Chapter 137

Claude pushed open the battered front door. "This won't do. This is your home! We should clean it up." Olivia had been avoiding looking at the dilapidated house, but something about Claude's determination and her own presence there gave her courage. "I… I agree." Claude led her inside, still holding her wrist firmly. They walked through the hallway and stopped at a broken wooden window sill. "We can fix these. All of them!" He let go of her and started working on the window, showing gentleness and focus in his actions. Watching him work helped Olivia come to terms with the reality of her old home. She smiled. "Wait for me! I'll go buy some cleaning tools!" * That night, Tyler returned to Sandalwood Palace at 10 pm and noted the silence. "Where's Olivia?" he asked one of the maids. "Um, Miss Olivia left after you did this morning. She hasn't come back yet." "Till now?" The maid nodded. Tyler's serious expression darkened further. "Did she say where she was going?" "Uh… n