Chapter 260
“Ice–Eyes Alpha! I caught three tadpoles and a tiny frog! Do you want to touch them?” she had asked, thrusting the bucket
toward him.
When she was too tired to walk home, he crouched down. “Come on up,” he commanded softly.
Olivia hesitated, looking down at her mud–covered clothes. “Ice–Eyes Alpha, no need.” She knew he liked cleanliness and didn’t
want to dirty his clothes.
“Come on up,” he repeated, his tone still icy but somehow gentle.
With a huge grin that showed her missing front tooth, she immediately climbed onto his back. “Ice–Eyes Alpha, I’ll be your eyes
from now on,” she declared proudly.
After that day, Olivia often took him out. They’d run wild in the forests together. When tired, she wouldn’t wait for him to speak
but would tug at his clothes playfully.
“Ice–Eyes Alpha, hug me,” she would demand, arms outstretched.
“Ice–Eyes Alpha, carry me,” she would plead when her little legs grew tired.
“Ice–Eyes Alpha, Liv loves you the most,” she would whisper when they sat watching the sunset she described to him in vivid
detail.
When the neighborhood children played pretend games, the handsome blind boy became the husband every little girl wanted.
Olivia would immediately become protective.
“Ice–Eyes Alpha is Liv’s,” she would declare fiercely, her small hands balled into fists.
When other little girls argued with her, Olivia would look at him with a pleading expression and call out, “Ice–Eyes Alpha.”
Although he couldn’t see, his gaze would somehow accurately meet Olivia’s. A hint of warmth would appear in his eyes as he
patted her head and responded softly, “Yes, you are.”
Olivia would immediately raise her little chin proudly, grinning from ear to ear. Her victory over the other children was complete
with those three simple words.
Six months was neither long nor short, but Ice–Eyes Alpha held a very important place in Olivia’s heart. In the days after they separated, she lost interest in playing with other children.
Every day after dinner, she would run to the entrance of our neighborhood, sit on the large rock there, chin in hands, and crane
her neck to look toward the entrance. She was waiting for her Ice–Eyes Alpha to come find her.
“He promised,” she would tell me, her eyes wide and trusting. “He said he would come back for me when he’s grown up.”
Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Eventually, Olivia stopped waiting, but the memory remained locked in her
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heart.
Until she forgot. Or perhaps she buried it so deep that it seemed like forgetting.
+20 Bonus
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Olivia asked again, her voice sharper now with concern. She had noticed my prolonged stare at the amulet on Ethan’s chest, my expression too complex to hide.
“Nothing,” I said, looking away quickly. I couldn’t bear to meet her eyes, afraid she might see the truth there.
At this moment, I was grateful that Olivia had forgotten those childhood days. It was better not to remember. Childhood promises
were just childish words.
Before leaving our home all those years ago, the boy had said to me very seriously, “Mrs. Evelyn, I will wait for Liv to grow up. As long as Liv is willing, I will definitely marry her. I will love her, protect her, and take care of her.”
I didn’t blame him for breaking that promise, for falling in love with Victoria Frost instead, and for letting Olivia down. After all,
he was only ten years old at the time. How could his words be taken seriously?
What I couldn’t forgive was that he had indirectly caused Lily’s death for Victoria’s daughter and inflicted irreparable harm on Olivia. His actions were unforgivable.
It was best for those childhood memories to remain forever sealed. Unearthing them wouldn’t change anything.
Olivia wouldn’t forgive Ethan because of them; it would only add to her troubles.
