Twenty Four

Nicki held her hand, and they walked to the living room. Nicki held her to the sofa and made her sit down next to her. Olivia was not feeling that nervous anymore after she saw how nice Nicki was to her. Instead, she felt more comfortable with her; maybe it was because she had never interacted with her before because of how eager she was to leave Alex.

Suddenly, they heard some movements behind them. Nicki and Olivia raised their heads and looked towards the staircase. Olivia saw Alex's grandmother walking down with the help of a lady. She squinted her eyes when she saw the lady; she has never seen or heard that Alex has a cousin or niece. But looking at how intimately the lady acted with his grandmother, she could see that they were close.

Nicki stood up with a smile when she saw them. Grandma, you are here," She said, walking towards Grandma.

She held Grandma's hand and said, Grandma, look who is here. It is Olivia," Nicki said with a cheerful smile.

Grandma Taylor looked at where Nicki was pointing. She nodded. "You decided to visit us today after running away for years?" Grandma Taylor asked.

Olivia chuckled. She shook her head and said, "No Grandma. I just don't want to bother you with any more troubles," She said with a smile.

Grandma Taylor nodded, contemplating, like she was thinking about her excuse seriously. "Hmmm. I guess I am getting older and my body is getting older too," She said with a dramatic sigh.

Olivia laughed, "No Grandma... You are getting Younger instead," She said with a smile.

Grandma Taylor chuckled. "You have a glib tongue, you little brat," She said, feigning a serious expression even though she was just joking.

Olivia shook her head. She stuck her tongue out playfully. "No way, Grandma," She said.

Grandma Taylor sighed.

Nicki chuckled. "The food is ready; we should go and eat before it gets more cold," She said. Olivia nodded. She glanced at the lady standing beside Grandma. She still had not seen the lady's face because the lady's back was facing her. She was curious about who she was and looked at her intently.

Coincidentally, the lady turned her head and glanced at her. She nodded at her with a smile.

Olivia froze.

Hilda!

She clenched her fist tightly, and hatred surged in her body. She had to clench her fist tightly to stop herself from attacking the lady.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked; he also noticed her strange expression and found it puzzling. He looked at Hilda, narrowing his eyes.

Olivia snapped out of her trance. She raised her head and looked at Alex. She forced out a smile at him, saying, No, I am alright. You don't have to worry," She said.

Alex looked at her for more than ten minutes just to confirm if she was really alright or faking it. Nicki glanced at Olivia before she clapped her hands and said, "Okay enough... Olivia said she is alright. We should eat now before the food turns cold," She said.

Olivia nodded with a smile. She looked at Alex and shrugged her shoulders. Alex sighed when he saw this. He held her hand and walked towards the living room.

Alex," Hilda called behind them.

Olivia instinctively clenched her fist when she heard her voice behind her again. Alex frowned slightly and looked at their hands; he could feel this because they were holding hands. Olivia realized what she just did, and she forced out a smile at Alex's eyes that looked like they could see all of her thoughts.

Alex turned around and looked at Hilda. "What is it?" He asked her coldly, and even though he did not understand why Olivia was acting weirdly, he could not deny the fact that it was because of Hilda that Olivia was acting this way, so he was a little hostile towards her.

Hilda acted like she did not notice his mood and the coldness in his voice. "I just want to ask if you later go for the project you wanted before," She said with a smile.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Then I will have to thank Miss Bassey for her concern; you don't have to worry about it then," He said with an indifferent expression.

Hilda bit her lips and looked at Olivia. "Miss Fred, I did not know that you were this beautiful in person," She said with a smile, like they were friends.

Olivia nodded with a smile and said, "Miss Bassey, it is nice to meet you. Alex had told me a lot about you too," She said with a polite smile.

Hilda was stunned; she looked at Alex in surprise, then Olivia, "Really? He already told you about me. What did he tell you?" She asked with an anticipated expression; her heart was beating so fast while she looked at Olivia nervously.

"He told me how good you are as a business partner," Olivia said with an innocent smile.

Hilda's expression froze; she looked at Olivia in puzzlement and said, "That is all?" She asked with a frown on her face.

Olivia nodded with an innocent expression. "Of course that is all, or what else do you think there should be more of?" She asked.

Hilda bit her lips, saying, No, of course not. I am just puzzled, that is all," She said with a sigh.

Olivia nodded.

Alex did not understand what was going on between the two of them. He was even more shocked when he heard Olivia say that he had mentioned Hilda before, when he never did. But he did not interrupt because he trusted her to not do anything bad.

Olivia raised her head and looked at Alex, who was still looking at them with a blank expression. "Let's go to the dining room. I am famished," She said with a sigh.

Alsx nodded and held her hand. They walked towards the living room together. They sat down beside each other while Hilda sat down in one role; she was the only one sitting down there, while Grandma Taylor and Nicki were sitting down in the same role as Alex and Olivia. She was an outsider in the first place, so it was only right that she sat down there, but Hilda felt embarrassed instead and jealous, and besides, there was nothing she could do about it.

She could only silently eat where she sat down. Alex started licking foods and putting them in Olivia's bowl. Nicki was shocked before she nodded with an approval look.