The CEO's Seductive Doll-Chapter 105: To Have A Crush Is To be Crushed

Emerald eyes widened, and a soft gasp escaped from her lips. Eternity’s eyelashes slowly fluttered, as if she had just heard something utterly unbelievable. It took her a few seconds before she could process Olivia’s words, and when she finally did, she spoke in a low voice.

"Did... Did Evan do something that... you didn’t like?" Eternity chose her words carefully, and it was too careful that she ended up sounding like an idiot with a lack of decent vocabulary.

Olivia probably noticed her lack of eloquence because she raised an eyebrow. Still, she didn’t comment on it and continued with their original topic.

"He didn’t do anything," she said in a timid voice, looking down on her lap with an emotion that Eternity couldn’t read. "I’m just not comfortable with Mr. Holz being with us on our trip."

Eternity couldn’t see Olivia’s hands under the table, but they were tightly clenched to a fist.

"Well, if you’re not comfortable with him around you, then he must’ve done something that could’ve offended you." Eternity pressed on before leaning in on the table so that she could be closer to Olivia. "If he did do something wrong, I can tell him about it, and I’m sure that he’d try to make amends with you."

’I’m actually not sure that he would,’ Eternity honestly thought in the back of her mind. ’More or less, he’d probably just get offended and say he’s not willing to adjust for a young girl’s comfort.’

"I swear, he didn’t do anything!" Olivia insisted before releasing a deep exhale. "I just..."

She trailed off, not knowing how to properly construct her words without offending Eternity. Eternity’s frown could only linger, but she tried to be as patient as she could.

"Hey," she said soothingly. "I told you, right? You can tell me anything, even if it’s something negative that I might not want to hear."

Reluctantly, Olivia nodded and finally spoke.

"He’s not a good man, Eternity. I just know it."

"Where is this coming from?" Eternity asked, trying her best to keep her voice from not raising and making it as well modulated as possible.

"While we were in Happy Hornets."

Then Eternity saw it.

There was a slight pinking hue on her cheeks as Olivia continued to avoid her gaze. She could finally make out what emotions were clouding the young girl’s eyes.

Guilt.

"He was faking it. I just know it," Olivia said through gritted teeth, making her words sound a bit inaudible. "He’s..."

But Eternity wasn’t listening anymore, not a single word registered inside her head. She finally made sense of what was possibly going on in Olivia’s mind.

She had a crush on Evan.

Well, Eternity assumed she did.

***

"So what can you say about Mr. Anderson’s piece of advice to Charlie in the ’Perks of Being a Wallflower’?" Olivia asked, flipping through the pages of the aforementioned book in her hand before positioning the book on the table and pointing at a specific line that said:

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

"I think this line was magical," Eternity said in a breathy voice, as if merely hearing it being uttered out loud took her breath away.

"It is, isn’t it?" She nodded in agreement. "What else can you say about it?"

"I think," Eternity started. "This line basically correlated a person’s relationship with how you see yourself. If I were a person suffering from a toxic relationship, this line would’ve been an eye-opener for me."

Olivia nodded again, crossing her arms.

They were now in the living room, sitting on the sofa, as they started discussing Eternity’s impressions and general learnings from the books that Olivia had her read. Today’s book topic was "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," the assignment she gave the previous session.

"Do you know why I decided to choose this book as your assignment?" she asked with a smile that looked as if she didn’t really mean it.

Eternity’s green eyes widened, and she shook her head to admit her cluelessness.

"I didn’t know there was supposed to be a reason in the first place."

Olivia continued to give her this odd smile, as if she were waiting for this moment to come.

"It’s because I feel like this line will resonate with you."

Eternity continued to give her a look of sheer blankness.

"What do you mean?"

Olivia let out a deep sigh, sounding evidently disappointed.

"Remember what you said?" she reminded. "Just now?"

This only caused Eternity’s confusion to grow. Seeing that Eternity was entirely oblivious to Olivia’s point, Olivia continued.

"You said that this line would be an eye-opener for you."

Eternity’s forehead creased, and she nodded reluctantly.

"Yes, I said that," she confirmed. "I said if I were in a toxic relationship, it would’ve been one."

She paused, finally dawning upon her what Olivia was implying.

"Y-you think I’m in a toxic relationship?" Eternity spluttered in a tense, accusatory tone.

Olivia didn’t say anything. Instead, she bit her lips until blood was visibly seeping through the dried skin.

"How’d you even get that idea?" Eternity tried to sound calm, but her voice raised slightly.

Olivia cowered in her seat, and Eternity realized belatedly that her pitch was too high and her tone was demanding.

"Olivia..." she said, changing her tone to a comforting one. "I won’t understand what’s going on and where you’re coming from if you don’t talk to me properly."

Olivia seemed to have finally gotten her courage back because she straightened her back and met, although hesitantly, Eternity’s gaze. She took a deep inhale, as if gathering all her strength, before she began.

"He doesn’t deserve you, Eternity. I knew when we were at Happy Hornets that he was just faking it."

There she was again, bringing up their encounter while they were in Happy Hornets, as if there was something significantly important during that time.

"He didn’t really mean his kind, encouraging words. He just wanted to impress you." Olivia insisted.

Eternity already had a feeling that Evan did exactly that, but she was still baffled as to where this conversation was going. Imagine her sheer bewilderment when Olivia continued her tirade against Evan.

Eternity couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows, wondering why Olivia was saying all of this if she had a crush on Evan.

"He doesn’t deserve you, Eternity!" She repeated, yet now there was a hint of desperation in her voice. "You’re a walking ball of sunshine, while he seemed like there was a brooding, stormy cloud following him around. You’re full of life, full of love, and full of honesty that I’ve never seen from any other human before."

Upon hearing Olivia’s next set of words, everything finally made sense.

"I..." She took a moment before she continued, her throat bobbing as it seemed like she swallowed a mouthful of spit. "I like you, Eternity."

Olivia continued praising her, telling her about how much she admired Eternity and how she was completely head over heels for her. But Eternity wasn’t listening anymore.

She finally made sense of what was possibly going on in Olivia’s mind.

She didn’t have a crush on Evan.

She had a crush on her.

On Eternity.