Chapter 8

"Olivia Young!" Regina's furious voice rang out behind her. Olivia simply smiled, unconcerned. She didn't notice the group of people approaching from the opposite direction. She continued on her way after brushing past them. "Move it. Why are you spacing out?" "Come on, Mr. Campbell, it's not like you've never seen a beauty. Is that really necessary?" "Still, that woman just now was really gorgeous." Olivia had delicate features and alluring eyes. She looked innocent yet inexplicably cold. She seemed approachable yet impossible to read. "Don't you already have a woman you admire, Mr. Campbell?" "That's someone he can only admire from afar. You guys probably won't get it." Blake Campbell's teammates teased him one after another. He merely smiled and tore away his gaze from Olivia. He was only there to make up the numbers. He hadn't expected to run into Olivia so soon. It almost felt like even fate was on his side. "Alright, that's enough. Who on earth managed to invite you, Mr. Campbell?" "I can't believe you flew back from overseas just for such a small tournament." "Honestly, if it weren't for you, we might have lost, Mr. Campbell." "In that case, we really should thank that mysterious person." "So, who is it?" Blake smiled. "First of all, I've graduated. Secondly, there's no such thing as a small tournament. As for who that person is… I'm afraid I can't disclose that." With that, he left, ignoring the groans behind him. He pulled out his phone and sent a message. "It's over. We won. Now, you owe me a meal." … As soon as Olivia reached the parking lot, she spotted a familiar black Bentley at the edge. It was understated yet impossible to miss. Her eyes were drawn to the license plate—712. Those three numbers were like sharp blades, stabbing right into her eyes. The pain spread through her body, causing her heart to tighten and twist in her chest. There was no doubt about it—that was Jasper's car. Every one of his vehicles carried those same three digits on the plate. Initially, she thought the date had special significance to him. Hence, one time, she rushed back on the 12th of July to surprise him, only to hear his gentle voice in the dark. "Happy birthday, Sage." Olivia had never heard him speak in such a gentle tone before. That night, she hid in the closet with the cake she had baked herself and didn't come out until she heard Jasper's car leave the villa the following day. She couldn't explain her actions. Perhaps she didn't want him to see her in such a pathetic state. She did look like a clown, after all. As long as he didn't see her, she could pretend nothing had happened and keep living in the beautiful fantasy she had created. Looking back on it now, she realized how foolish she had been. Olivia had just gotten into her car when she received a call from Caleb. "Oli, guess who I just saw?" Olivia had a pretty good idea. Before she could answer, he continued, "Your husband, Jasper. He came with the interviewee. That genius is called Sage Myers. Do you know her?" Her grip on her phone tightened. No wonder Jasper's car was here. She had assumed he had dropped off Regina here to watch the tournament, but it turned out he was here because of Sage. He was usually so busy that she could hardly catch him. Yet, for Sage, he could even make time for something as minor as an interview. Olivia sneered, "I know her. She's Jasper's mistress." Caleb caught on. No wonder the atmosphere between those two had felt so strange. After hearing the sound of papers flipping on the other end of the line and remembering how Caleb had praised Sage as a genius, Olivia couldn't help but say, "Caleb, if you hire her, I'm leaving." Even though that would make it much harder for her to return to the industry, she couldn't bring herself to work with Sage. Olivia wanted to stay far away from the two of them. "It's only at times like this that you're willing to treat me like a friend," Caleb teased. "Don't worry, she can't even hold a candle to you." The tension drained from her body. "However…" he added, causing her heart to lurch. "Even if she were unbelievably talented, I still wouldn't hire her." He sounded unusually serious. Olivia felt a warm current flow through her chest. Knowing he was making this decision for her, she sincerely said, "Thank you, Caleb. Really." "Don't thank me just yet. I didn't invite you to watch today's match for nothing. Remember to show up at the company with your optimization plan." "I will." After hanging up, she was about to start her car when she noticed Jasper and Sage walking toward her. His arm rested lightly around Sage's waist, shielding her from the crowd. It was as if he were afraid she might get bumped into. The scene reminded Olivia of when she had just gotten pregnant with Emilia and had dragged Jasper out to go shopping with her. At the time, he kept his distance from her. Had his grandmother, Lucinda Nelson, not insisted he go with her, he probably would've ditched her. No one who looked at them would've guessed that he was the father of the child she was carrying. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought they were strangers as well. Back at the present moment, Olivia smiled derisively as she watched the two before her. Jasper tilted his head slightly, listening attentively to Sage. Olivia had no idea what Sage said, but the man, who was always cold with her, curled his lips into a faint smile. They were the perfect picture of happiness. The very next second, Sage lowered her head to take a look at her phone, and her smile vanished. "What's wrong?" Her brows knitted together. "Latitude Games rejected me." How could that be? Sage couldn't wrap her head around this outcome. She and Caleb had gotten along so well earlier. He had clearly seemed impressed. Why would he turn her down so quickly? Sage was about to call Caleb and ask him about it when an excited voice rang out. "Jasper! Sage!" Regina hadn't expected to see her older brother and Sage here. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at school?" Jasper frowned. Regina was wearing a spaghetti-strap top, and she hadn't removed the stickers on her face. She couldn't help but feel a little scared when Jasper looked at her like that. So, she shrank behind Sage. "Why are you being so mean, Jasper? I took the day off. Besides, guess who I ran into here?" "She's still young." Sage squeezed Regina's hand before asking, "Who did you run into?" "Olivia!" Regina fumed as she recounted everything. Then, she said, "I called out to her, but she freaked out and just bolted! Olivia only dares act like that because Grandma likes her!" Regina became even more worked up as she went on, "Look at the kind of woman you married, Jasper!" Sage smiled. "Send me the details of the bag you want later, Gina. I'll ask my friend to buy it for you." "Whoa!" Regina threw her arms around Sage. "You're the best, Sage!" That still wasn't enough for her to vent her anger, so she turned to Jasper and added, "Only a woman as gentle and kind as Sage is suitable to be my sister-in-law!" Her words drifted into Olivia's ears. However, she ignored Regina. Olivia would just consider everything she had previously purchased for her as money wasted on a dog.