Blinding Glow

Maxen wedged his right foot on the door, infuriating Olivia more. She slammed the door one more time but the man didn't budge, not even showing the slightest hint of pain. When she was about to slam one more time, Maxen saw his window of opportunity to push the door open, letting himself inside Olivia's decoy apartment. He would never go home and leave Olivia fuming at him.

He closed the door behind him, a cheeky smile painted his face for a brief second before pulling up a sorry puppy look as he faced the blazing mad Olivia. Maxen dodged when Olivia's bag flew to his direction, hitting the door with a thud and startling the MIBs outside.

"Pick that up." She snapped her fingers and pointed towards her bag on the floor, forcing the little prince to bend the knee to her authority.

She rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen to grab a tall glass, filling it up with water to quench the fire in her stomach. One. Two. Three. Four gulps. Olivia raised a single brow when she felt Maxen's hands on her hips. He was standing behind her and she could see his towering shadow on the stainless steel fridge.

Sensing her stillness, Maxen went in for the kill and hugged Olivia from the back. Tightly. Longingly. Apologetically. He let out a short breath when Olivia held his forearm and their breathing danced in sync. He would never let her go. And she will never close a damn door at his face again.

"Look, Olivia. I'm sorry ok. From now on, I will listen to every word that you say and I promise… I promise that I won't let my emotions cloud my judgement next time. I'm just mad about everything..."

The white noise silence forced Maxen to pull away from their embrace, spinning Olivia around so they could meet eye to eye.

"Please forgive me. If you let me off the hook just this once, I will grant you a request."

"Change your cologne." Olivia didn't have to think. Another sniff of that scent would be the cause of her death from asphyxiation.

"Huh? That's it? How about another round of fact or fiction?"

"No." She held her palm up to his face. "No more fact or fiction games. Truth, Max. What I need from now on is the truth. Nothing else." She grinned at him. Why not make use of this little prince's admiration to get what she wanted.

Maxen lowered his head, his lips almost touched Olivia's ears as he whispered a truth. Sharing a little secret with a hopping mad Olivia wouldn't hurt. If this would make her happy, then why not make a deal with the devil herself? Suddenly, Olivia's hands that were planted on his carved chest smoothen his dress shirt. Her toes curled and her eyes twinkled with every word of truth that he whispered.

Maxen smirked to his small victory. Information is power after all and Olivia's obliviousness about the Sui Family worked to his advantage. But what concerned him the most was the questions in his mind about the truth behind why Olivia decided to come home; was it because of family just like she said last night, or was it to exact revenge on Lance, or something else?

He knew Olivia's one of those people that hold information and could rule the people or better yet, the world. Moreso, she could be jet-setting around the globe but why stay at this small island, a country called Nisia? In the meantime, he tucked all those questions at the back of his mind because he knew it would be answered in due time.

Olivia bit her lower lip when Maxen pulled away. She suppressed the giggle that was clawing out of her belly when she saw Maxen heave a sigh of relief, thankful for surviving her wrath.

"I believe you have a dinner to attend to," Olivia said, drumming her fingers on his chest, her gaze a shade softer than earlier.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I'll think about it. Now, leave. I don't want to be the reason for your tardiness."

Olivia pushed Maxen towards the door but before she could open it, he spun on his heel, forcing her to take a step back. Maxen held the small of her back to catch her from falling off balance and a wolfish grin painted on his face telling Olivia that there's no way she could escape what's coming in for her. She felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter, her breath labored in anticipation. She wrapped her arms around Maxen's nape and yanked him forward for a searing deep kiss, stunning the little prince. He should be the one to initiate their kiss!

Maxen pulled back a little to see her face; her eyes closed, eyelashes fluttering, and her lips that were moist from their exchange. He tightened his hold on her waist, slightly dipping Olivia's back a little more to seal another smacking kiss before breaking their embrace after a soft moan escaped Olivia's lips.

"If we keep this up, I'm going to be late for real," Maxen said, rubbing his thumb on Olivia's tomato red cheeks. "Just following your lead, Your Highness," she retorted after seeing the smug look on his face.

Maxen opened the door and told Olivia that she doesn't need to walk him down the elevator but kept the reason to himself: he didn't want other people to see how enticing she looked with the natural blush on her face, her glow almost blinding.

When Olivia's decoy apartment door closed, Maxen snapped his finger towards MIB1 and said, "You."

"Me?" MIB1 pointed his thumb to his chest, asking for confirmation.

"Yes, you. Stay here and guard Olivia," Maxen barked out before walking away.

"But Your Highness…" MIB1 growled under his breath as he watched MIB2 tease him down the hall who waved a hand to say goodbye or probably to mock his predicament. He sent an air punch to MIB2 before Maxen and MIB2 entered the lift.

Maxen rode the elevator going to his penthouse suite and was welcomed by Jack. But before Jack could utter a word, Maxen was out of sight as the latter took long strides to his bedroom. Jack and a male helper followed Maxen and prepared his bath for him in his ensuite.

Maxen was busy helping himself to a drink on the trolley bar in his bedroom when the helper called, Your Highness, your bath is warm and ready." Wrapped in a fluffy white robe and a rock glass filled with a neat Scotch whisky in his hand, Maxen walked towards the helper and gave him a bottle of cologne.

"You can have this."

The helper was surprised when he received a bottle of luxury cologne that was still filled to the brim. Jack eyed the bottle and it was one of the colognes that His Highness had been using for years. It was a rare perfume that the royal perfumer specifically concocted for His Highness.

Maxen dipped himself in the tub, water and bubbles spilled out. He splayed his arms as he rested his back against the tub, letting the warm water soothed his muscles.

"Tell the perfumer to send in a batch of new colognes to sample. Olivia doesn't like that one. Tell him I need something lighter."

"Yes, Your Highness. Is there anything else?"

"I need information on Lance Go. ASAP."

"As you wish, Your Highness. You'll have the papers first thing in the morning." Jack took a step back when Maxen snapped his head towards him. What have I done this time ah?

"I said… ASAP. That means, I want the files on my table after I take my bath."

Jack scrambled out of the en suite and into his office. It didn't take long before Lance Go's name registered in the monitor, a tiny detail stole Jack's attention.

"Look what we have here. I'm sure His Highness would be happy to see a beautiful dirt."