Chapter 280 As Beautiful as at the Beginning

Chapter 280 As Beautiful as at the Beginning

The ropes came loose. With the anesthetic still in her system, Olivia's body went limp, and she slid off the chair, but Brandon caught her in time.

His gaze swept over her red, swollen wrists, then dropped to the knife wound on her neck. It felt like someone was twisting a blade in his chest.

Olivia, however, let out a huge breath of relief and lifted her arms to cling to him.

Wrapped in his familiar, clean scent, the composure she'd been forcing herself to maintain instantly shattered. She just couldn't stop trembling.

The fear, the tension, the suffocating sense of having just walked along the edge of death all surged back at once.

Brandon gently patted her back, his voice low and steady as he murmured to her, patiently waiting for her to calm down.

After what felt like forever, Olivia's trembling finally began to ease.

Just then, two police officers came over to ask what had happened. Olivia lifted her head, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and briefly went over the events of the day.

At the end, she couldn't help asking, "By the way, how did you get here so quickly?"

The lead officer looked slightly surprised and answered honestly, "Mr. Robinson called it in. He gave us your exact location, so we rushed right over."

Olivia instinctively turned to look at Brandon.

But he stayed quiet, offering no explanation, his eyes unreadable.

In front of the police, Olivia didn't press him. She just gave a faint smile and let it pass.

After they finished giving their statements, they got in the car and drove back in silence.

The car pulled up to the Robinson family villa and Brandon helped Olivia get inside the house, but as soon as the door closed behind them, Olivia immediately looked up at him.

Their eyes met. Brandon seemed to already know what she was going to ask. His expression remained as calm as ever as he guided her to the sofa and gently sat her down, then he crouched in front of her so he could look her in the eye.

Under his gaze, Olivia felt a little embarrassed, but as she thought of what had just happened, her expression grew serious.

"Now, can you tell me? How exactly did you know something happened to me and even find my exact location?"

Brandon fell silent. After a while, he took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.

Almost at the same time, Olivia's phone buzzed softly in her pocket.

Puzzled, she took it out and unlocked it. A location tracking app she'd never seen before popped up at once. The little dot was updating in real time, precisely showing where she was at that moment.

Olivia's pupils contracted. She stared at the screen in disbelief, and then anger rushed up inside her.

"Brandon! How could you do this? You're spying on me?" Her voice was sharp with anger. "You put a tracker on my phone! Do you know what you did is illegal?"

"I know."

Faced with her questioning, Brandon stayed as calm and composed as ever, almost as if he'd been waiting for this moment.

Olivia was so furious her head spun. She opened her mouth to say more, then suddenly thought of something.

The next second, she snapped her head up, her tone even more serious. "Last time, when I was in danger on the mountain road, you got there so fast. I thought it was just a coincidence... So it wasn't a coincidence at all. You've been tracking my location this whole time!"

The more she said it out loud, the more unacceptable it felt. She took a small step back.

But Brandon stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace before she could retreat any farther, holding her so firmly she couldn't break free.

"You're right. I admit what I did was wrong, but I can't seem to control it. Ever since you were kidnapped that time, I haven't been able to handle it."

His voice was low, thick with long-suppressed fear and tension. "I can't stand not knowing where you are, not knowing if you're safe. Just thinking something might happen to you, I..."

He paused, resting his chin lightly on top of her head, his voice turning hoarse. "I can't control it."

His arms tightened slightly around her, his tone carrying a hint of panic and helplessness he usually never showed.

"Olivia, I've never cared this much about anyone before. Every second you're not where I can see you, I'm on edge, afraid you'll be in danger again, afraid I won't get there in time."

Olivia's heart gave a jolt. For a moment, she couldn't find any words. After a long silence, she said softly, "Even if you're worried about me, you shouldn't use this method. I can protect myself..."

"Can you really? Then what about this time?"

Brandon let her go and looked down at her.

That question cut straight through the calm she was trying to hold on to. Olivia's emotions suddenly spun out of control, and she snapped, "Even if accidents happen, I don't want to be monitored all the time! I'm not a criminal. I don't need you watching me like this!"

The room went instantly quiet.

The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the sound of their uneven breathing.

After a long moment, Brandon was the first to back down.

He silently took out his phone again, unlocked it, and held it out to Olivia.

"I know this was wrong," he said, his voice low and hoarse, threaded with a hint of self-mockery. "Letting you find out today was also my way of forcing myself to face it, to give myself some restraint. From now on, I'll do my best to respect you, and I won't tie you down like this anymore."

Olivia looked at the phone in his hand, then up at the genuine fear and regret in his eyes. She pressed her lips together and finally let out a quiet sigh.

"Brandon, I..."

Brandon drew her back into his arms, his hold firm but gentle. "I'm sorry. I really do know I was wrong. I hope we can talk about this openly, and I hope this will be a reminder to me. Olivia, whatever happens, I don't want any more accidents between us."

Olivia leaned against him, feeling his unsteady breathing. It was the first time she'd sensed such deep insecurity from him.

She couldn't help but go still.

After a long time, she sighed and lifted her arms to hug him back.

Brandon lowered his gaze, a faint warmth flickering in his eyes as he looked at her; his eyes were full of surprise and apology.

The light fell across his sharply defined profile, his lashes casting a shadow as he lowered his eyes. Olivia watched him, momentarily lost in thought.

She had never been so clearly aware as she was now that in this relationship, Brandon had been the anxious one all along, constantly afraid of losing her.

At the root of it, she had never given him enough solid reassurance.

Thinking of this, Olivia rose on her toes and kissed him.

At first, it was just a light touch, carrying apology and comfort.

Brandon froze for a second, then slid a hand around her waist and slowly deepened the kiss. Their breaths tangled, full of the fierce relief of losing something and finding it again, and of burning affection.

The temperature in the room slowly rose. The atmosphere turned soft and heated, their heartbeats thudding in time.

Just as the emotion threatened to spill over, Brandon forced himself to stop. He pressed his forehead against hers, his breathing slightly rough, his voice low and a little husky with amusement.

"Not waiting until the wedding day anymore?"

Olivia laughed at that. "I'm not that conservative."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she leaned in again and covered his lips with hers, letting go of all her anxiety and doubts, throwing herself completely into the real embrace in front of her.

Outside the window, the night lay quiet. Everything was as peaceful as before.
 [The end.]