บท 78: Bright and Vivid

Maxen's car pulled over Rockaway Tower's dimly lit basement parking lot. With the engine still on, it was idle for a few minutes by the penthouse suite's private elevator shaft which they would use since Jack got the master key to operate it to any floors they wished to stop—specifically Olivia's decoy apartment.

Olivia, who now behaved in the passenger seat, fiddled on the flap of her handbag as she tried to come up with an excuse so that Maxen would not accompany her up to her apartment.

She swallowed nothing but air in her parched throat and quickly shifted her gaze from her bag out to the window, yet she realized it was a bad choice when she saw her reflection—lost and gloomy, a far cry from her earlier demeanor as they drove away from the Notios Estate. Horrified at her image, she whipped her head and faced Maxen who mirrored the same likeness as hers; his blue eyes, no longer clear as it concealed his distress.