Chapter 183: A Friend's Consolation

Chapter 183: A Friend's Consolation

Olivia had no idea what was happening on Jennifer's end. She and Sophie safely escorted the children back to the arranged hotel. After playing with the kids for a bit, they left the hotel.

Back at the parking lot near the charity gala venue, Cameron was already waiting by the car. Seeing Olivia and Sophie approaching, he got out first.

He greeted them with a gentle expression. "How did it go with the kids?"

Olivia's expression was indifferent.

"Fine."

"Jennifer seemed a bit unwell and probably went to the hospital. If you're worried, I suggest you go check on her, just in case something happens."

Learning that Jennifer was unwell, Cameron only hesitated briefly. He had no intention of going to see Jennifer.

"It's getting late. Let me drive you both home."

Since it was late and hard to get a cab, Olivia didn't refuse Cameron's offer. She and Sophie sat in the back seat while Cameron had the driver get out so he could drive himself.

On the road, Olivia leaned back and closed her eyes to rest.

Sophie sensed something was off with the atmosphere. She took out her phone to play with it, hoping they'd get home quickly.

Knowing Olivia was tired and exhausted, Cameron didn't deliberately slow down like he usually did when alone with Olivia. Instead, he drove at normal speed and got them home on schedule.

Olivia just didn't want to talk to Cameron, so she deliberately closed her eyes to rest.

When the car slowly came to a stop, Olivia opened her eyes. She thanked him calmly and got out first.

Sophie also thanked him and got out.

After being away for a week, coming home felt somewhat dreamlike to Olivia. Everything she'd experienced before felt completely unreal—now she had woken from the dream.

But was it a sweet dream or just wishful thinking?

She certainly wanted to take this chance to distance herself from Cameron.

But Cameron was too hard to fool.

"Olivia, are you okay?" Sophie asked with concern.

Olivia used the motion of taking off her coat to hide her current emotions. She smiled and shook her head. "Maybe I'm just a bit tired. I'll be fine after some sleep."

Sophie stared at the jade necklace around Olivia's neck.

"I really don't understand what he's trying to do."

Hearing Sophie's comment, Olivia said, "Who knows what he's thinking? He never plays by the rules. I doubt anyone in this world who truly understands him has even been born yet."

Sophie completely agreed with that.

"Alright, should we both get some rest early?"

Just then, Justin rushed back. After getting the news from Jared, he was shocked and blamed himself, wondering if something had gone wrong on his end.

He hurried back. "Olivia!"

Olivia and Sophie exchanged glances, and both shook their heads helplessly.

Sophie went to wash up first.

Olivia sat in the living room, waiting for Justin to come in. "It's late at night, keep it down or the neighbors will complain."

Seeing Olivia sitting there perfectly fine, with that jade necklace especially prominent around her neck, Justin froze for a moment and changed his shoes somewhat slowly.

His brain couldn't quite process what was happening.

"Olivia, what's going on with you guys..."

"We were discovered, so the plan had to be cancelled," Olivia explained simply. She had already accepted this fact and could only think of another way.

Perhaps if she left normally, things wouldn't be so complicated.

Either way, she was going to leave.

Justin asked weakly, "Olivia, did he notice something from me?"

"I'm afraid he didn't believe it from the start, so it's not your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's that we're no match for him." Even before marrying Cameron, Olivia had heard many stories about him.

And the fact that Cameron could hold steady as CEO of the Hayes Group showed he was no simple person.

Justin sighed, still feeling that Cameron's visits to him those few days had been ill-intentioned.

But things were already like this, and there was nothing he could do.

Olivia looked at Justin. "Justin, stop overthinking and blaming yourself. Tell me, how are things going with you and Charlotte? Are you two getting along well?"

Mentioning Charlotte improved Justin's mood considerably.

"Pretty good."

"That's good. Has Mrs. York been bothering you?" Olivia felt that the obstacle between Justin and Charlotte was Rowan.

Justin shrugged somewhat helplessly.

"Not recently. Charlotte probably went back and did some convincing."

"If you need help with anything, remember to tell me." Olivia knew Justin always shared good news but not bad, keeping many feelings buried inside.

Justin felt things with Charlotte were going quite well and believed that as long as he worked hard, he could definitely change Rowan's opinion of him.

They chatted briefly before each returning to their rooms to rest.

After showering, Olivia lay exhausted on her bed.

But she still habitually checked her phone and saw Cameron's message: [I'm home.]

Olivia hesitated for a few seconds before choosing to ignore the message.

But what Olivia didn't notice was that the app Cameron used to message her showed whether messages had been read—she had left him on read.

Seeing the message left on read, Cameron felt a bit hurt.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

"Cameron, why do you do this to yourself?" After the charity gala ended, Quinn had arranged to meet Cameron at a club, just the two of them.

Cameron glanced sideways at Quinn, not wanting to talk.

Quinn Guest was Cameron's friend. He'd been living abroad and only recently returned to the country. He naturally knew about Cameron and Olivia's situation.

"I think you've just been pushing Olivia too hard, so she'd rather 'die' than stay by your side, you know?"

Cameron gave a wry smile. "What do you know."

Quinn wasn't happy about that. He was a veteran in romance after all, yet Cameron said he knew nothing. "Cameron, tell me yourself, how many times have you been in love?"

"Honestly, Olivia has been really good to you."

"During those three years, besides Olivia, who else truly cared about you?"

"They say adversity reveals true friendship—why don't you believe it?"

Cameron looked down, a bitter smile on his lips. "What if I told you that what she did actually had her own motives, that it was for money—would you still say that?"

Quinn paused. "You mean Olivia married you for money back then?"

Cameron didn't speak, as if confirming it.

As an observer, Quinn remained calm and didn't jump to conclusions.

"How much money did she take?"

Cameron shook his head. He'd seen evidence from Jennifer and Everett, but he hadn't looked at the details because he couldn't accept this harsh reality.

Quinn was speechless. "So what did she need the money for?"

Cameron fell silent again.

Quinn reached out and patted Cameron's shoulder hard, as if trying to wake him up. "I think you should investigate what really happened back then and not let people with ulterior motives cloud your judgment."

"If you push her away, you'll never get another chance."