Chapter 311: Let's Go

Olivia bowed her head and politely excused herself from the conversation she had been having. Not that she disliked the man who was speaking to her, he was an extremely friendly and funny actor. The pair had become acquainted because the actor also grew up outside of Pan, but Olivia could not help to wonder if he was one of the people who did not value her as a person. She could tell the man was put off by her departure, but she did not care.

For Olivia, the entire night had become a form of torture. Anyone who said hello to her triggered her mind into wondering if they helped spread rumors about her, or if they tried to correct them. From what she guessed, no one had spoken up for her, and for Olivia it meant she needed a new circle to run in, and she had found that circle with Mina and her friends.

Olivia found a quiet place to sit and observe, but her line of sight soon drifted to a very disturbing sight. Mary was in attendance with the man Olivia had seen her with at the bar. The pair were holding hands, and it was obvious that Mary was showing the man off. She sighed, allowing herself a moment to briefly pity Peter.

However, that moment turned into something else when Olivia noticed Peter heading in her direction. A part of her wanted to walk away, but she saw no reason to make herself uncomfortable for Peter's bad behavior. She trained her eyes in a different direction, ignoring the man completely.

"You look beautiful," Peter said. Olivia nodded slightly. Once upon a time her heart would have fluttered at those words, but now they were just hollow.

"Be honest, if you want me to speak to my cousin on your behalf; I will. No need to pretend." Olivia was aware that Cylus was making things hard for Peter, but she had not gotten involved because she no longer cared.

"That is-" Peter's words cut off when he noticed Mary and her date. His face contorted in anger and Olivia further pitied the man who had become a laughingstock.

Between Cylus and President Lee, Olivia was unsure which man produced the sinister idea to push the adulterous pair together as a power couple in the industry. The person had even set them up in their own studio, which was opened with an announcement of engagement, or so she had heard.

Olivia knew that Peter would have to interact with the couple often if he wanted to continue in his chosen field. That meant that he would never be able to put to rest the fact that his fiancé had been cheating on him. Worse, people who knew about Peter and Mary, would be able to guess that Mary's new relationship had started while Peter was still in the picture. It was the perfect, albeit cruel, form of torture for a man who valued discretion.

"No, I didn't come over for help. I just wanted to chat with a friend," Peter continued. Olivia saw an opportunity, and in the same way she had witnessed Mina attack Jessica and Dom's words, she took it.

"Okay then. How long have you been hearing rumors about me?" She asked, knowing that a friend would have questioned her about it the way Oric and Connor did. A friend would not have assumed or disrespected her.

"I... Olivia, I did not.... What I said that day was... Listen, I cannot go back and change what was said or how I behaved, but I know I was wrong. I went through your phone." Peter saw no reason to lie to her, he just wanted to see her smile again. The withdrawn Olivia was not bad, but the laughing Olivia was much better.

"Got to commend your honesty," Olivia said mockingly. Although she was constantly talked about, Peter was the first man to outright ask her, face to face, if she wanted to go to a hotel with him.

No longer feeling comfortable, and no longer wanting to 'chat' with the man, who had gone through her personal device and likely read all the embarrassing texts she sent and received, Olivia stood. She was surprised when Peter stood with her. He asked if he could accompany her and Olivia was bewildered.

"Are you trying to court me?" Olivia asked incredulously. "What kind of idiot do you think I am? You think just because I had a crush on you, I'm going to forgive you and pretend like nothing happened?" Olivia waited for Peter to answer, but he took too long to speak, so she finished her thought. "Let me make this clear for you so you can stop wasting your time and mine. I do not know who is backing your ex-fiancé, nor do I plan to find out, so you can stop trying your luck on me." Olivia's voice was not loud, but she was stern in her words, and she kept eye contact as she spoke. When she was done. She walked away, leaving Peter to feel like he had heard wrong or maybe he had only heard one thing.

'Did she say she had a crush on me?' Peter thought.

----

Cylus had received a call from President Lee and Robert brought the man his device right away. At first, he believed that Mina had just gone out without a guard detail, but after being threatened with death, he knew it was serious. He shot President Lee a slew of questions, but the man left them all unanswered and hung up.

Unable to shake the unease that attached itself to him, Cylus searched for his cousin. The flight back to Pan was short, but he did not want to waste any time. He gave Robert orders to arrange flights for the three of them, while he kept his eye out for Olivia, who he had finally spotted with an angry scowl on her face.

"Something happened to Mina," he said as soon as he reached Olivia's side. For as much as he was taken with Mina, he knew his cousin idolized the girl.

"What are we still doing here then? Let's go," Olivia said. Cylus liked that she was not disappointed that they were leaving the country early. The banquet they were at used to be one of her favorites to attend and he felt bad for asking her to leave, but he had also noticed she did not look happy.

"What happened? Why did you look angry?" he asked as they left the event.

"Peter-" Cylus stopped and turned back into the party. He had not even waited for his cousin to complete her sentence.

"Peter must not have understood my warning the first time." Olivia grabbed her cousin's arm in alarm. She knew exactly what he was going to do, and to whom. She quickly blurted out that the man had only tried to apologize and nothing more, and Cylus finally stopped walking. "Are you telling me the truth?" Olivia nodded.

"I wouldn't lie about that. You know how I felt about him." Cylus was satisfied that she had used the past tense when referring to Peter, and it helped him to settle down. "Are you satisfied? Now let's get back to Pan," Olivia said.