Chapter 137: Chapter 137
Olivia’s POV
I left the office with a forced smile plastered on my face, determined to act like everything was fine and normal with the world. Today was going to be drama-free. Chaos-free. And I’ll make sure of that.
Sure, Olivia. Keep deceiving yourself. Your life can never be free of drama as long as Maxwell is involved.
I carried the rejected coffee down the hallway to the men’s bathroom and dumped the good coffee down the sink. Such a waste. I watched the dark liquid swirl down the drain, then tossed the cup in the trash.
Back in the hallway, I headed toward the elevators, mentally calculating how long this errand would take. Taylor’s shop, wait for the tea, back up to Maxwell’s office - maybe fifteen minutes total if I was fast enough.
I reached the elevator and pressed the down button, waiting as the numbers above the door counted up.
Ding.
The doors slid open and someone literally fell out, stumbling forward and breathing heavily like they were being chased by demons.
I yelped in shock, jumping back and holding my chest as my heart tried to escape through my ribcage. "JESUS CHRIST!"
Julian straightened up, flipping his hair over his shoulder with a dramatic flair. Today he was wearing a stunning navy suit with subtle shimmer, his makeup absolutely flawless as always.
"OH MY GOD, JULIAN!" I pressed my hand over my racing heart. "You scared the shit out of me! What the hell is wrong with you? Is someone chasing you or something?"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" He waved his hands apologetically, though he didn’t look sorry at all. His eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Babe, I have some juicy tea to share with you and it absolutely cannot wait until lunch break!"
"Julian, I can’t right now..."
But he was already grabbing my arm with his strong hands, dragging me away from the elevators.
"No, no, no!" I tried to dig my heels in, but Julian was a force of nature and it seemed like the gossip was fueling him on. "Julian, stop! Maxwell is waiting for his iced tea! He’s going to kill me if I’m late!"
"The gist is WAY more important than Maxwell’s stupid tea," Julian insisted, pulling me down the hallway with determination. "Trust me, Oliver. You’re going to want to hear this."
Despite the fact that Maxwell would absolutely murder me for being late - probably in creative and painful ways - I was also curious. Julian only got this dramatic when the tea was scalding hot.
I made a show of struggling a little, protesting weakly, but I let him drag me into the men’s bathroom.
Once inside, he positioned me carefully so my back was to the mirror, facing him directly.
"Okay, okay, I’m here!" I said, glancing nervously at the door. "This better be good, Julian. Maxwell is going to have my head..."
"Babe, forget about what Maxwell will do to you for two seconds and just listen." He grabbed both my shoulders, his eyes filled with thrill. "I got this story from a very authentic source - and I mean very authentic - that Maxwell took Sabrina to a psychiatric facility this weekend!"
My mouth fell open. "WHAT?"
"Yes!" Julian nodded, "apparently, it all went down when Sabrina showed up at some fancy restaurant where Maxwell was having lunch with a woman..."
My heart stopped.
"...and Sabrina completely lost it. Like, full mental breakdown. She came in there with a GUN, Oliver. An actual gun!"
"Oh my God," I breathed, trying to sound shocked rather than like someone who’d had said gun pointed directly at them.
"I KNOW!" Julian’s hands flew up dramatically. "Can you imagine? In the middle of a five-star restaurant! Apparently, Maxwell managed to diffuse the situation somehow - because of course he did, the man is ice-cold under pressure - but then he took Sabrina straight from the restaurant to a psychiatric hospital. Didn’t even take her home first. Just went directly to the facility and had her admitted!"
My mind was racing, processing this information.
Oh my God. So that’s what happened after they left.
I’d spent the entire weekend thinking Maxwell had just taken Sabrina home, that they’d somehow worked things out, that maybe he was now committed to her again.
But no. He’d taken her straight to a psychiatric facility. Had her admitted.
Jesus. These people are damn crazy.
Maxwell had acted so calm that day in the restaurant. So controlled and collected, like he was simply escorting Sabrina home for a quiet conversation. But apparently, he’d had completely different plans. He’d known exactly what he was going to do.
This is so fucked up.
Part of me wanted to tell Julian that I was the woman at that restaurant. That I’d been the one Sabrina had pointed that gun at, that I’d felt the cold terror of staring at that gun while Maxwell sat there looking unbothered.
But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.
Instead, I looked at Julian suspiciously, my eyes narrowing. "Wait. How do you know all this? Who told you?"
Julian’s expression shifted slightly - just a flicker of something - and then his gaze moved past me, landing on something in the mirror behind me.
He froze.
Completely froze, his eyes going wide, his mouth forming a perfect ’O’ of shock.
"Oh baby..." he said slowly, his voice completely different now. Not excited gossip voice. Something more serious. Almost alarmed.
Fear gripped me immediately. "What? What’s wrong?"
"Olivia..." Julian’s eyes were still fixed on whatever he was seeing in the mirror behind me.
"WHAT?" I started to turn around to look at the mirror myself.
And that’s when I saw it.
Blood.
A small round stain on the back of my blue trousers. Right on the seat of my pants.
Oh SHIT.
My period. My fucking period had started.
How did it come this early? It’s not supposed to start until next week!
Panic exploded through my chest. I whirled back around to face Julian, my hands flying back to cover the stain.
"Oh my God," I whispered, my voice tight with horror. "Oh my God, Julian, what am I going to do? How do I fix this?"