Kiss Me Not

"Dad, can we just concentrate on dinner right now, please? I came home because I thought you wanted to have dinner with me as I\'ve been away for so long. Why do you always have to spoil everything with your nagging? I feel like you didn\'t miss me while I was away," Olivia complained with a crumpled face.

"By the way, where\'s big bro?" she asked.

Gre\'s raised his eyebrows and retorted, "Why are you asking us, huh? Don\'t play innocent with me. Do you really think I\'m not aware of what you and your brother are doing behind my back? No one listens to me in this household!"

Olivia got scared seeing her father\'s dark face. She could tell something was bothering her father and she wondered if it had something to do with the Royal Family. She tried calling her elder brother, but Oliver\'s number was out of reach since yesterday and she was starting to get worried.

"Dad, what\'s going on? What\'s wrong?" Olivia asked and looked at her mother who was comforting her father. Her mother just shook her head, signaling her not to ask anything, so she stopped badgering him for answers.

She had her own unit, like her brother, who also did not stay at the family residence with their parents. But they made sure to have dinner with the family as often as they could.

"Please Olivia, just listen to me for once. Don\'t get any closer to the Royal Family from now on. I\'m just worried about you and your brother… For our family…" Greg whispered, almost in a gasp.

"I really don\'t understand, Dad. You must tell us specifically what\'s really going on for me and Oliver to understand. You look like someone who was threatened and I believe it was not by Uncle Lucas since their family is not like that. I know you dream of reigning…

To gain full authority and power of the country but… You are going about these things the wrong way. I heard you\'ve been going out to meet someone confidentially. Is that the person responsible for the way you are acting right now?" Olivia whispered.

During her last talk with her brother, Oliver had informed her that he was worried because their father was going out alone and meeting someone whom her brother did not know.

Now, she had a hunch that something was going on. She looked at her father and asked, "Where is Oliver, Dad? I\'m getting worried because I haven\'t got hold of him since yesterday. It\'s not like him, especially when I\'m around."

She looked at her mother and Olivia\'s eyes widened in terror when her mother burst out crying.

"Why, what\'s wrong? Did something bad happen to Oliver?" Olivia asked, her heart thumping hard.

"Nothing happened, so don\'t think too much about it," her father answered with a dark face.

"Greg, Olivia must know about this!" her mother cried and Olivia looked at her father whose face showed a conflicted look.

"What is really going on?!" she asked in a high-pitched tone.

"I\'m now on it, so please Olivia, just stay put. Don\'t get involved with the royal family, please. All I need to do is rip the royal family of their power and we will… I will bring back your brother."

She looked devastated as she grunted, "Oliver is being held captive? By whom? How could they dare! And why would you listen to them? We should bring this to His Majesty\'s attention and I\'m sure they will help us out."

A maniacal laugh escaped from her father\'s mouth as he scorned, "The King? When he couldn\'t even protect his own family? Do you really think Lucas has enough power? He is too just for this kind of thing. He is always willing to sacrifice his family for the safety of his citizens, Olivia. The people are more important to Lucas than his own family and he has failed to protect them since the beginning!"

Olivia was confused and she whispered, "Are you saying there\'s someone who is more powerful than our King is threatening you right now with Oliver\'s life?"

"Yes there is and it\'s someone we should not mess around with or I will lose your brother, Olivia, and maybe even you, if I won\'t do the things he asks me to," Greg stated helplessly.

"But how can you be sure that whoever is behind this will keep Oliver alive, Dad? It\'s a big risk!" Olivia tried to reason.

"A risk I\'m willing to take for you and your brother, Olivia! If I have to sacrifice other people\'s lives, I will not bat an eye and do it without regrets as long as I keep my family safe above all!!!" her father shouted, making Olivia freeze in her seat.

Her mother kept crying while she herself felt mixed feelings. She had missed a lot in the time she had been away. Now even her family was going through a great storm. She understood her father as he had always prioritized his family above all else.

She felt conflicted because, unlike her father, she trusted Cedric and knew that Cedric could help them if he was indeed the old Cedric, but right now even Cedric was facing his own problems, not to mention his lost memory.

"You have to discuss everything with me Dad. Every minute detail. You are not alone in this and I will help you with whatever means I can."

"No! You and your mother must not get involved. That man will spare you as long as you will not get involved with the royal family. So please help me by staying away from Cedric!"

Olivia heaved a frustrated sigh. She couldn\'t stay idle knowing her brother was in danger. Did her father really expect her to just stay put?!