Chapter 98

Nyx stared at him expecting an answer, with one eyebrow slightly raised. Her amber eyes that were usually cold and indifferent held a faint trace of genuine curiosity.

Alex’s mind raced. Right now he couldn’t afford to slip up, especially after convincing her that he was a healing Awakened. So clearing his throat, he offered what he hoped was a confident and mysterious smile before speaking.

"Oh, that?" Alex forced a casual shrug, though his palms were starting to sweat again. He quickly tucked the empty bottle into his jacket pocket, praying she wouldn’t ask to see it.

"Well, my healing ability is kind of unique from the conventional method. While most awakened healers may use their hands to manipulate the external flow of primordial essence to heal, my ability works a bit differently. For injuries I can heal them with my palm, but for internal related issues, I have to condense my energy into a liquid form and have a person drink it, for it to be effective."

"And in case you want to ask, yes. Placing my hand on your stomach would have also worked too, but it’s slower, less effective and more draining for me.... Besides I didn’t want to be too handsy with you, before you would go and wack me like before."

Nyx studied him for a long while, before the corner of her lips twitched, showing the faintest bit of amusement.

"What a convincing explanation." She said while straightening up as colors began returning to her pale face. "But still, thank you, Alex. I feel... Significantly better than before."

Alex secretly let out a huge sigh of relief.

’Crisis averted.’

Before he could even fully relax, especially after all the high intensity emotional rollercoaster that had just happened in the crazy span of five long minutes, Nyx suddenly leaned forward again, with her expression shifting back to its business-like expression and said.

"Now about that warehouse. You left quite the mess back there. With half of the Black Mambas dead, and five people hospitalized with crippling injuries that might last them for life. And while your methods were a bit excessive, the results were good. Though I have to warn you that my spy managed to catch sight of one of the kad..."

At that moment a sharp knock interrupted her.

The doors opened without waiting for permission and a familiar baby faced young girl with short blonde hair and indifferent looking eyes stepped inside. It was just Doris.

Nyx’s cute but deadly subordinate, who was his next awakened target that he needed to copy her cool and mind-blowing ability.

"Boss, the very important meeting with the Mayor and his entourage is scheduled to begin in ten minutes. They’ve already gathered at the designated location and are awaiting your presence."

Nyx’s face returned back to its usual icy mask instantly. She gave a small nod and said.

"Understood. Please have my driver prepare the car so that we can go any moment from now."

Doris nodded and prepared to leave. At that moment her large anime-like eyes caught sight of Alex. She silently mouthed a thank you, for healing her that day and left just as quietly as she had entered.

Nyx rose from her seat, smoothing down her form-fitting suit casually. Her eyes then lingered on Alex who was still standing there.

"You should be going." She said, her tone soft yet still carrying that indifferent edge. It was the closest thing to gentleness she seemed capable of offering.

"I have some very important work to do now. So try to be careful, because my spy caught sight of one of the Kades people picking up the unconscious body of Ivan shortly after you left. And Alex..." She paused at the door, not turning around. "Don’t underestimate the Kade family. They are number one in the city for a reason."

With that, she walked out of the office, leaving behind the faint scent of her perfume.

Alex stood there for a minute processing everything. A serious frown crept up his face as he reviewed Nyx’s warning.

The Kade family were obviously strong, after all anyone with a brain could know that. But for Nyx who had five or six awakened subordinates under her, to tell him to be careful, had him feeling a bit uneasy.

Right now he was no longer in the same level as early Realm Awakened, but who’s to say the Kade family don’t have at least one or two Awakened at his level?

Fighting two people in the same rank as him was a bit of a stretch, but it wasn’t impossible. After all, he could probably outlast them in a game of attrition.

With his body recovery water he could regain his lost stamina while both of them were running low on primordial essence. But what if the Kade family had a person equal to B-Rank which was currently above him?

Alex shook his head. There was no need thinking about all this right now. He would plan how to handle everything later today when he reaches home.

*****

Leaving the towering BluePeak building, Alex mentally went through his schedule. Today, there was no lecture because college was on some administrative break, and he had already handled the most pressing meeting of today. Give Andre a job.

It looked like his schedule for the day was strangely empty, that meant he could go do some fighting practice to sharpen his skills. But then his mind suddenly drifted to Olivia.

After the whole kidnapping incident, she had been putting on a brave face, but he knew better. The emotional wound from what Zack had done ran deeper than any physical one possible.

As a single mother who had struggled to provide for her shitty son, that idiot Zack had really taken things far by abandoning his mother to face the consequences of his own actions.

Alex prayed that the small-time boss would find Zack sooner or later and inform him, if not he’ll be forced to visit that man and jog up his brain so that he can search faster.

Anyways, he decided to pay Olivia a visit and improve the relationship between them. But first things first. He couldn’t just go there all empty handed, at least bringing some groceries should be nice and helpful.

So stopping by a high end grocery store on the way, he picked up some fresh fruits and her favourite snack, before he decided to visit a flower shop and bought her a bouquet of tulips. Which by the way, was her favourite flower.

By the time he finally reached Olivia’s house, the sun was already high up in the sky.

Alex reached her door and knocked, but got no response. He knocked again for the second time, before the door finally opened.

Olivia stood there in an oversized sweater and loose pants, with her light brown hair slightly messy. Her cheeks looked pale and the tip of her nose was red.

Even her beautiful eyes looked tired and puffy, clearly showing that she was sick.

"Alex?" She croaked, her slightly hoarse voice sounding surprised. "What are you doing here? Quick go before you get sick."

"It’s too late for that, I’m already here," Alex said, his heart sinking as he saw her weakened state.

He walked over and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. She was burning up. "Olivia, you’re practically burning like hell. Why didn’t you call me? I would have come running straight to take care of you."

"It’s just... the flu," she whispered while sniffling. "I think the stress of everything... From work, to Zack... to the warehouse... It must have caused my body to just give up. Besides, I didn’t want to disturb my son’s friend, especially after all he has done for me."

Alex looked at her, his emerald eyes softening with a tenderness he rarely showed the world. How could this stupidly, cute woman think that she could ever disturb him. From the day she got added to his harem slot, she was his responsibility. So there was no way that he would never be annoyed with her for disturbing him.

"Olivia, I will always be there for you whenever you need my help, so no matter what, don’t think that you’re disturbing me, okay.... So since I’m basically here now, it looks like I have to become your private nurse and take care of you."

Olivia tried to protest, but a coughing fit ruined her attempt. She stepped aside, letting him in. Inside, the sitting room looked as neat as always, but the thick blankets crumpled on the couch and a half empty mug of cold coffee told him she had been suffering alone.

"You really don’t have to take care of me," she murmured while sitting back down and pulling the blanket over her legs. "It’s just the flu. I’ll be fine in a couple of days."

Alex gave her the bouquet of flowers, surprising her, before he moved to the kitchen, set the bags down, and began unpacking.

"Yeah, well, I hate to disagree. But you took care of me and Zack for years now. Let me return the favor for once."

He then lifted his head up and noticed the way her expression darkened at the mention of Zack’s name. The sadness in her eyes was impossible to hide. She looked away, staring out the window.

"He hasn’t even called," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "After everything... he just ran. I know I failed somewhere as a mother, but..."