Kiss Me Not

At Country B

Olivia went back to her apartment after her serious talk with her father. He did not disclose any details but insisted that it was better that she neither knew nor interfered in the matter, for her own safety. The only request her father made was for Olivia to keep away from the royal family.

She kept pacing in her living area. She had been feeling restless ever since she found out about Oliver. Her father assured her that Oliver was being taken care of by the people who abducted him, in return for her father's obedience.

"This is insane! How dare they make my father do such absurd things for them!" Olivia fumed. She was racking her brains to find a solution and she was aware of the need for care and caution before making any move.

She grabbed her mobile phone and dialed Will's number.

"Morning, Olivia," Will greeted her cheerfully.

"Will, can you come over to my place? I need to discuss something important and you're the safest person I can confide in about it. I can't go directly to Cedric or His Majesty about this," Olivia said.

"Alright, I will come to you as soon as I finish matters here, Olivia," Will answered on the other end before he ended the call.

"She sounds weary," Will whispered as he arranged the documents The Prince needed to see as soon as he came back to his office. Will sighed. There were a lot of things to do and he wondered if Cedric could handle everything alone as he promised.

"Ah, he should return soon. Goodness, having a woman in one's life is a problem," he muttered as he quickly left to go to Olivia's apartment.

He was worried about Olivia and he could discern that something was wrong just from her voice.

As soon as Will entered Olivia's apartment, the latter hugged him tightly while sobbing. Then he knew that something was really amiss.

"What happened?" Will asked.

Olivia composed herself and pulled Will into her living area to sit on the couch beside her.

"My father said it's best if I won't tell Cedric about this. I know that Cedric has his own issues and I'm really confused about how to proceed with this matter. But I strongly believe that Cedric and Uncle Lucas, I mean our King, should know about this too." Olivia confided.

"What do you mean? About what?" Will asked.

"My father is planning something against the Royal Family but it's not voluntary. I mean he has his reasons. Someone is blackmailing my father by kidnapping my brother Oliver. You know how my father sets his family above anything else. He would do anything to keep his family safe."

Now, Will was finally able to connect all the dots. The King was surprised with how changed the Prime Minister seemed. The two had been in good rapport for years, teaming together to balance the state affairs in their country for many years. But since last year the Prime Minister had started giving opinions against the King in almost all matters, especially in the way he was ruling the country.

"Cedric and the King must know about this. Don't worry, Olivia, I'm sure they will help you and I assure you that they will do everything in their power to keep Oliver and your whole family safe. For now, just follow what your father asks you to do. Do not contact Cedric or me like this again. We must do everything confidentially, for your own safety."

Will left Olivia's apartment after settling her down. He did not go straight to the Palace because he was sure that whoever was behind this must have put a tail on Olivia. He went to a bakery and bought some stuff before driving to his grandparent's house. That way they would not suspect that Olivia had said anything to him, in case someone was following him. Later, he would party at a bar with friends.

***

At Country D

Back at Brione's apartment, Luo and Noah had some coffee and sandwich prepared by Cedric, while engaging in a conversation with Brione.

"Will you get offended, Your Highness, if I ask you a lot of questions?" Luo could not help asking.

Cedric smiled and said, "Please call me Cedric, like Noah does. Addressing me like that is too formal and besides, we are not in my country."

"Oh yeah right. Well, can I ask you to write on this paper? Could you copy this please?" Luo asked, giving Cedric some paper and the paragraphs to copy.

"This is fine. I will cooperate with whatever you ask of me," Cedric answered with a smile and began writing.

"Brione said you lost your memory and I just want to make sure. You see, I was a prosecutor before I decided to stick to being a lawyer. It's in my nature to finish everything I start. I can't close a case if I see even a single loophole. I hope you understand.

To be honest, I wanted to keep this from Brione at first as I don't want her to worry and because she has already requested us to stop the investigation."

"She wanted you to stop trying to find out if I am Gavin?" Cedric asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she…" Luo paused and looked at Brione who signaled her to stop.

Brione looked at Cedric and said, "Just finish what you are writing."

"By the way, did your team get anything from Gavin's penthouse?" Brione suddenly asked Luo, changing the topic.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. It's too early to tell. I will keep you posted," Luo answered. Brione was changing the topic so she decided to help her sister-in-law, assuming Brione probably had not yet confessed her true feelings to Cedric.

"I don't think my handwriting is different though. I saw Gavin's handwriting in his journal and it seems like the two of us have a similar writing style," Cedric commented. Well, he had forgotten his signature, but when they showed it to him, he easily managed to write the same.