Chapter 29: Unforeseen Disaster

Olivia and Gwyneth were hitting up the mall. Olivia picked up some lingerie but didn't bother with much else since her police uniform was her daily outfit.

"Olivia, check this out! This dress is so you!" Gwyneth exclaimed.

Olivia eyed the dress. Burgundy wasn't exactly an easy color to pull off.

"Come on, try it on!" Gwyneth urged. Olivia hesitated but eventually headed to the fitting room. Once she slipped it on, it felt incredible. Gwyneth was practically drooling.

"Wow, you look amazing! Put it on my card!" Gwyneth gushed. Olivia sighed; typical Gwyneth.

Gwyneth's excitement drew some attention, and a tall figure wandered over just in time to see Olivia in the dress.

Olivia felt eyes on her and quickly turned around, but saw no one. She shrugged it off, thinking she was just imagining things.

This was the most relaxed Olivia had felt in months. After their shopping spree, they hit up a restaurant downstairs and grabbed a window seat.

Olivia glanced up and saw a familiar face.

She thought to herself, 'Is that Henry? No, it can't be. I must be seeing things. How could Henry be here?'

Across the room, Bronte Langley was sitting with Henry. "Mr. Phillips, I heard you're a detective. Ever think about moving to an admin role?"

"Nope," Henry replied curtly, not even looking at her, his face like stone.

Suddenly, Henry felt someone staring at him. He looked up and locked eyes with Olivia.

Henry had never felt more embarrassed. Holden had dragged him back for a blind date, which was bad enough. The last thing he needed was Olivia seeing him like this.

Bronte kept going, "Mr. Phillips, I heard your dad's a big deal. Getting you into an admin role would be easy. My parents are also big shots in Silverlight City. If we got together, it would be a power couple situation. You wouldn't be losing out!"

Henry shot Bronte a cold look. Her heavy makeup was making him queasy.

"Miss, I don't do arranged marriages. And even if I did, it wouldn't be with someone like you. Got it?" Henry said.

Feeling humiliated, Bronte grabbed her coffee cup and chucked it at him. But Henry stood up and dodged it.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh. Henry came to a blind date, turned the girl down, and even dodged the coffee she threw at him!

Henry's eyes locked onto Olivia. He didn't care about Bronte at all and walked straight over to her.

"Is it that funny? Laughing at my expense?" Henry asked.

Olivia felt super awkward. She didn't expect Henry to be so clueless. Approaching her right in front of Bronte—was he nuts?

Gwyneth was stunned.

Before Olivia and Gwyneth could react, Bronte stormed over and slapped Olivia.

Both Olivia and Gwyneth were in shock.

Olivia was at a loss. Clearly, it was Henry who pissed off Bronte, so why was she the one getting slapped?

A red handprint quickly appeared on Olivia's face, and Henry, seeing this, felt a surge of anger.

Bronte screamed, "You bitch! How dare you try to steal my man? I'll kill you!" She lunged at Olivia again, but before Gwyneth could step in, Henry grabbed Bronte's wrist, twisted it, and pinned her to a nearby table.

Henry yelled, "Call the cops! Someone's attacking an officer!"

Olivia was stunned for a second, then quickly dialed the police.

What started as a fun day out turned into a nightmare, with Olivia's face swelling from the slap. She felt so wronged.

Seeing Olivia's face, Henry was worried. On the way to the station, he even had the driver stop to buy some ointment for her.

"I'm really sorry for what happened today," Henry said, sounding unusually humble.

Olivia felt very helpless. After all, he was her boss. What could she say?

But once they got to the station, things got even crazier. Bronte threw a fit and accused Henry of sexual harassment, which made Gwyneth so mad she wanted to punch her.

Gwyneth, clearly annoyed, asked, "Mr. Phillips, where did you find this woman? To those who know, it's a blind date. To those who don't, it looks like Olivia is your side chick!"

Olivia, who had calmed down a bit, said, "Gwyneth, don't be too hard on Mr. Phillips. He didn't see this coming either."

Gwyneth snorted. She used to think highly of Henry, but now he seemed like a total wimp.

"Olivia!" Someone called out. She saw it was Ivan and quickly stood up.

Then she saw Autumn coming in with Ivan. Olivia felt guilty and let her hair down to cover half her face.

Unfortunately, the red and blue handprint was still very noticeable.

Autumn exclaimed loudly, "Oh my God, my baby!"

Olivia was her most cherished person, someone she had never hit since childhood. Seeing Olivia slapped, Autumn was so angry she almost fainted. This really scared Olivia.

Olivia said, "Mom, I'm fine, really. Don't worry! Ivan, the medicine!"

Ivan quickly took out blood pressure medication from his pocket and gave it to Autumn. Olivia fetched some water. Luckily, Autumn didn't faint.

Autumn said, "Ivan, I can't let our daughter be treated like this."

Ivan patted Autumn's back, saying, "I'll have Olivia take you home. I'll handle things here."

Autumn insisted, "I'm not leaving. I want to know who hurt our daughter!"

Autumn turned her head and saw Henry, looking surprised.

Then she asked, "Mr. Phillips, why are you here?" Her question made Henry even more embarrassed.

Henry said, "Autumn, I'm sorry. Olivia got hit because of me. It's my fault."

Autumn frowned. After hearing Henry's explanation, she felt that nothing good ever happened when Olivia was with Henry.

Autumn asked, "Who is that woman anyway?"

Henry shook his head. "I don't even know her name."

Gwyneth was speechless. She nudged Olivia and said, "Are you sure someone like this can be your boss? Is he just not very smart, or does he have zero emotional intelligence with women?"

Olivia rolled her eyes at Gwyneth. How would she know?