Chapter 85 Rushing In

Chapter 85 Rushing In

Olivia had just stepped out of the hospital when her phone rang.

It was Indigo.

"Olivia, you need to get home right now."

Indigo's voice was way more determined than last time.

"That doctor I told you about is free tonight. You two need to meet."

Olivia gripped her phone, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Mom, I told you I don't have time right now..."

"You have to come!"

Indigo cut her off, her voice suddenly breaking.

"You think I don't know what you've been up to lately? Running to the hospital every single day, all for that Charles?"

"Look at the news online! He and Ms. Peterson are practically all over each other—everyone knows they're engaged, Olivia. What are you still holding out for?"

Olivia's heart sank. So Indigo knew everything.

"Mom, those photos are fake..."

"So what if they are?"

Deep down, Olivia was just being stubborn while her heart stayed soft—how could she not believe Charles?

She was just scared...

Scared to give him her whole heart again.

Indigo was just as worried about Olivia getting hurt, her voice suddenly rising.

"Even if they're fake, his engagement to Selene was real!"

"The four years of hell he put you through were real! Olivia, are you really gonna jump back in again?"

Muffled sobs came through the phone.

"When you came back from Valeria, you were nothing but skin and bones, and I had to force myself to smile at you while my heart was breaking!"

"I'm your mother—watching you hurt kills me more than anyone..."

Standing on the sidewalk watching the traffic flow by, Olivia suddenly felt tears streaming down her face.

"...I get it."

Left with no choice, she sniffled and gave in.

After comforting Indigo for a few more minutes, she finally hung up.

At seven that evening, Olivia sat by the window in a restaurant, facing the doctor who'd come for the blind date.

He was polished and well-mannered, speaking with just the right amount of courtesy, but she couldn't focus on a word he said.

"Ms. Smith's pretty famous in the design world, right?"

The doctor smiled and raised his glass.

"My sister's wedding suite used one of your studio's designs."

Olivia forced a smile and was about to respond when her phone suddenly buzzed.

It was a text from Wilder.

"Ms. Smith, Charles has locked himself in his room and won't take his meds."

"Nothing I say gets through to him, and even the nurses can't reach him."

Her heart clenched, her fingers instinctively tightening around her phone.

"Everything okay?"

The doctor across from her asked with concern.

"It's nothing."

Olivia put away her phone and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, I've got an emergency. I need to go."

As she stood up, her phone rang again—this time it was John.

"Olivia, where are you?"

John's voice was urgent.

"Something's wrong with Charles. I was gonna check on him, but the nurse just told me he ripped out his IV, and he keeps mumbling your name..."

This time, Olivia didn't even wait to hear the rest. She grabbed her bag and bolted outside.

The streetlights outside the restaurant cast long shadows as she ran.

She didn't even know why she was in such a rush—she'd been pissed at Charles that morning, and she'd promised Indigo she'd give the date a real shot.

But hearing that something had happened to him, her feet moved toward the hospital on their own.

Meanwhile, at the hospital.

John hung up and leaned against the corridor wall, gesturing toward the shadows.

Wilder emerged from the stairwell, looking helpless.

"John, will this actually work? If Charles finds out we lied to Olivia..."

"Don't worry, Charles won't blame us."

John patted his shoulder.

"Besides, it's not really lying—Charles really didn't eat dinner, and he really has been saying her name."

He paused, his expression growing serious.

Three days ago, Bodhi had found him and told him everything about what happened back then—how Calista had drained the company, how Charles was forced to get engaged to Selene to protect the Green Group and Olivia, and how he'd even secretly bought Olivia's design studio in Valeria and anonymously helped her out of trouble several times.



While John had known about the former, this was the first time he'd heard about Charles protecting Olivia from across the ocean.

He had to admit Charles had done enough.

Compared to him, Olivia's half-brother, Charles was truly the better man.

"John, I know you're protective of Olivia."

Bodhi's voice had been quiet.

"But Charles has been miserable these past four years."

"It's not that he doesn't love her—he's scared to love her, scared of dragging her down."

John thought about all those years watching Olivia stare at Charles's photos, about Charles's determination when he took that knife for Olivia, and his resolve had already started to crack.

He'd always thought Charles was the one who hurt Olivia.

But he never realized Charles had shouldered all the pain himself.

"Olivia's here."

About ten minutes later, Wilder whispered.

John looked up to see Olivia running breathlessly into the corridor, her hair a mess.

He signaled to Wilder, and they both quietly slipped into the stairwell.

In the hospital room, Charles was leaning against his headboard, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Hearing the door open, he looked up sharply. When he saw Olivia, his eyes instantly lit up, then dimmed again.

"Why are you here?"

Olivia looked at the empty IV stand, then at the untouched food on the bedside table, and suddenly felt her anger flare:

"Charles, how old are you? Using self-harm to get attention?"

Charles looked confused.

"When did I ever..."

"Still playing dumb?"

Olivia walked to the bed and grabbed his hand—sure enough, there were red marks on his wrist from where the needle had been pulled out.

"What's this then? Charles, can't you act your age?"

Her voice carried anger.

But she didn't notice that her fingertips were gently stroking his wound, the gesture full of tenderness.

Charles looked at her reddened eyes and thought about how John had caused those marks.

But then he smiled softly.

"Olivia, you're worried about me."

Olivia froze, realizing she'd been played.

She tried to pull her hand away, but Charles held it tight.

"Don't go, okay?"

His voice was soft, with a hint of vulnerability.

"Just sit with me for a while. Even if... even if we don't talk."

Olivia looked at his pale face, at that stark red bandage on his chest, and ultimately couldn't bring herself to pull away.

In the corridor, John watched the scene through the door crack and raised an eyebrow at Wilder.

Wilder sighed in relief and pulled out his phone to text Bodhi.

"Dad, mission accomplished."

Some were happy, others worried.

At the Williams Villa.

Indigo sat in the living room, watching the wall clock hit nine, her heart growing heavier.

She called her daughter, but there was no answer.

She called the doctor she'd set up—he said Olivia had bailed halfway through.

"Olivia..."

Indigo sighed and picked up her phone, scrolling to Charles's photo—

One she'd secretly saved four years ago.

In the photo, the young man held a bouquet of sunflowers, wearing a white shirt, smiling brilliantly and happily alongside Olivia.