Chapter 270: I Remained Silent

After Brandon said those words, Olivia couldn't hear anything around her.

It was as if the whole world had gone quiet, with only her pounding heartbeat, loud enough to be almost deafening.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she finally managed to find her voice again, rough and hoarse. She stared at Brandon. "You... what did you just say?"

Brandon remained calm the whole time. His eyes stayed on Olivia, not shifting away at any moment. He simply repeated, "Will you marry me?"

Olivia's mind went blank again.

Brandon didn't rush her. His eyes were softer and more patient than ever before, unshakeable, wrapping Olivia up in their gaze and leaving her nowhere to escape.

Olivia took a deep breath. She pressed her lips together as countless memories came flooding back.

All the times he risked his life to save her, the unwavering support and companionship, the eyes that met hers between life and death, and those few nights sharing a bed.

Olivia's frantic heartbeat gradually calmed.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself. Hadn't she already figured this out long ago?

She had known how she felt for a long time, but for one reason or another, she had never been able to bring herself to say it.

Olivia lifted her head to look at Brandon, meeting those familiar deep gray eyes.

She heard her own voice, steady, serious, sincere, with a barely noticeable tremor. "Yes. I'm willing to marry you..."

The rest of her words were swallowed up in Brandon's intense and passionate kiss. Olivia hadn't even reacted when everything went blurry and she found herself tightly held in Brandon's arms.

His kiss was light and clean, yet carried an undeniable dominance and obsession. His large hand held Olivia's waist tightly. Olivia could barely breathe and was soon left gasping for air.

Her vision kept going dark around the edges. Olivia instinctively slapped Brandon's shoulder hard twice, but he only held her tighter.

By the time Brandon finally let her go, Olivia had gone limp, her breathing coming in ragged gasps as she collapsed into his arms, gaze unfocused.

She struggled to catch her breath, momentarily wondering if Brandon was going to devour her alive.

In contrast, Brandon was frighteningly calm.

His breathing was only slightly irregular. He naturally lifted his hand to wipe the corner of Olivia's mouth, then leaned in again for another long, deep kiss.

Olivia felt like she was going to be completely consumed by him.

Finally, when Brandon released her, Olivia recoiled, pushing him away as hard as she could. "Enough, that's enough..."

Brandon chuckled softly, holding her tight. Beneath her palms, his firm chest vibrated with the sound. Olivia's face burned red.

She bit her lip awkwardly and pulled her hand back, but the next second, Brandon pressed it back on him.

Olivia suddenly looked up at him in shock. There was a smile in Brandon's eyes. "You can touch. I know you like it. You've been stealing looks for a long time."

"I... I... I have not! When did I ever sneak looks!"

Olivia stammered and shook her head frantically. Brandon's smile only deepened. "That time when I was drunk, I woke up and saw you staring at me."

Olivia's mind went blank again, uncontrollably recalling that drunken incident, waking up in the morning to the delicious sight of the naked body beside her.

Heat rushed to her face. Olivia quickly covered her nose and closed her eyes to avoid looking at Brandon. "You, you must have seen wrong! Yes, that was it!"

Watching Olivia close her eyes and deceive herself, Brandon finally laughed out loud.

He leaned down and pulled Olivia into his arms. Olivia was uncomfortable at first, but after a while, she relaxed her body.

Her tired and injured body seemed to have found a long-lost harbor, and she went limp uncontrollably.

Half an hour later.

Brandon lay her flat on the bed, gazing at Olivia's sleeping face, his eyes lowered.

She was too weak.

She had already been in a serious car accident two years ago, and during this time, not only had she not gotten proper rest, but she had also gone through many difficulties and suffered many injuries.

Even in her sleep, her brow was slightly furrowed, as if something troubled her even in her dreams.

Brandon leaned down and gently kissed her brow. After a long while, he straightened up, and those fine lines finally smoothed out.

He watched her, and after who knows how long, Brandon finally got up.

With one last lingering look at Olivia, Brandon walked out the door, his expression gradually turning cold.

Looking up, he saw exactly who he expected to see.

Selene stared at Brandon, her eyes cold, filled with deep, aching disappointment and hurt.

She took a deep breath and said coldly, "I will never allow her to marry into the Robinson family, unless I’m dead!"

Brandon looked back at her blankly.

"My wife can only be Olivia. If you can't accept it, that's your problem. Next month, we will get married as planned."

With that, he got up to leave.

Selene was instantly furious. Her whole body trembled, and she suddenly rushed forward and shouted, "What do you mean?"

"So now, for her sake, you're going to kill me Brandon, is this what your upbringing taught you? Is this your conscience? I'm your mother, the one who gave birth to you. The one who raised you! She's just some whore from a brothel!"

Brandon suddenly stopped in his tracks. Selene instinctively did it too, then opened her mouth to start going at it again.

"How did my father die?" He asked, making her voice stop abruptly.

Brandon slowly turned around, expressionlessly watching the woman who was his mother only in name.

"You... what do you mean?"

Selene's whole body trembled. Her lips quivered as she stared in disbelief at Brandon before her, as if looking at something terrifying.

Brandon's thin lips parted, his voice cold as ice. "Back then, you and Father were a good match. To marry into the Robinson family and keep up the Caldwell family's reputation, you drugged my father and forced him to have sex with you, then had me."

"Father was disgusted by you because of this, and he hated me, too. After giving birth to me, to please him, you sent me back to the country and left me to be raised by my grandmother."

"And you stayed abroad, keeping a tight grip on father, not allowing any woman to get too close, until him fell in love with someone else and asked for a divorce. Then you killed him."

As Brandon spoke, Selene's face grew paler and paler, turning blue. She staggered backward, hitting the railing beside her, barely managing to stay on her feet.

She stared at Brandon, her eyes gray, defeated, and terrified, her whole body shaking wildly.

Brandon looked down at her, his eyes completely indifferent.

"There are many things that just because I don't say, doesn't mean I don't know. I've never gotten involved in your affairs with father. To me, you were both irresponsible abandoners with no sense of duty. You gave me my life, so I kept silent."