Olivia Sparks - Volume 1 Chapter 127 Flipped Like A Pancake

Mosqueda

Today was Ava’s last fitting for the gown that she would wear for the auction in two days and Olivia came in with her to pick up her purchase too.

Sitting by the boutique’s window, Olivia wrinkled her nose when Maxen’s question that morning echoed in her ears as she waited for Ava’s name to be called.

It was almost sundown, but the question followed her like a shadow all day and she couldn’t come up with an answer.

Normally, she could come up with answers to almost anything, so it puzzled her why she couldn’t think of what her goal in Pyxis was.

She knew she joined the organization because she wanted to follow her mother’s footsteps, and the longer she stayed, the more invested she was to the point of coveting the esteemed title of headmistress.

But everything changed when she stepped foot in the soils of her home country. Surrounded by eternal sunshine, excellent food, newfound friends and family, somehow, Olivia felt like slowing down in her fast-tracked life.

“Is this what they call a quarter life crisis?” she mumbled, tilting her head to the side, absentmindedly flipping the pages of the catalog in her hand.

“Don’t look up, Livi,” Ava warned through her smile as she waved hi to Natalia and Bella.

What Ava didn’t know was Olivia caught a whiff of their scent and she had an inkling who it was the instant they set foot inside the boutique.

“We meet again, Ava. What a small world.” Natalia exchanged pleasantries with Ava but scoffed when she glanced down at Oliva. Her nerves popped like purple veins on the length of her neck, furious at how Olivia ignored her presence.

“Hi.” Olivia flashed her a smile then moved on to greet Bella too.

In front of Olivia, Natalia’s hands balled into a fist when she cleared her throat and Olivia deliberately ignored her, flipping the pages of the catalog she had seen for the zillionth time.

Ava felt her armpit dampen at the situation. She wished Emily was with them to diffuse the situation. She eyed the room and chewed her lips when relief flooded her face when the head designer, Rui Mosqueda, stepped out of his office and gasped.

“My, my. My favorite muses are here! Ava and Olivia! Oooooh! Princess Natalia is here too. Today’s a lucky day, huh?”

Ava’s hand flew to her chest, catching her heart that almost fell from stress. She exchanged hugs with Rui, whispering cautions in his ear.

“If you could wait for us, Princess Natalia. I’ll settle them inside first then I’ll prepare another room for you and Ms. Bella.”

Natalia smiled at Rui. “Sure. We’ll be right here.”

With that, Rui gestured to his office, but just as Olivia took a step forward, Natalia blocked her way.

To their surprise, Shadow stepped out from the shadows and sandwiched her arm between Natalia and Olivia.

“Is there anything you wanted to say?” Olivia kept the smile on her smile when a yawn slipped her mouth, reminding her of how Maxen flipped her like a pancake last night, rendering her lack of sleep which begs the question why her patience ran thin at that moment.

“Are you scared of me, that’s why you had my number blocked, Olivia?” Natalia jutted her chin, arrogance painted her face, but it quickly fell when Olivia snorted.

“He did? He blocked your number?”

The smile on Olivia’s face irked Natalia to the core, she took a step forward but Shadow was swift to block her advances. “Stop pretending that you didn’t know, Olivia. And stop poisoning Maxen’s head.”

“Oh, dear.” Olivia let out a heavy sigh. “Do you want to say something to him? I can call him for you. I have his private number.” She winked, fishing her phone from her purse.

In front of her, Natalia smirked when Olivia’s screen was glaring on the former’s face. She thought how could Maxen fall for someone as klutz as Olivia who could not even discreetly use her phone.

Natalia held her breath, watching Olivia’s finger hover over Maxen’s phone number. She mentally inked the numbers in her head as it blinked on the screen. Two. One. Two. Seven.

“Oops. I almost forgot.” Olivia’s hand dramatically flew to her chest, ending the call. “He’s in a meeting right now. Sorry, Natalia. See that guy outside? He works for Maxen. You can give him your message and he’ll happily relay it to Maxen for you.”

Dense atmosphere filled the boutique as Olivia’s cool air clashed with Natalia’s blazing fire. And just as Natalia was to claw Olivia’s eyes, Rui Mosqueda clamped Natalia’s shoulders. “Darling, this is my assistant Ariadna and will be the one to take your measurement. I’ll check in on you after you try your gowns on. Yes?”

He blew out air in his pursed lips, thankful when Natalia didn’t put up a fight and followed Ariadna to one of the fitting rooms.

Once Ava, Olivia, and Rui were inside his office, they collectively giggled but Ava was quick to shush the rest.

“Gosh. Have you seen how purple she was?” Rui’s hand flew to his mouth, his eyes darted to the door’s direction. “What a waste Eli didn’t get to witness that.” Tutting, he went over to the mannequin and removed the gown he made for Ava.

She didn’t wait to be told and stepped on the fitting stage herself, stripping off her clothes and slipping in the white gown that Rui designed for her.

To Olivia and Rui’s surprise, Ava stomped her way outside. “What happened, Rui? I can’t breathe.”

“Really?” He grabbed a measuring tape, checking the notes on Ava’s last fitting and checked if the measurements were correct. “But we got the size right. Let me help you take it off and I’ll take your measurements one more time. Don’t worry, I’ll work on this overnight.”

Ava relaxed a bit when Rui hovered her and freed her from the gown’s suffocation.

“Do you want to know how many inches you gained in a week?” Rui glanced up, meeting Ava’s beady eyes. He should be scared when it narrowed in on him but he’s used to it so he just shrugged.

“No, don’t tell me.” She closed her eyes and felt Rui bolt away from her.

“Two inches.”

“RUI! Ugh. I think it’s the tarte au citron Ollie brought home this week. I didn’t stop until I finished the whole pie. Goodness. How am I going to fit in my gown?”

“Rui can fix that on the spot, so stop worrying about it. And stop munching on desserts. Are you pregnant? Ollie said he saw a pregnancy test in your ensuite.”

“Whaaat?” Rui and Ava cried in unison, their mouths hanging open as their heads snapped to where Olivia sat.

“What? No, it’s not mine. Can we focus on my gown? I’m stressing here, girls.” Ava did her best to change the topic, rubbing her forehead at the mention of that cursed kit.

She should have thrown that away but something told her to keep it and now that the siblings knew of its existence, only time could tell when the minefield would blow up on their faces. Her reverie was cut short when Rui tapped a box on his table.

“This one is yours, Livi darling.”

Oohs and aahs echoed in the room when Olivia opened her box, revealing a black leather ensemble.

“Are you sure you could wear that? It looks tight.” Ava ran her hand on the material, and a shiver ran down her spine.

A picture of her in that custom-made apparel and Oliver’s salivating face flashed in her head.

Suddenly, memories of that fateful night when he devoured her like a rabid dog all night long despite her caution that they shouldn’t be doing the deed as advised by the spa staff.

Her logical side of the brain told her that if she were to wear the same thing, she might end up in the hospital for exhaustion, so she shook the idea of getting the same thing for herself.

“It looks great. Do I need to skip a meal, Rui? I don’t want to look bloated while wearing this”

Olivia’s speech was interrupted when Ariadna knocked on the door. She called forth Rui who excused himself, leaving Ava and Olivia in the room.

Ava could feel Olivia sizing her up, as if lining up the barrage of questions in the latter’s mind. Lucky for her, Emily called at the perfect time.

Switching from call to video mode, they were greeted with Emily’s smiling face.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” Ava asked. She mentally noted the time difference between Nisia and Rio de Janeiro and it should be around dawn where Emily was at the moment.

“Jetlag, Mother Superior Ava. Don’t worry. I’m almost adjusting to the time zone. How’s the prep going on? Ooh, I see you’re in Mosquedaaaa. Yikes. Did you bump into Bella again?”

Olivia snorted. “Not just Bella. The spoiled princess is here too.”

“Ruiiiii! Hello hellooo!” Emily tweeted when Rui stepped into the room and was caught in the video frame. He held a finger up to his mouth and tiptoed to the sofa where the ladies were huddled up.

“Kaloka this princess.” He tapped Olivia’s shoulders, and a mute laugh escaped his lips. “She told me she doesn’t want her gown anymore and would have the same gown as you. I was about to tell her the specifics but she shushed me and left in a huff.”

Emily’s sweet laughter sent notes in the room, inviting the rest to laugh with her but they knew to tone it down just in case Natalia came back and was eavesdropping behind the door.

Glancing to her side, Olivia shrugged. “Then let her be. She asked for it.”