Chapter 99

"Hey." Alex walked over and crouched in front of her, gently tilting her chin up so that she could meet his eyes and said. "You didn’t fail. Zack made his own choices. Which are incredibly stupid ones. You raised him alone, worked really hard to put food on the table, and gave him everything. So the fault lies with him, not you. Okay?"

Olivia’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she managed a weak nod.

Alex still noticed her sad expression and decided to try and lighten the mood, even if he ends up making a fool of himself, which he was pretty much about to do right now.

He mentally took a deep breath, knowing that things might get a bit cringey, before giving a grin while saying.

"Besides... right now your only job is to be pampered. Doctor’s orders. And this doctor," he pointed at himself dramatically, "is very handsome and extremely qualified to take care of a beautiful woman like you. And if you must know, I was actually the top of my class in the school of making sick people laugh."

A small, reluctant smile tugged at the edge of her lips despite herself.

"You’re ridiculous."

"Ridiculously good you mean," he shot back, standing up with a flourish. "Now since you have the flu, the best medicine for you right now is my world famous good old bowl of hot chicken soup. Now, prepare to be amazed by my culinary masterpiece."

He returned to the kitchen and began working. First, he made sure to brew her some ginger lemon tea with honey, which he knew was really effective for the flu. As he continued to work on it, Alex glanced at the slightly sad Olivia before concentrating back on what he was making.

If he wanted, he knew that all it would take is one portion of body recovery water to heal Olivia like he had done at the warehouse, but he decided not to do it. First of all, he wanted to use this entire moment to deepen his relationship with Olivia through taking care of her. And at least take her mind off things relating to Zack.

As the tea steeped, Alex started on the chicken soup. He chopped the vegetable with exaggerated finesse while narrating every step in a terrible fake French accent just to cheer the gloomy sick woman seated not far away from him.

"Ze secret to ze perfect chicken soup," he declared while waving a carrot like it was a baton, "is to use only ze freshest ingredients and plenty of... love. Also, maybe a little bit of salt."

Olivia watched him from the couch with a tissue pressed to her nose. Despite the fever and unbearable aches, she found herself laughing softly at his silly antics. He kept glancing over, making silly chef faces whenever he caught her looking while enduring the mocking laughter from his annoying system.

[Bwahahaha! Oh my gosh. This is a classic. I never thought I’d see the day when a guy who looks like a devil to his enemy, starts making a terrible french accent to cheer one of his wifey]

’well enjoy it while it last, little gremlin.’ Alex mentally said with sarcasm, while keeping up the funny antics.

[Oh I will.]

"Alex, you’re going to burn it if you keep showing off," Olivia warned, though her voice carried genuine amusement.

"That’s impossible. Not to brag but even if I close my eyes while cooking my soup won’t get burned. I’m just that good." He boasted shamelessly.

About forty minutes later, he brought over a steaming bowl on a tray, along with the tea and some sliced fruits. He then made sure to help her sit up properly and fluffed the pillows behind her back with an over the top gentleness.

Alex took a spoonful of the chicken soup, blew on it carefully, and gave it to her to take.

"You know, Alex. You don’t actually have to feed me. I just have the flu, it’s not like I’m suddenly disabled."

"I said I’ll take care of you and pamper you today, and I don’t plan on going back on my word, so quit your complaining and take a sip."

Olivia looked at his firm expression before deciding to just comply with it.

She opened her mouth and took a sip of the soup. At that moment he eyes widened slightly with surprise.

"Hmmm.... I-It’s actually really good."

"Of course it is!" Alex puffed out his chest in pride. "I told you I’m a genius in the kitchen, now drink up so you can recover."

Olivia nodded, and ate slowly while he sat on the floor beside the couch, chatting about some funny stories about how he once walked a notoriously naughty husky that made him run for up to a mile just to catch the damn dog.

He even added some harmless teasing about how cute she looked with her red nose.

And for the first time since that awful kidnapping incident, Olivia’s shoulders seemed lighter. The sadness about Zack was still there, lingering in the background, but Alex’s warm presence and ridiculous humor pushed it back, even if it was just for a while, letting her truly enjoy this warm fuzzy moment.

[Ding! +10 Desire Energy Gained For Minor Attraction Toward Host]

[Ding! +5 Desire Energy Gained For Minor Attraction Toward Host]

The system chimed at the edge of Alex’s mind, but he paid it no attention. He was too busy, absorbed in feeding Olivia.

As she finally managed to finish half of the bowl of soup, Olivia looked down at him with gratitude in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Thank you, Alex. Really. I don’t know what I would have done without, especially last week."

He reached up and gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, his touch lingering for a second longer than necessary.

"You don’t have to thank me," he said quietly, while smiling with a gentle gaze. "Just focus on getting better. I’m not going anywhere."

She smiled warmly before continuing to sip from the spoon at her lips. Alex remained with her until she finished her bowl, before he refilled it again after deciding that she needed to eat more. Olivia protested lightly, insisting that she was full, but he didn’t budge.

As he continued to feed her, Alex began noticing one thing. That was, he actually enjoyed all this. Despite how silly he acted, he enjoyed watching her laugh so care free, without thinking about those bad things that made her sad. He enjoyed watching this woman be herself. And most of all, he actually enjoyed this familiar feeling of home.

When Olivia ate till she was finally stuffed, she leaned back slightly against the couch, with eyes heavy with sleep. Alex stood up and began gently adjusting the blankets over her.

Olivia looked at him softly and said.

"You really didn’t have to do all this."

"I wanted to," he replied.

She hesitated, then spoke gently.

"Alex... Thank you for taking care of this old woman. And thank you for not leaving."

Alex didn’t answer. Instead, he simply nodded. He sat down quietly on the couch opposite her and watched as her tired eyes slowly began to close. After some minutes, he heard the slow steady beat of her heart and her even breath, signifying that she had fallen asleep.

Alex remained seated for a while, simply watching her. Now that the room was quiet, he could see how peaceful she looked when she wasn’t looking like she was literally carrying the weight of the world.

Strands of brown hair had fallen across her cheek, and her full pink lips were slightly parted with each gentle breath. Even with a red nose and flushed cheeks from the fever, she looked incredibly cute and vulnerable.

A strange warmth began to bloom in his chest as he stared at her with something protective and tender that he hadn’t felt in some time now.

He leaned in slowly, careful not to wake her up, and pressed a soft lingering kiss on her cheek. Her skin was kind of warm under his lips, but it carried the faint scent of ginger and honey from the tea.

At that exact moment, it was when his stupid phone saw it fit to ring. Alex’s eyes snapped open with annoyance, and he quickly pressed his palm over the speaker to muffle the sound. He froze in place as he carefully checked Olivia, who only stirred slightly but didn’t wake up, her breathing remained smooth and even.

He gave a low sigh of relief before rising silently and moving to the far end of the living room. Then he stepped into the small hallway that led to one of the bedrooms downstairs for some privacy. Only then did he now answer the call.

"Yes?"

A respectful, almost trembling voice came through the line, filled with reverence and a hint of fear.

"Sir... we’ve got him. That scum called Zack. My men finally caught him hiding at a small luxury motel on the outskirts of the city. One of my men’s friends had seen him when he was going to the motel with a girl from a small time club. We haven’t touched him yet. He’s still in one piece... We were just waiting for your instruction and presence."

A cruel, cold smile slowly spread across Alex’s face. The warmth that had filled his eyes just moments ago vanished completely, replaced by a chilling, predatory glint.

"Good," he replied, his tone icy and detached. "Keep him exactly as he is, I’m on my way."

He ended the call without waiting for a response and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Finally, they’ve managed to catch that scumbag, Zack. Oh! how he would enjoy what he had been planning to do for quite some time now. He glanced back toward the couch where Olivia slept peacefully, completely unaware that her idiotic son had now been caught.

His expression softened once more, and he walked back quietly, and adjusted the blanket around her shoulder with gentle hands, while whispering.

"Sleep tight. I’ll be back before you know it."

With one final look at her peaceful face, Alex straightened his clothes and headed for the door. The cold smile returned to his lips as he thought of all the torture he would test run on that bastard.