Chapter 112: Olivia Is Radiance...So What?

"Would you believe the same if you found out that she was Radiance?"

Olivia’s face immediately went pale as she heard her mother’s words. She turned towards the woman with a betrayed look on her face.

They had promised not to mention anything about her being Radiance to Liam. That was the reason why she agreed to bring him here in the first place.

Of course, she had intended to tell him eventually, but not yet.

Slowly, she turned towards Liam, who had gone silent. She was afraid, afraid that he’d start looking at her differently just because she was Radiance.

She was afraid that he’d start seeing her as these people did, a being they should idolize, rather than as Olivia.

She didn’t want that.

"So what?"

Liam’s response came so casually that everyone at the table went silent.

Olivia stared at him in disbelief.

Her mother, however, narrowed her eyes. "You don’t seem surprised."

"I am," he wasn’t...but they didn’t need to know that, "but her being Radiance doesn’t change the fact that she’s still Olivia."

"As her mother, I believe this much should’ve been obvious to even you," Liam added, "but I guess you’ve spent so much time looking at Radiance that you forgot to look at Olivia."

The woman’s frown immediately got darker as she listened to the kid speak.

A few people around the table lowered their gazes, clearly uncomfortable with his words.

Liam, on the other hand, didn’t care.

After saying all he intended to, he suddenly stood up and said, "Thank you for inviting us to this meal, but it’s about time we took our leave."

The moment he said so, multiple awakened humans appeared within the dining room, each ready to attack him.

"I suggest you sit back down, Liam," Olivia’s mother said slowly.

Liam looked around at the awakened humans around him with a single thought in his mind: ’Should I kill them and leave?’

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Olivia suddenly spoke up, "If you try hurting a hair on his head, then you’ll cease to have a daughter named Olivia."

Her mother immediately hesitated.

She wasn’t afraid of the fact that she would be losing a daughter; rather, it was because if she lost Olivia, she would lose Radiance too.

With a frown on her face, she lifted her hand, and the guards stood down, allowing the two to walk towards the exit.

"I’ll remember your name, Liam," the woman spoke up again.

The hitman stopped on his track, turned back to her and gave an innocent smile. "I’m sure you will."

With that, the two walked out of the mansion, leaving behind Olivia’s seething family and an amused Amelia.

"How very interesting."

***

"That went well," Liam said as they got in the car. "I don’t think your mother likes me, though... especially after all I just said."

Olivia chuckled at his words before asking, "Do you want her to like you?"

"Not really," he answered with a shrug, "besides, you liking me is more than enough."

She turned toward the window, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, but even she had to admit she quite liked this.

The car fell silent as Liam drove through the gates.

She turned back to him, noticing the small smile on his face before she asked, "You really don’t mind that I hid my identity as Radiance from you?"

He turned to her, the smile still on his face as he answered, "Everyone has secrets, Olivia."

"Besides," he added with his smile getting wider, "do you know how cool it is, finding out your girlfriend is Radiance?"

"..." Olivia truly couldn’t understand him.

The reaction she had gotten used to when people found out that she was Radiance was usually one of awe.

But Liam?

He seemed as if nothing had changed.

"You really aren’t bothered by this?" she asked again.

"You’re still my Olivia," Liam said without an ounce of hesitation in his voice, "and that’s all that matters."

"..." Olivia speechlessly stared at him for a while, for a while, before blurting out, "I think I really like you, Liam."

He chuckled at her words, seems he had earned a lot more brownie points than he had intended.

"I like you too, Olivia."

His words worked to remind her of what she had just said, and she immediately turned away from him with a blush on her face.

Though there was a small, satisfied smile on her lips; after all, she had been so worried that Liam would start treating her differently, but it seemed she was worried for nothing.

"It’s still quite early," Liam spoke up again, "and we ended up leaving without eating anything."

He then turned towards her. "wanna grab a bite before we head back?"

"Mhm," Olivia nodded.

***

"You seem happy," Raika said as she looked at Olivia’s face through the screen.

She was now back at her apartment after their short dinner date, so she couldn’t help the grin on her face.

"I am," Olivia responded, her smile getting wider, causing her agent to frown.

"Strange," Raika muttered, "I’m certain your mood would always be bad after a meeting with your family."

Whilst glad that Olivia seemed to be in a good mood today, she still found it strange... was it because Liam was with her this time?

"Yeah, but Liam was with me this time."

Well, that confirms the agent’s thoughts.

"They didn’t act like a bunch of psychos, did they?" The agent asked, referring to Olivia’s family.

"You do know we’re still talking about my family, right?" Though she said that, the amusement was very evident in her tone.

"Unfortunately," Raika said, letting out an exhausted sigh, "so, what happened?"

"My mother told Liam that I’m Radiance," Olivia said.

"SHE DID WHAT?!!"

The agent’s reaction was as expected; after all, she knew of her hero’s fears, and she understood why Olivia would never reveal her identity as Radiance to anyone.

Aside from the fact that she was trying to maintain a secret identity, of course.

Olivia looked at Raika’s fuming face before chuckling, "But I’m glad she did."

***

While Olivia explained the happenings of the day to Raika, Liam stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass in his living room.

He was glad that Olivia wouldn’t have to worry about her family for a while, giving her the freedom to finally get that weight off her shoulders.

Still, he noticed something a bit weird about her family, well, aside from the fact that they were basically a cult worshipping Radiance.

Their actions seemed a bit too mechanical... perhaps even forced, but at the same time, it didn’t seem as if they were being forced to take those actions.

Ding!

His thoughts were interrupted when a notification was sent to his phone, causing him to look at it.

{Sable: I have a job for you.}