Chapter 18 As Grace spoke, her eyes grew misty, as if she were lost in the past. EX 65 vouchers Olivia stood up, walked over, and hugged Grace, gently comforting her. "Grandma Grace, it's not your fault. They have had their eyes on me for ages. The Shermans just got a little benefit and couldn't wait to sell me out. *Grandma, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. So please, don't blame yourself," Olivia said, her eyes filled with a tenderness she'd never shown before. "My little Olivia has grown up..." Grace traced Olivia's cheek with tender fingers. "Don't let hatred hold you back, sweetheart. Your future's just beginning-full of opportunities waiting for you. I hope you'll go to Kingtonelle. That's where you belong, where you can shine." Grace had seen too much in her life-too many joys and sorrows-and had learned to let go of many things. She didn't want Olivia to be trapped by hatred. Olivia nodded, just playing along, but in her heart, she wasn't buying it. The grudge she held against the Shermans ran deep; she would never let it go. "I'll listen to you, Grandma," Olivia replied sweetly. "Once I get to Kingtonelle, I'll open a bookstore for you. Sean can handle the coffee, and you can just spend your days reading and relaxing." Grace gently patted Olivia's head, her eyes filled with relief and affection. 'My little Olivia is so sweet and sensible. How could her own family ever bear to let her go?' she thought. "But you still need to keep up with your studies. The Shermans have already wasted so much of your time. They can't be allowed to ruin your whole life," Grace said, pulling out a plastic bag stuffed with loose change. She started counting it carefully. After a moment, she pressed the entire bag into Olivia's hands. "Nowadays, folks look down on you without a degree. I've been saving this for you-use it for tuition, alright? "Promise me you'll keep studying." She paused, and then added quietly, "I heard the Sherman's kid is top of her class at Kingtonelle University's Design Department..." Olivia looked at the pile of money, small bills and coins. She knew every bit of it had been scraped together by Grace, selling herbs and washing clothes for others, saving up little by little. Olivia's heart ached. She gently pushed the money away. "Grandma, I've told you-I've got money now. You don't need to work so hard. Let me take care of you." She guided Grace to a chair and began kneading her shoulders. "Look how tense you are." "Sean, don't mess with Jenny. Go get the herbal tea," Olivia said, wrapping her arm around Grace's shoulders and continuing to massage her. "Grandma, you really don't need to keep working. I can make enough money for both of us." Sean, who had been playing with Jenny, froze at Olivia's words. He looked like a kid caught doing something wrong, quickly scurrying off to mix up the herbal tea. He came back with two big bottles, still chewing on some of the leftover herbs from the tea. Seeing Sean, Olivia shook her head. Grace chuckled. "With Sean's appetite, I'd go broke if I stopped working! The boy eats like a black hole-seven or eight meals a day. "Last week, I took him for sandwiches. The vendor made one, and he devoured it. He wolfed down more than fifty on the 1/3 8:51 pm Chapter 18 55 vouchers spot. Then he packed another hundred to go. Still hungry? You bet. By the time we got home, he'd polished off half a pot of pasta." Olivia shot Sean a look. Sean pursed his lips and lowered his head. "He's still growing, so it's normal for him to eat a lot," Olivia said. "Yeah, being able to eat is a blessing," Grace laughed. "But it really freaked out the vendor." Olivia laughed too. "Sean, don't eat like that when you're out, okay? If you ever go to a buffet, they'll probably put you on their blacklist." Sean cocked his head, pretending he didn't get it, and then happily trotted off to bed. Grace kept on, "I've been talking about Sean, but what about you? Because of the Shermans, you missed out on so much schooling. You can't just stop at middle school. I know a few principals. I could pull some strings and get you into high school..." "Grandma, really, you don't have to," Olivia cut her off with a sigh, thinking, 'Honestly, with my abilities, I could get into any college-here or abroad. Why go back?' Then she explained, "Right now, I just want to make a lot of money, not go back to school." Grace had watched Olivia grow into her stubbornness and knew better than to argue. Still, she began silently compiling a list of old contacts-maybe someone could nudge Olivia back to school. And Sean needed structure too; he couldn't spend his days eating and napping like a housecat. After finishing the massage, Olivia went inside and hauled Sean up, who was dozing off against Jenny. Sean looked dazed as he was lifted, waving his little arms and glancing up at her, confused. "Quit sleeping," Olivia said, her gaze lowered. "Time to get moving." Snowflakes started falling again, swirling through the air. Olivia glanced up at the sky and said calmly, "Let's start with Natalie." At that, Sean cracked a wicked grin, his blue eyes flashing green as he pointed to his ear. "Hear right? I. Beat?" Olivia dropped him down and dusted off her hands. "You've stuffed yourself with all those sandwiches-go work them off. Have fun, but try not to get anyone killed, okay?" Sean, given the green light, somehow produced a hammer out of thin air and hopped out the door. Nobody realized that this scatterbrained kid was actually Mystery-the legendary troublemaker every big corporation had been chasing with sky- high bounties for years. It wasn't so much that Olivia picked up Sean; he just tagged along and never left. The first time she met him, he was wrestling a vicious dog for a piece of bread. Olivia saw he could fight, so she had a brawl with him herself. After Sean lost, he just stuck to her like glue. Olivia figured Grace was bored, so she brought Sean home to keep things lively. Over the years in Willow Lane, his power level kept rising.. He got so strong that even Olivia started to feel outmatched when they sparred. With skills like that, Olivia made him her go-to guy for beating people up and causing trouble. But after all this time, she still hadn't dug up anything about Sean's background. As for Sean, he seemed to have forgotten 2/3 8:51 pm Chapter 18 everything about his past. These days, all he ever did was cat and sleep. 55 vouchers At the Sherman villa, Ethan sat in the living room with a frosty look, tossing a photo onto the table. "Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, just a heads-up. The person in this photo is someone the Shea family is after. You'd better not try to hide anything." William forced a smile as he picked up the photo, his eyes going wide. 'Isn't this Olivia? What did this girl do to get on the Shea family's bad side again?' he wondered. William explained, "Mr. Shea, we... we honestly have no idea where she is. She was just a poor student we sponsored. That's all." Cheryl, standing nearby, frowned in confusion, "It's her?" Margaret immediately tried to distance herself, afraid of getting dragged in. "Whatever she's done, it has nothing to do with us. Please, don't misunderstand." Then Margaret leaned in close to William and whispered, "That little brat must've stirred up trouble outside and used the Sherman name, hoping we'd clean up her mess. If you don't want to get on the Shea family's bad side, you'd better cut ties with her quickly." 3/3 AD Comment Freelance photographer Violet Beck is forced into an engagement with CEO Roy Payne. He is everything her wild heart rebels against: proper, predictable, and painfully kind. But love has a way of devel...