Chapter 168 Andrew's Lover
Since he had said so, Olivia didn't insist anymore.
Soon, the group headed to a restaurant by the river.
The place was located on the fiftieth-something floor of Emerald City's landmark building, with windows on all sides. You could overlook the city's night view and the river scenery—the view was incredibly open.
The food there was even prepared by a star chef himself, perfectly executed in appearance, aroma, and taste.
Halfway through the meal, fireworks started going off outside as expected.
As soon as Bianca saw them, she forgot all about eating. She pressed herself softly against the glass window, watching the brilliant display with sparkling eyes. "Mommy, look! It's so pwetty..."
Olivia looked too.
It really was beautiful.
But for some reason, she couldn't help thinking of what she'd seen on video that night during New Year's.
The fireworks there had been far more dazzling and spectacular than tonight's...
She unconsciously looked up at Andrew across from her.
The man happened to be looking at her too.
Their eyes met again.
Those long, narrow eyes were calm and gentle, showing no strong emotion, but somehow they seemed to grow deeper and deeper.
Olivia's heart started racing for no reason. She hurriedly looked away, not daring to meet his gaze anymore.
Andrew just raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
Later, the fireworks finally ended, and dinner was wrapping up too.
Just then, a restaurant server came over with a tray and said politely to the three of them, "Hello, sorry to interrupt. We're running a special today—this is a complimentary dessert our restaurant has prepared for each table. Please enjoy, and we wish you a happy holiday. Also, today is Valentine's Day, so these nine roses are a free gift for the gentleman... Sir, you can give them to your loved one..."
Olivia had been drinking juice and was so startled by these shocking words that she choked badly.
The server was startled too and seemed confused by her reaction.
Andrew paused for two seconds, but his expression quickly returned to normal. He asked her, "Are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm fine!"
Olivia coughed for a while, trying hard to control herself, but still couldn't help blushing.
Half from coughing, half from being misunderstood.
She never expected that just having a simple meal would lead people to assume she and Andrew were a married couple.
And... today was actually Valentine's Day?
Her barren marriage with Michael over the years had made her forget all about meaningful holidays long ago.
She hadn't expected such a coincidence.
No wonder she'd seen people selling roses on the street earlier!
She felt so awkward she didn't know what to do, and could only instinctively say to the server, "We're not..."
She was about to explain when the man across from her said calmly and naturally, "Thanks, just leave it."
Hearing this, the server immediately smiled and placed the dessert and roses on the table.
Olivia was a bit stunned.
Why did Andrew accept them?
While she was confused, the server quickly left.
Only then did Andrew speak casually, "They're just strangers who don't matter. No need to waste time explaining... Besides, the flowers are nice. Since the restaurant prepared them, let's just accept them. I see other tables got them too—they must be giving them to everyone, so don't worry about it too much!"
Perhaps because he seemed so calm about it, Olivia felt like she'd been making too big a deal of it.
And looking around the restaurant, every table really had received them.
Even two men not far away had somehow received a bouquet and were now staring at each other in awkward silence.
Olivia found it funny and finally felt less embarrassed than before.
She commented sincerely, "This restaurant's servers really have 'impeccable sense of timing'!"
A hint of amusement flashed in Andrew's eyes as he agreed, "Indeed!"
Though it was an awkward mix-up, the dessert was actually pretty good.
When dinner ended, Olivia held Bianca's hand with one hand and carried the roses with the other, leaving the restaurant side by side with Andrew.
As they left, she didn't notice that from a window seat on the other side, someone's gaze followed them, even taking out their phone to snap photos.
It was Chase!
He'd come to eat with some socialite friends and rich kids today.
He never expected to see Olivia.
Though it was only for a moment, it wasn't hard to see how close that woman was with the man beside her.
Chase immediately sent the photos to Michael: [That bitch Olivia really has been seeing someone else all along. It's barely been any time since the divorce, and she's getting cozy with Daniel on one hand, scheming against the Johnson family, while on the other hand she's out with Bianca having dinner dates with other men on Valentine's Day!
Michael, you were right to kick her out!]
Michael had a business dinner tonight and had just finished when he got a nagging call from Sophia.
"Today is Valentine's Day. I've prepared a candlelit dinner at home. When are you coming back?"
Michael felt a bit irritated and loosened his tie.
The Johnson Group's losses hadn't been fully recovered yet. He was swamped every day and had no mind for holidays.
Sophia's romanticism could spark his pleasure and interest before.
But at a time like this, it just seemed really inappropriate.
As he reached his front door, he couldn't help missing how considerate Olivia had been.
She never seemed to make unreasonable demands when he was busy...
Right then, Chase's message came through.
As soon as he saw the photo, his expression darkened.
Though it was only a side view, and the man's face wasn't even captured, he could still see the man holding Bianca's hand with a gentle manner.
As for Olivia, her profile was in the frame, her pretty face wearing a bright smile.
She held a bouquet of roses in her hands, but she looked more radiant than the flowers.
Her style and appearance were completely different from before.
The sight made Michael inexplicably irritated.
When had this woman become so radiant?
She used to be so plain and boring, spending all day just hovering around the kids.
Such a big change all of a sudden—was it because of that man beside her?
His eyes darkened, and anger rose in his chest for no reason.
Especially seeing Bianca getting along so intimately with someone else made jealousy surge up.
Was she really planning to have his daughter call someone else daddy???
How dare Olivia?
His daughter, the Johnson family's bloodline—even if they were divorced, he would never allow anyone else to lay claim to her!
At this thought, Michael directly called Olivia.
But the call didn't go through.
Olivia had blocked him ages ago!
Furious, he was about to tell his driver to turn around and go to Olivia's place.
But before he could, he felt a sharp pain and numbness in his leg.
His expression changed slightly as he instinctively pressed on it, and the stabbing pain grew even stronger...
He frowned hard.
He'd been too busy lately, and no one had been helping him with treatment. This leg seemed to be acting up again.
Taking a deep breath, Michael had no choice but to let it go for now!