Chapter_215
Olivia was taken aback when Tyler asked if she wanted to leave the house. It was a question she hadn’t expected, given the quiet solitude she had come to enjoy in her room. She thought for a moment, then answered softly, “I’m fine here. I don’t need to go anywhere.”
Tyler, ever the attentive figure, simply nodded. “Okay, let me know if you feel bored.”
“I will,” Olivia replied, her voice betraying a slight warmth at his care.
After breakfast, Tyler excused himself. Before leaving, he gave the maid instructions to buy two books on flower arranging for Olivia and asked her to invite Colleen over to keep her company. The maid promptly carried out his request, reaching out to Colleen soon after Tyler departed.
Olivia was relaxing in her room when Colleen arrived, practically bursting with energy. “Come on, we’re going to have some fun!” she announced, her enthusiasm infectious.
Olivia, though surprised by the sudden invitation, let Colleen pull her out of the room. She followed her through the house, still adjusting to the new pace of life here. Colleen led her to Maisy’s room, where they spent the afternoon watching opera on TV. Olivia struggled to follow the complex performances, the melodies dizzying and hard to grasp, but the hours passed quickly all the same.
As evening approached, Colleen showed no signs of slowing down. She insisted on taking Olivia for a walk around the house. Olivia followed her out onto the lawn, where the sight of dandelions floating through the air captivated her attention. She caught a few of the tiny seeds in her hand, watching them drift like delicate dreams.
“Isn’t it pretty, Olivia?” Colleen asked, her smile warm and eager.
Olivia, feeling a lightness she hadn’t experienced in days, smiled back. “Yeah, it’s very pretty.”
But Colleen wasn’t finished yet. She wanted to go shopping, despite Olivia’s exhaustion from the day’s events. Colleen, always full of energy, even managed to get Tyler’s approval to go. Olivia, though tired, agreed to accompany her, not wanting to disappoint her.
Tyler, after finishing his meetings, gave a brief nod. “I’ll pick you up later.”
Shopping with Colleen was an experience unlike any Olivia had known. Colleen led her through the high-end boutiques, places Olivia had only seen from a distance, where the items on display seemed more like art than anything she could afford. They browsed through elegant dresses, shoes, and bags, but Colleen didn’t find anything to her liking.
Olivia, drained by the endless rounds of looking, longed to return home. The bright lights, the hustle, and the extravagant displays felt overwhelming. Just as her patience was wearing thin, Tyler arrived—like a knight in shining armor.
Colleen greeted him with her usual excitement. “Tyler! You’re here!”
Tyler, dressed in a black suit that effortlessly combined casual elegance with sophistication, approached them with a calm demeanor. “What did you buy?” he asked, his eyes moving between Colleen and Olivia.
“The new arrivals are ugly, so I didn’t buy anything,” Colleen pouted, her playful tone evident.
He turned to Olivia, his gaze softening. “Did you see anything you liked?”
Olivia, who hadn’t been interested in shopping to begin with, shook her head. “No,” she said quietly, her eyes avoiding the rows of bags and shoes that had never appealed to her.
Tyler raised an eyebrow, his assumption about young women and their love for material things not entirely wrong. “None of the bags caught your attention?”
Olivia glanced at the bags briefly but remained unmoved. “No.”
Colleen, always one for teasing, couldn’t resist. “Just because she says no doesn’t mean she doesn’t want anything. Don’t be so tight with your money!” She grinned at Tyler, determined to coax him into spending.
Tyler, however, just smiled at her playful persistence. He didn’t need to say much; his attention was still on Olivia, watching her quietly.