Chapter 8

Olivia's POV:

"Mark, where are you?" I heard Mr. Wren's voice boom over the call. He didn't appreciate me calling him Dad—a constant reminder that he was not my real father, even though he had adopted me alongside his wife.

"Dad, I am in the hospital," Mark replied, his voice calm as he ran a hand over his short black wavy hair.

"Why are you in the hospital? I hope it's not because of Olivia that you went there. Your mother spoke about Olivia waking up today," Mr. Wren asked, and Mark hummed.

"Yes, Dad. I had to come and check on Olivia because she is my sister, and I was the one who brought her to the hospital for admission," he said, as I finished my ice cream and licked my lips.

Mark looked at me with his shining yellow eyes, and our gazes locked, but I swiftly lowered my head, feeling my heart thudding faster in my chest.

Why do I feel this way? Why am I so uncomfortable around Mark?

"Is there anything going on between you and Olivia, Mark? Why do you seem to care so much about her?" Mr. Wren demanded, his tone furious, and Mark didn't deny it.

"Dad, I am an adult, and whoever I choose to be with, you have no right to control me."

"Mark!" Mr. Wren yelled, his voice booming over the call.

"I will not accept it if you are trying to date that wolfless girl. Cut whatever relationship you have with her and come home now. We have something more important to discuss," Mr. Wren said, his voice firm and not giving any room for negotiation.

"Alright, Dad. I will be home now, after the rain stops," Mark replied, as it was raining heavily outside. However, I felt a deep howling in my heart when I heard Mr. Wren—who I had seen as a father—relax and say, "Good. I will be expecting you tonight, and no excuses about going to your new house. You should be home."

"Okay, Dad. Got it," Mark said, his voice gentle as he ended the call. He moved over to my bed to meet me and said, "I hope that you are not angry with me. I had to answer my dad's call."

I lowered my head, not wanting to meet Mark's gaze anymore, as I wanted the rain to end and for him to leave the room.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Mark asked, his hand reaching for my face to tuck away the hair strands from my face, as my long blonde hair fell to cover it.

However, I swatted Mark's arm away as I mumbled, "You should go."

"Why? Why do you sound so sad? You shouldn't worry about my dad. Besides, this is not the first time you are hearing him speak so coldly about you," Mark replied bluntly, and I was supposed to feel better, but I felt worse as tears welled up in my eyes.

Because I was a wolfless girl, my real parents didn't want to accept me. Not just them—everyone in the pack bullied me, and I didn't have any real friends except Erica Robin.

Tears flowed down my cheeks before I could stop them, and I sobbed.

"What's wrong? Why are you sobbing?" Mark quickly reached for my chin and tilted my head to look at his face.

"Stay away from me! Why do you care about me?" I smacked Mark's right hand off from touching my jaw, and his lips parted to say something. But before he could, the door of the hospital room burst open, and Dr. Sam arrived again with Erica, who wore a red dress as she rushed up to meet me on the bed.

"Olivia! Oh my goodness! You are finally awake! I had to come down here as soon as Dr. Sam said that you are awake. How are you?" Erica asked, her voice soft as she rushed to my bed and wrapped me in a warm hug. Her presence softened the tense atmosphere in the room as Mark shifted aside.

Quickly, I wiped my tears off as I forced a tight smile and mumbled, "I am fine. You do not have to come and check on me. I will soon be discharged."

"Aww. Why would you say that? And why are you crying? Do you think that I do not care about you and our friendship is fake?" Erica asked, her voice melancholy, but I shook my head.

"No. It's not that," I said, before Dr. Sam's deep voice cut through the air again.

"Mark, I left you with Olivia, and it's not even 24 hours, and she is already crying again. Do you derive joy in doing things to make her hurt?"

Mark's expression hardened, but he glanced away from Dr. Sam and looked at me. His hand reached for the package, and he brought out another plate of food and said, "I will be heading home now. You shouldn't take my father's words seriously, and I will be here tomorrow for your discharge. Take care."

Mark quickly walked away from the room, not bothering to look back at me. It was still raining heavily outside, and I wanted to ask him to wait until the rain had stopped, but seeing the two people in the room, I couldn't tell him. Moreover, Mark was pissed off by the sight of Dr. Sam, and I didn't know what the rift between them was.

As soon as Mark left the room, the tense atmosphere disappeared, and Dr. Sam's deep voice cut through as he said, "Olivia, my offer is still on. You do not have to live your life in fear because of your foster parents. If they do not want you anymore, I am not trying to adopt you, but just to help you as Erica's friend."

As I peered at Dr. Sam's face, Mark's words rang in my mind that a man cannot just help a woman without any selfish interest. But wasn't it best if Dr. Sam liked me and helped me? At least, I could return to the university and further my education.

Lowering my head, as I avoided looking at Dr. Sam's face, I mumbled, "I still have to head home."

"Olivia, I was the one who spoke to Sam about your living conditions. You are still at home when most of our set have gained admission into the university. If you do not make a move now, then I do not know when that time will be. But if you change your mind and accept, you do not have to worry about where to go, and you can always come to us," Erica said, with a soft voice, and I smiled and held her hands gratefully.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," she hugged me happily and asked, "Have you had your dinner?"

I looked at the takeaway meal that was on the bed table.

"No. Mark bought dinner for me," I gestured to the meal, not wanting to mention the ice cream.

"Oh, that's fine," Erica said, and Dr. Sam subtly coughed and asked, "Do you feel any pain, Olivia?"

Looking at Dr. Sam's face, I smiled and replied, "No, Doctor. I am fine."

"Alright. I will process your discharge bill tomorrow. But if you feel any form of pain, do let me know," he said, as he pulled the door open and left the room.

"Alright," I mumbled, before my gaze shifted to the meal on the table.