CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA

REFUSED

In the afternoon, Tristan Emerson came home before 4. A little early as Olivia requested, this is because he received three messages from Olivia on that day.

When the car stops in the front of the main door, the assistant in the driver's seat feels cold soaking on his back. Was the CEO asleep? Or was he too engrossed in his documents? Seeing his boss sitting quietly behind him, holding a paper that he was currently reading so he couldn't see his face to see if he was asleep or awake They had already arrived home, yet he still hadn't gotten out of the car.

"Mr... Mr. Emerson, we're here," the assistant said, turning around again, only to meet Tristan Emerson's deep, intense gaze. The assistant instantly felt nervous and stuttered a bit.

Tristan put down the paper he was holding and closed his eyes wearily, as if talking to himself, "If she.. if she's still trying to leave me.." He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he pushed open the door and stepped out of the car.

But as soon as Tristan entered right after the main door, the maid put down what she was doing and hurried over to greet him. "Young Master, good afternoon!" the maid smile and bow her head slightly.

"Where is she?" Tristan scanned the whole living room, not seeing Olivia anywhere. His brows furrowed, and his voice carried a noticeable tension.

Seeing his concern, the maid pointed towards the back, "Madam is still in the garden. She specifically instructed us not to disturb her, so we didn't dare to." Hearing that, Tristan immediately turned and walked briskly in that direction.

"Your lovie dove is here! I have to go.." Brandon the crow, told Olivia, while lying in a hammock tied at the back of a tree.

The two of them spent almost all day talking in the garden. It's just that other people don't see Brandon's personality. Instead, they only see him in his form as a crow.

"How do you know that?" Olivia ask.

"He is close to you, so I can sense him too." Brandon said.

"You've been standing here for a whole day, but you didn't tell me" Olivia intensely said. Brandon didn't give her any other words, and his face fell noticeably, then a dark shadow crossing his features and gone.

Tristan quickly spotted the petite woman curled up on the lounge chair as he walked going to the garden, and his previously restless heart was instantly soothed. Even though Tristan knew that Olivia couldn't leave without noticing him, he felt a constant pull at his heart until he saw her.

Instinctively, Tristan lighted his steps. As he approached, As he got closer, he noticed Olivia's brows were tightly knitted together. Her normally fair complexion looked pale, and tiny beads of sweat were forming on her forehead, making the strands of hair that framed her face cling to her skin

“No… don’t…” Olivia murmured in a startled voice, but showed no signs of waking from her nightmare.

Seeing her distress, Tristan reached out to comfort her. However, as soon as Tristan’s hand touched her forehead, Olivia swatted it away forcefully and opened her eyes, staring at him with terror.

Tristan frowned, but Olivia, still reeling from her nightmare, didn’t notice how he react. The moment she recognized it was Tristan in front of her, she rushed into his arms, pouring all her strength into the embrace.

“Hmm. ma. hmm ma.” Tristan was surprised when his and Olivia's lips suddenly touched in two times.

Tristan standing straight, remain calmed but his eye brows frowned by asking, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I just missed my husband!" Olivia kiss his lips again, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Unbeknownst to Tristan, Olivia succeeded in her plan. She pretended to be asleep and had bad dreams. For Olivia, there's no wasted second, minutes, and hours, that she won't love Tristan.

Tristan was still confused. He had thought Olivia was going to start resisting him again, tirelessly bringing up divorce, but now, he once again found himself unsure of what to do. After a long moment, he finally lifted his warm hand and gently placed it on her back, patting her softly.

"You sleep here and waited for me to wake you up?" Tristan asked, seeing her puffy eyes. He let her release him and sit back down on the lounge chair.

"Ahuh!" Olivia nodded.

After a moment of silence between them, Olivia picked up her notebook trying to make amends, "Take a look." she handed it to Tristan.

Tristan gave her a long, searching look, trying to discern something from her expression. But all he saw was the hopeful and expectant light in her eyes. He was stunned for a moment, seeing the sketches, which Olivia did, before he came. Olivia's sadness vanished in an instant, replaced by eager excitement as she began to explain, "I saw the flowers in the garden blooming so vibrantly today, birds, and, a crow? and I suddenly got inspired."

The sketches depicted several times for a black and brown colors each with its own unique style, but they all shared one common feature, a sense of youthful energy and happiness.

"Great." Tristan Emerson saw her excitement and felt a softening in his heart, responding with just one word.

Olivia didn't mind his brevity and continued, "I draw this as symbolizing our perfect home"

Tristan smiled, but he didn't respond.

"I want to discuss something with you. Don't worry, I've truly changed. Even if you want a divorce, I won't agree to it." Olivia intended to get straight to the point, but she noticed a fleeting look of hurt in Tristan Emerson's eyes and quickly added reassurance.

"What is it?" Tristan asked after a long pause, his tone unreadable.

"I want to go out and work." Olivia took a deep breath, gathering her courage.

As expected, the moment Olivia mentioned that she wanted to work, Tristan's face tightened.

"I'll take care of you, Olivia Hermstein." His words have been touching, sound so stiff and awkward.

"I know you can support me, but becoming on my own is what makes me proud of myself, I want to put my dreams in reality, through my effort, to develop my skills. And besides, I don't want people to say I'm always relying on you. As a matter of fact, I want to do it separately from what you have" Olivia softened her tone, hoping to have a serious conversation with her husband.

Tristan clearly wasn't ready for this kind of conversation, and he still didn't trust his wife, Olivia.

"You can do that at home," Tristan said, as he looked at Olivia's hopeful gaze. He had intended to refuse outright but found himself taking a small step back.

Olivia had been so firm in her beliefs before, but now, just a few days later, her perspective had changed completely. She wanted to stand proudly by Tristan's side, not be seen as some sort of manipulative woman.

"Tristan, I promise you, okay? I won't leave you, and divorce is out of the question. I just hope you can give me some freedom," Olivia looked at him with determination, trying to convince him to trust her.

While Tristan was momentarily taken aback by her words.But before he could respond, Olivia tried her best, and continued, "Tristan, can you have a little trust in me, even just a bit?"

Even though Olivia's words were genuine and straight from the heart, she was also playing a little game of strategy. She was counting on the fact that Tristan Emerson wouldn't want to let her down, hoping that he would still have faith in her.