SWNOVELS Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Olivia had a task at hand, but she canceled it so she could meet the charming little boy.
In the morning, she changed into casual clothes and casually brushed her short hair behind her ears.
After entering college, she had always had short hair.
Before the start of the school year, she went to a nearby hair salon to get her hair cut. As the hairdresser touched her jet-black and resilient hair, he thought it was quite a pity to cut it. He recommended that she get a big wavy hairstyle, mentioning that her hair had the best texture he had ever seen. He thought it would be a shame to cut it.
Olivia insisted on getting her hair cut, so the hairdresser gave her a shoulder-length medium haircut. It was not as short as she initially requested, but it still looked very neat.
For all these years, she had been wearing this hairstyle. At that time, she did not think much of it, but later, she noticed that many people cut their hair in such a way that the end result was a hairstyle similar to hers. Apparently, there was even a nice-sounding name for this hairstyle. It was called "the first-love hairstyle."
Olivia rarely got up so early. The servant downstairs was surprised when she saw Olivia.
The maid who specifically served Olivia was called Lily Bennett. She was a capable woman in her thirties.
After taking care of Olivia for a few days, Lily had already gotten a rough sense of Olivia's temperament. She led Olivia directly to the dining room, poured a glass of milk for her, and then asked, "Would you like to wait for everyone to eat together, or would you like to have your meal first?"
It was currently half past seven in the morning. The Taylor family had breakfast at eight o'clock.
"When will Grandpa have breakfast?" Olivia asked.
"Mr. Taylor gets up early," Lily said. "He usually comes downstairs around six o'clock to have breakfast. After eating, he goes out for a stroll."
"I see," Olivia said. Upon hearing that her grandfather had already had breakfast, Olivia lost enthusiasm. She decided to go ahead and eat.
Following that, Lily said, "Mr. Samuel, Mrs. Amelia, and Mr. David have
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already gone to the hospital. Only Mr. William is at home. Would you like to wait for a while, Miss Olivia?"
"William?" Olivia thought.
Olivia nodded and said, "Alright. I'll have breakfast with William." William was a very disciplined person who had a sense of punctuality. If he said he would have breakfast at eight o'clock, he would be at the dining hall at eight o'clock on the dot without being even a minute late. While William was coming downstairs, he frowned as if pondering something. However, upon seeing Olivia in the dining room, his facial expression instantly softened. His clear eyes curved into a gentle smile. "Olivia," he called her.
William was really likable. Even though Olivia had only seen him twice and was unfamiliar with him, she could not help but feel a sense of closeness when faced with such a smiling expression. She nodded and smiled at him, saying, "William."
Upon hearing Olivia greet him, the smile on William's face became even more pronounced.
As they sat down to have breakfast together, William brought up two matters. The first matter was about the shares that Liam announced the previous night. William said Olivia would have to meet with the lawyer later to sign some documents.
Olivia nodded, indicating that she understood.
The other matter was about Abigail's dereliction of duty the previous night. William explained the details, including Grace's involvement in devising the scheme.
"They have been dismissed," William said. "Olivia, don't worry. I won't allow anyone to bully you." William's voice was gentle and pleasing, like the warm and intoxicating spring breeze. However, the words he spoke carried a chilling sense of menace.
"Olivia, forgive me that I can only dismiss them," William continued. "It's not a good idea to handle such matters privately in today's society. However, as long as you wish, I can make it difficult for them to stay in Evervale. Even if they go to other cities, they won't be able to get a suitable job."
With just one remark, Olivia could ban them from getting a job in the future.
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Olivia was holding a potato wedge.
The Taylor family rarely had such a simple and common breakfast on their dining table. It was Lily who instructed the kitchen to prepare this after Olivia returned.
Lily was the one assigned by William to Olivia. William pre-arranged everything regarding the search for Olivia, including her room in the Taylor family's home and Lily, who was dedicated to serving Olivia. Due
to an urgent matter abroad, William had no choice but to go overseas. Otherwise, he would have personally picked up Olivia and brought her back to the Taylor family's home.
Even though William was not in the country, he was well aware of everything happening to the Taylor family. He knew all the details like the back of his hand. It was just that he was too far away, so he could no intervene.
He would resolve all the matters when he returned this time around. Olivia was his younger sister.
He would let no one bully his sister.
After hearing William mention banning Grace from getting a job, Olivia said nothing. She simply took a bite of her potato wedge and chewed slowly before swallowing. Then, she said, "Isn't she Emma's assistant?" The implication was that if William handled Emma's assistant this way, would Emma not be displeased?
William perceived the implied meaning in Olivia's question. He did not directly promise that he would deal with Grace that way. Instead, he brought up another matter. "In the second half of the year, David will go to Gorshire for a year-long exchange program," he said.
Olivia looked up and stared at William in astonishment.
William responded with a gentle smile, his tone casual. "He's an adult. now," he said. "He is no longer a kid. He should face the consequences since he dares to lay a hand on his sister."
Upon saying that, William extended his hand, wanting to pat Olivia's head.
Olivia instinctively pulled away. William's left hand paused in mid-air for a moment. It tensed up. He then slowly withdrew it.
Knowing that his sister was still distant from him, William felt somewhat disappointed. However, the sense of heartache was stronger.
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He said, "Olivia, you're my sister. In my heart, you're just as important as David. This is your home. Here, no one matters more than you. If you encounter anything that upsets you, say it directly. You don't need to hold back. I'm here. I've got your back."
Olivia turned her head. A teardrop fell into the bowl with warm cereal. Upon seeing this, William sighed and lifted his hand again to pat her head.
This time, Olivia did not pull away.
As William touched his sister's soft head, his eyes became slightly teary. "Remember, no one should ever make you feel wronged," he said. Upon hearing these words, Olivia did not speak. Instead, she smiled subtly.
She thought, "So this is what it feels like to have an elder brother.
"It turns out that returning to the Taylor family's home has its plus points after all. Grandpa and William are here. They genuinely accept me and love me."
The servants in the dining room had left. William recounted to Olivia what happened after she went missing at age five.
"After you went missing, the entire Taylor family was in chaos," William said. "Mom almost went mad. She had psychosis. She would rush up to any little girl around your age and call her 'sweetie.' And then there was David, who was less than a year old then. He was still being breastfed. He was nearly suffocated to death by Mom once.
"Grandpa exhausted every possible means. He even slapped Dad, but you just couldn't be found.
"Mom's condition worsened a few months later, and she couldn't recognize people. There was no other option to deal with Mom's condition, so Dad brought Emma back.
"Mom treated Emma as if Emma were you, holding onto her without letting go even for a second. This situation continued for a long time.
"After having Emma, Mom's condition gradually improved, but she still couldn't recognize people. It wasn't until three years later that she slowly started to recover."/ Olivia was at a loss for words.
William talked for a long time, and he shared a lot of things.
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Olivia could sense the chaos in those years and Amelia's sadness.
After knowing everything, she suddenly did not know how to face Amelia.
Deep down, she longed for her mother, but after returning to the Taylor family's home, everything Amelia did left her deeply disappointed. Gradually, she stopped expecting anything from Amelia.
But now, after hearing about these things, she suddenly did not know what to do anymore.
Olivia understood medicine, so she could better empathize with Amelia's pain at that time. Without Emma's presence, Amelia might not have held on until now.
"Since I went missing for eighteen years, I can't delude myself into
thinking that everything could return to the way it was at the beginning," Olivia thought.
"Olivia," William suddenly spoke up, looking at her earnestly, "I'm telling you all these things not for Mom's sake but for yours."
"Me?" Olivia said. She looked astonished.
"Yeah," William replied. He suddenly smiled. His gentle gaze was like the warm spring breeze. "I've said so much just to tell you that all of us, including Mom and Dad, who have let you down in many ways, once loved you a lot. The current outcome is merely a result of various accidental factors coming together to cause mistakes."
William's voice was mellow. He sat by the dining table with his legs crossed, exuding a natural aristocratic demeanor.
He was born into wealth and privilege. He was raised in an affluent environment since childhood. As he grew up, his looks and abilities were outstanding.
Someone like him should clearly be an arrogant and aloof person that did not empathize with other people.
However, he possessed the gentlest heart in the world. He was able to empathize with other people and understand the subtlest feelings that other people had.
Even if Olivia had never shown any expressions in front of him, he could still sense the loneliness deep within her heart with one glance.
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