"So," Oliver drawled as they walked through the hallway where the guest rooms can be found. "Pick a room."
"Any room?" Olivia gaped.
"Any room," He confirmed. "It's not like anyone uses these rooms... I mean, they do get used back when Mom used to host parties, but... Olivia."
Oliver suddenly halted in the middle of walking, causing Olivia to bump his back accidentally. She blinked repeatedly, wondering why he suddenly called her name and what the hold-up was for.
"I know you've been wondering about Mom since... a while ago," He said, a hint of nervousness evident in his voice.ย
"I would be lying if I said I didn't," Olivia admitted. "But I noticed that whenever topics related to our parents are mentioned, you get all antsy."
"No, I do not!" He replied antsily.
"Exactly," Olivia said sternly. "So if it's something you'd rather not want to talk about, I'll respect that."
Oliver went radio silent.
"Thanks," He muttered after a while. "Tell me about ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ family."
Olivia wrinkled her forehead.
"I noticed that you like ordering people around." She pointed out. "That's not how you should talk to someone if you want to get to know them."
"But I ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต want to get to know ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ," Oliver said harshly without even batting an eyelash.
"Ouch," Olivia winced.
"I want to know more about the other universe," He continued, then began walking, Olivia followed suit.
"Why's that?" Olivia asked curiously. "It's not like you'll be visiting it any time soon."
"I just want to know."ย
Olivia waited for him to continue, but he didn't.ย
"That's it?" She scoffed incredulously. "You just, '๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ'?"
Oliver nodded, remaining steadfast on not wanting to expound his reason. Olivia narrowed her eyes but asked, anyway.
"Where do you want me to start?"
He hummed as if in contemplation.ย
"How's Mom?" He asked after a while, but Olivia got the feeling this was what he wanted to ask from the get-go and just pretended to think.
Damn, this guy's mommy issues were strong!
"As I've said before," Olivia drawled the last word. "Mom died when I was seven years old, so I barely remember her."
Olivia paused, causing Oliver to look behind him to glance at her. He was caught by surprise by her expression: Olivia wore a genuine smile as she reminisced about her past.
"But the few things that I can remember, I cherish them a lot." She whispered warmly.
"Tell me--" He shook his head, deciding to rephrase his sentence. "Can you tell me more about what you can remember about her?"
She found his queries weird, but she answered him anyway.
"She was a great cook," Olivia began. "Her specialty was vegetable dishes and--Why did you freeze up?"
Involuntarily, Oliver was wrinkling his nose and his body grew tense. But now that she pointed it out, his features relaxed.
"Oh, sorry," He scratched his cheek, laughing wearily. Not like Olivia could see him do it. "I hate vegetables, so if I were in your universe, I wouldn't have appreciated Mom's great cooking skills."
Olivia couldn't help but chuckle.ย
"So I hear that you're quite the carnivore."
Oliver looked over his shoulders, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Where'd you learn that?"
"Is it not true?"
"It's true," Oliver admitted. "I f*cking hate vegetables with all my soul."
"I thought demons don't have souls..." She muttered.
"I heard that, you know."
"Anyway," She decided to change the topic, not wanting to get on his nerves and trigger his bombastic temper. "What else..." She hummed. "Oh, Dad used to tease Mom that her childhood dream was to be a model. I never knew if it was real or not."
"Did she become one?" Oliver asked curiously.
"Become what?"ย
"A model."
"Oh!" Olivia exclaimed. "No, no, she didn't. Ironically, for someone who dreamed of being a model, she was quite short."
"So she's the polar opposite of my Mom," Oliver hummed. "That's interesting."
"Just like us, your mom and my mom looked absolutely different from each other." Olivia chuckled. "I barely recognized her as my Mom."
"You know," Oliver said.
"Yeah?"
"In this universe, Mom achieved her dream."
"She became a model?"
He nodded.ย
Olivia felt her eyes widened, and her mouth hung slightly.
"Wow," She was stunned. "So not only is she alive in this universe but also living her best life?"
"I can guarantee she isn't living her best life," Oliver muttered under his breath.
Olivia tilted her head to the side.
"Why's that?"
Oliver announced instead of answering her question and turned around to face her.
"We're already at the end of the hallway, and you still haven't decided what room is yours."
"M-m-mine?!" She stammered. "You're making it sound like I'll be staying here for a while!"
Oliver glanced at her, and his eyebrows were drawn together.
"Aren't you?"
"Of course not!" She yelled, causing an echo in the hallway.
"Stop shouting," Ironically, it was ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ who said this.
She covered her mouth animatedly before uncovering it a second later to shout-whisper.ย
"I'll make sure to finish our 'quests' as soon as possible!"
"You can't 'enjoy your life in an alternate universe' if you're forcing yourself, you know." Oliver said pointedly, quoting The Maestro verbatim.ย
"You're not sure about that!"ย
"Oh, I ๐ข๐ฎ sure." He replied smugly. "Anyway, just pick a room already and rest. I'll talk to you once you've settled--You ๐ฅ๐ฐ have a phone in your universe, right?"
"Of course we do!" She said indignantly. "We don't live in the Stone Age in my universe! Here, look--" She searched for her cellular device in her pocket, only to realize that she probably left it in her universe.
Oliver sighed.
"I knew it. Let me give you one. Oh," He paused as he fished out his phone from his pocket. "If you expect me to give ๐ฎ๐บ phone to you, you're dead wrong."
"I'm not even expecting a phone in the first place!" Olivia argued.
"Anyway," Oliver raised his shoulders nonchalantly. "What phone would you like?"
She flushed a bright red, embarrassed at the thought of someone giving her an expensive gift. "I can't possibly--"
Oliver leaned closer to her and placed his index finger on her lips.
"Just shut up and tell me the brand." He spoke again with his authoritative tone. "๐๐ฐ๐ธ."
Olivia swallowed the imaginary lump in her throat, nodding.
"How about a Tw1N phone 10?"
Oliver scowled. "Hey, that's four series ago. Also, you can choose whatever brand that you want. I'm serious."
"So am I," Olivia said firmly. "I want to support Dad's company, even if I'm not the one paying for it."
Noticeably, Oliver's demeanor changed. His expression darkened, and he narrowed his eyes at her.
"He's literally a billionaire." Oliver reminded. "It won't matter to him if he becomes $200 richer."