WARM EMBRACE

"Since, today's dinner did not go too well. Why don't we have a proper dinner tomorrow night, what do you say?" Evelyn said to Jason immediately they were out of the hospital.

"If that's fine with Mr. Smith, I will be there for dinner," Jason replied, looking in Henry's direction.

"Honey, it's fine with you. . . Right?" Evelyn held on to Henry's hand as she asked.

"Sure," Henry answered shortly.

"Thank you, dad," Olivia said as her lips formed a small smile.

"Okay, that's enough. It's late already, and I'm sure the young man here has to go to work tomorrow." Henry said, referring to Jason.

"Okay, let's head home," Evelyn said while Henry opened the door of the back seat to the car they came with earlier for Evelyn to enter.

"Have a good night, Jason." Evelyn's voice echoed from the car, and Henry joined her.

Olivia and Jason were left outside the car alone, they stared at each other quietly until Olivia did the unexpected. She wrapped her hands around him and enveloped him in a warm embrace, not too tight, though. The hug came so sudden and unexpected that it made Jason stiffen a little, he was not sure whether to hug her back or leave things as they were. After a brief moment of silence, he hugged her back. For some reason, he felt the need to.

"Thank you." Olivia's sweet voice echoed inside his head.

"For what?" He asked.

"For not backing out on the plan, bye." She said as she let go of him.

She got into the car and in no time, the car zoomed off, leaving only Jason outside the hospital. He brought out his phone, and then he dialed Ryan's number.

"Hey, man. How did it go?" Ryan asked, not giving Jason the chance to talk first.

"Bad, I will tell you later. Just come and pick me up, I'm at the hospital." Jason said over the phone as he lazily rests his back on the wall.

"Hospital?" Ryan nearly screamed over the phone as he processed what Jason just said.

"Yes, I will send you the address." Jason ended the call immediately after he spoke.

"I just knew it; her father would have probably given him a terrible beating. Hehehe. . … I was right after all." Ryan said, laughing at his imagination of what Jason would look like.

After some minutes, Ryan got to the hospital. He came out of his car quickly and rushed to the entrance. Even though he found it very amusing for Jason to be beaten up, he didn't wish for his friend to get hurt.

"Ryan, where are you going?" Jason asked, standing behind him.

"Jason, I thought you were in the hospital?" Ryan asked, surprise and confusion written all over his face.

"Well, I'm standing here, right outside the hospital, which means I can still call it the hospital." Jason raised one of his brows at him, trying to understand the face Ryan was making at him.

"What, were you expecting me to be inside, all beaten up and trying to survive for my life?" Jason said, crossing his hands behind him.

"What a waste of my time, I came here for some fun and this is what I get," Ryan said with a bored look on his face as he went back to his car.

". . ." The edge of his lips raised into a smirk as he approached the car.

~At Ryan's apartment~

Ryan is sitting in the living room, with the TV remote control in his right hand and a cup of drink in the other. With a bored and dissatisfied look on his face, he pressed the control button multiple times, trying to find something that interests him.

Jason entered the living room, his hair still wet from the quick showers he had just taken. He sat down next to Ryan as he allowed his head to fall on the headrest of the couch, letting out a deep breath of relaxation.

"So, are you going to tell me or not? My curiosity is killing me." Ryan asked as he dropped the TV control and waited impatiently for Jason to talk.

"It turned out to be that Olivia is actually the daughter of Henry and Evelyn Smith," Jason answered as he pushed his body up from his resting position and placed his elbows on his knees, and brushed his wet hair to the back.

"Wait, I don't understand. How can she be their daughter, she looks nothing like Olivia Smith?" Ryan said, looking confused.

"I have a lot of Olivia Smith's pictures on my phone, and it looks nothing like Olivia, even if they share the same name." Ryan continued as he tried to process what Jason said.

"She is the same person; I can't believe I did not see it from the beginning," Jason said as he rubbed his face with his palm.

"So, what you're telling me is that Olivia is actually Olivia Smith, but with a different appearance." He said, with both Confusion and shock printed on his face.

"For the first time, Ryan. I won't deny I had the same expression on my face when I found out." Jason said.

"F**k, I can't believe a goddess like her already stepped foot in my house and I had the slightest idea about it." Ryan spat out as he stood up from the couch swiftly.

"And to crown it up, my best friend is married to her." He said as he placed his hands above his head, pacing back and forth.

"Wait, how did her parents take the news? Who ended up having a heart attack?" Ryan threw questions at him as he sat back down.

"Badly, her mother fainted when she heard that we were married," Jason replied, feeling a little terrible because she got affected by their plan.

"Haha. . . I wish I were there to watch the whole drama." Ryan laughed as he imagined how the dinner went.

"It's not supposed to be funny." Jason scolded.

"Yeah, I know, it's terrible what happened to her. But, what now, is the deal between the two of you over?" Ryan asked.

"No. Fortunately, her mom is not angry anymore, and she invited me for dinner tomorrow night," Jason explained, briefly.

"Well, that's great. I wish you the best of luck for the second time." He said as he pats Jason's shoulder lightly.