck had a shining mahogony color which glistened under the light, making the ladies' mouth water as they imagined how juicy and tender the meat would be in their mouths.

Crunchy and crackling sound reverberated in the restaurant as the royal chef looked like a maestro in a concerto every time he sliced the duck's skin.

He handed out thinly sliced strips of meat to the rest of his staff and the meal concerto went about as the royal kitchen staff plated the food on a white round plate in sync and coordinated movements.

The four ladies watched as the royal chef dabbed the slice of duck meat with sauce before rolling it on a pancake together with a stalk of scallion and julienned cucumber.

Once it was rolled up, the chef sliced it into half and made it stand on the plate, looking like a tower. Then he garnished it with colorful edible flowers before serving the first plate to Olivia.

All the ladies were impressed at how the plate looked like an exquisite work of art that one would do a double take on what to do first: eat it because it looks enticing or take a photo of the food because it looked divine.

The roasted smell of the duck tickled their noses, giving them a hint of what they were about to taste. And true to its beauty, the rolled piece of nirvana didn't disappoint.

Tender. Juicy. Melts in your mouth fatty goodness.

All went well as the meal culminated with square slices of flourless dark chocolate cake dusted with edible gold and fresh fruits.

Emily blurted a giggle when she couldn't contain the tickle in her tummy after she saw Olivia's dessert plate. "He's going all out, isn't heee?" she commented. Her teasing smile made Olivia's cheeks blush pink.

"Bao… qian?" Olivia asked. The shimmering twenty-four karat edible gold characters were printed on each of the two squares of heaven on her dessert plate.

She listened as Ava explained the words right away saying, "Baoqian means harboring regret or deeply sorry. Has Maxen done something to upset you?"

"Hmmm," Olivia trailed, picking up her teacup. "If he says he's sorry then he must have done something, didn't he?" Olivia cryptically replied to Ava, her eyes subconsciously wandered to the doll-like beauty in front of her.

Across the table, Fiona froze in her seat. Her flirting episode that morning replayed in her mind. She tried her best to keep her eyes straight and away from Olivia but her curiosity won over and saw for herself Olivia's scathing glare.

But wait? Where was Olivia looking?

Fiona carefully shifted her eyes and followed Olivia's line of sight where it landed on her bangle. She dropped her utensils like a hot potato and hid her hand under the table, removing the cursed bangle on her wrist. Her tensed grip almost broke the bangle into smithereens before she hid it right away in her purse.

Her heart pounded in her chest and her pore-free forehead cried beads of sweat as she felt like a mistress that was caught red-handed by the legal wife.

Seeing Olivia retract her hazel brown eyes from her wrist and feign obliviousness over her plight, Fiona swallowed the golf-ball-size lump in her throat and endured the rest of the meal being unusually quiet compared to her sanguine and chatty self.

The one hundred eighty degree turn in Fiona's disposition didn't go unnoticed by the sensitive and empathetic receptors of Ava. Her motherly instincts kicked in that she found herself rubbing the back of Fiona's hand in consolation.

"Any plans after lunch, ladies?" Ava asked as soon as the royal kitchen staff left their tableside.

"I have to buy something," Olivia said, digging for her phone in her bag. She at least needed to say thank you for the delayed and scrumptious lunch they had, right? So she sent a brief message to Maxen.

[Olivia: Thank you for the meal.]

[Maxen: Apology accepted?]

Olivia rolled her eyes the instant she read his reply. The nerve of this spoiled little prince. Furiously tapping on her phone she replied:

[Olivia: Nope. But nice try. Grandma said, an apology without a change in behavior is just manipulation.]

Olivia dropped her phone inside her handbag and forced a fake smile to her companions. Her phone beeped again but she chose to ignore it. "What are we talking about again?" she asked.

"You said you wanted to buy something. I know this building by heart. I could show you around," Emily offered. The truth was, she needed Olivia's opinion on her dresscode for tonight so she's hitting two birds with one stone too.

Olivia leaned a bit closer so only she and Emily could hear her words that made the latter beam like a fool, infecting the clueless Ava and Fiona across them. Emily didn't tease her anymore afraid that Olivia would not make that purchase.

Ay-ah! So much for her for playing arbitrator for these adults' lovelife!

The ladies were by the threshold when their attention was stolen by Ava's hissing voice behind them.

"I don't have plans this afternoon. I can come along with you, ladies," Ava boldly invited herself but took a step back when Olivia's eyes pierced with hers.

Lucky for her, Fiona butted in and declared that she had a scheduled pictorial that afternoon so she had to make an early exit. She thanked Olivia for the invitation to her birthday party but had to decline, using her earlier excuse that she only wanted to help Ava out of goodwill and nothing else.

The four ladies exchanged air-cheek kisses and fake hugs before sending off the oddball out.

With only the three of them left, Ava, Emily, and Olivia found themselves in a jewelry boutique known for bespoke pieces whose price tags would never go below six digits.

Upon seeing Ava and Emily whom he knew by heart, the boutique manager took hurried steps and welcomed his patrons.

"What a beautiful day it is today to be graced by such beauties," the boutique manager said. One by one he welcomed Ava, Emily, and Olivia with open arms, exchanging air-kisses with Ava first because she's the new madam of the Lin Family before moving next to Emily.

Just as when it was time for him to exchange pleasantries with Olivia, he paused for a second and took a quick look at the casually dressed Olivia and decided to send her a fake smile instead.

Extending a hand he said, "Good afternoon, Miss?"

Olivia looked at his extended hand and returned the fake smile he had given her. She didn't bother to shake hands with him for she knew he'd be busy kissing ass with the others.

"Olivia," she curtly replied before walking away from the boutique manager who mentally sneered behind her back.

Roving the store, Olivia found nothing that piqued her interest. Even though the items they sell were labeled as 'bespoke', she still saw a similarity with other known brands too.

"Found anything, Livi darling?" Emily probed when she saw Olivia circle the shop for the second time around.

Olivia just smiled at Emily and motioned to her friend that all is well with a thumbs up.

The moment Emily turned her attention back to the selections of rings, Olivia glanced at the clerk that followed her like vulture ever since her arrival and asked, "Is there anything more that I can find?"

The clerk cracked a smile and bobbed her head. "We have more on the second floor, Miss Olivia," she confirmed before adding, "But only those with a royal card can have access to that collection."

Olivia took out from her wallet a shining shimmering diamond-encrusted black royal credit card together with her state ID for identity verification and the clerk silently rejoiced as she sneakily ushered her client to a waiting room.

A few seconds later, the assistant manager walked closer to where Olivia sat. She was holding a set of keys and was all smiles as she opened the hidden door.

Upon entering the room, one by one, the lights lit up, illuminating a space that has nothing but a white leather seat and a round coffee table.

The assistant manager grabbed a pair of white gloves from her pocket and stood before one of the vaults, entering her key to take out a rectangle velvet box from it.

She tried her best to contain her elation by not hopping towards her client but her feet had a mind of its own so she did bounce a little before she regained her composure.

Carefully, she laid the velvet box in front of Olivia and, "These are the items that we currently have, Miss Olivia. This collection was designed as an ultimate luxury statement with its white diamonds sourced from South Africa and stones sourced from Zambia."

Olivia scanned the velvet box and found the piece that she was looking for.

Seeing where her client's eyes were locked, the assistant manager carefully picked up the jewelry and lifted it to Olivia's eye-level as she continued to speak.

"This pair is designed with a paved setting white diamonds in brilliant cut with a total of two karats and a six-karat extra fine green emerald priced at one hundred and seventeen thousand dollars."

Olivia handed her elite royal black card with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Wrap them up for me."