Chapter 31 The Burn
Some people secretly rolled their eyes at Windy.
Windy noticed that no one wanted to talk to her, and her smile turned awkward. She glanced at Olivia and then turned to leave.
As soon as she was gone, someone couldn't hold back their complaints.
"How does she even dare to show up here? She took Olivia's position, doesn't know how to do anything, and still needs two agents to help her at the company!"
"They could have hired two real secretaries for what they're paying those assistants. I seriously don't get what the boss was thinking."
Olivia didn't want Windy to overhear their words and go complain to Luca, so she stopped them. "Enough, don't say stuff like this anymore. Since you all know Luca protects Windy, be polite to her. It's better for you, too."
Everyone sighed at how understanding and generous she was, then changed the topic and went back to discussing work.
After the meeting, Olivia felt parched. She picked up her cup and headed to the break room for some water. Just as she reached the door, a young female employee came out holding a cup of freshly brewed hot coffee.
They bumped into each other. The scalding coffee spilled onto Olivia's arm, instantly burning her skin red.
Olivia gasped in pain, unable to hold onto her cup. It slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
"I'm so sorry, Olivia! I didn't mean to!" The female employee was terrified and quickly tried to wipe the coffee off her.
People from the project department rushed over, crowding around to check on her. "Olivia, are you okay? That looks bad. Rinse it with cold water first!"
The scene turned chaotic.
Soon, Luca got the news and hurried over. Seeing Olivia's burned arm, his face turned ice-cold. "What happened here?!"
No one dared to speak.
Luca pushed past the employees blocking his way and grabbed Olivia's hand. After confirming her injury wasn't too severe, he shot the employee responsible a cold glare. "How could you be so careless?!"
The female employee kept apologizing, clearly scared.
At that moment, Windy suddenly stepped in, standing in front of the employee. "Luca, don't be so harsh. I'm sure she didn't mean it." Windy smiled as she tried to calm him down. "Olivia, are you okay? This employee knows she messed up. She didn't do it on purpose. Be the bigger person and don't hold it against her."
Olivia looked at Windy's fake kindness and found it laughable. She was the one who got burned, yet this uninjured, unrelated person was telling her to be forgiving.
Olivia didn't give Windy any face. "You're not the one who got burned, so you don't get to tell me what I should do! The company has rules, and it's not up to you to decide how this gets handled!"
Windy's face paled, embarrassed in front of everyone. She immediately looked at Luca, her eyes welling up with tears.
But Luca didn't defend her or pay attention to what Olivia just said. He stared at Olivia's arm, feeling both worried and angry, then ordered his assistant, "Take Olivia to get her wound treated first. Notify the admin department to handle this incident. Fire the employee who caused this."
Olivia left with the assistant.
Windy’s eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t believe Luca would actually fire someone over such a minor mistake. Was he starting to care more about Olivia?
Windy's expression darkened. She had arranged for this employee to spill coffee on Olivia, hoping everyone would see that Luca wouldn't stand up for Olivia. But now, nothing was going as she planned.
Windy quickly comforted the frightened employee, promising she would handle everything.
In the medical room, Luca followed Olivia in.
After the doctor finished the check-up and took out the burn ointment, Luca grabbed it and walked over to Olivia.
Olivia moved away, reaching for the ointment. "I can do it myself."
"Don't move." Luca held her wrist, stopping her from pulling away, and carefully applied the ointment to her burned arm.
Olivia felt even more surprised.
When she was Luca's secretary, similar things had happened. Back then, Luca would just tell her to go to the medical room and handle it herself. He never came with her, let alone applied ointment for her. What was going on today?
Olivia was puzzled when Windy came in again, her eyes red. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault…"
Olivia rolled her eyes, annoyed. What did this have to do with her?
"That employee was trying to get coffee for me, and that's why she accidentally bumped into Olivia. Luca, if you want to punish someone, punish me. Don't let the admin department fire her! She's struggling financially and really needs this job. I'm begging you."
Windy covered her face and started crying, looking guilty.
Luca was moved by her pitiful apology and hesitated.
According to company rules, an employee who caused a colleague's injury usually didn't lead to dismissal. Windy's plea for the employee made sense. If he insisted on firing her, people might think he wasn't fair and was favoring Olivia. Olivia was his wife, but at the company, she was just a regular employee. He couldn't fire someone just because of her.
Luca was silent for a moment. "Alright. Have that employee write an apology to Olivia and dock half her pay for this month. You can go now, Windy."
Windy nodded gratefully and pretended to care. "I'll go then. Olivia, please don't be upset. Take care of your injury."
Olivia didn't say a word. The redness and pain on her arm made her feel worse.
She hadn't wanted to fire the employee anyway—she just wanted to follow company rules. But she didn't expect Luca to change his mind the moment Windy pleaded.
Luca kept trying to apply the ointment, but Olivia pulled her hand back, her attitude turning cold. "I can do it myself. Don't bother."
Luca froze, feeling annoyed. "Olivia," his voice deepened. "What are you doing right now? You promised we'd get along."
Olivia didn't think she'd broken her promise. "I did agree to that, but I never said I'd pretend to be the perfect wife. Let's just keep our distance and not interfere with each other."
"Keep our distance?" Luca suddenly leaned closer, trapping Olivia on the couch, his eyes filled with emotions she couldn't read. "When I said spend our last moments peacefully, I meant like a normal couple, not you avoiding me at every turn!"
Olivia shrank back. "What are you talking about? I don't get it."
Luca gave a cold smirk. "You don't get it? Fine, I'll show you."
He leaned down and kissed Olivia.
Olivia hadn't expected Luca to kiss her out of nowhere and tried to push him away.
Feeling her resistance, Luca became even more forceful.
He pinned her hands to the couch and held the back of her head, not letting her pull back.
Olivia had no choice but to endure his kiss, unable to escape.
She could clearly feel Luca taking her breath away, kissing her lips intensely.
In Olivia's world, there was nothing but this burning, tangled kiss.
Only when she was almost out of breath did Luca pull her into his arms.
"Now do you get it?"