Olivia's POV
"Don't you want to know who the woman is?" officer Wright asks.
He's still sitting across his desk from me, while my brain is spinning with the realization that the police have already arrested Anya.
"There's no need. I already know who she is. It's why I'm here actually. I remembered her leaning over me, so I came here to tell you who she is."
"You remember seeing her?" Officer Wright's eyebrows shoot up into two wide arches. "That's perfect. You can give your statement again, so we can ensure there'll be no way she can get out ofâAh, there they are."
I turn my head to the entrance and the first person my eyes land on is Dr. Kate. For once, she isn't wearing her pearl white doctor's coat. Instead, she's dressed in a simple pair of jeans and what looks like a man's shirt. She has her eyes wide open, while the rest of her complexion looks paler than I have ever seen her look. Her arms are tucked behind her back, where officer Davis is walking behind her.
"Dr. Kate?" I ask.
"Olivia!" Dr. Kate takes a step closer to me the moment her eyes meet mine. "Tell them it's not true. Tell them they're making a mistake."
"What's going on?" I glance from Dr. Kate to officer Wright and find him silently observing the doctor with narrowed eyes.
"Olivia, I thinkâ" Samuel begins, reminding me that he's still standing beside the chair I'm sitting on.
I don't let him finish, though. "Why is Dr. Kate here?" I ask officer Wright.
"What do you mean? I just told you. We arrested the woman who drove the car that hit youâdr. Kate Kattan."
"That's not true." Dr. Kate violently shakes her head. "I didn'tâ"
Before she can finish, officer Davis grabs her upper arm and pulls her toward the other end of the room. Only then do I notice the metal gleam of the pair of handcuffs strapped to both of the doctor's wrists.
"Olivia," Dr. Kate turns to me with pleading eyes, while officer Davis continues to drag her behind him. "Tell them they're making a mistake."
I open my mouth to defend her, but it's already too late. Officer Davis pulls her out of the room, leaving her shouts of denial echoing through the surrounding room and my mind. Her protests die only when a loud bang of slamming metal cuts off all sounds.
"What some people won't do to evade justice."
The smooth feminine voice sends a cold shiver down my neck as I slowly turn in the direction the voice came from. Leaning against the side of a nearby desk is Anya, wrapped in her usual silk shirt and a tight pencil skirt. A step to her right stands Lucien, but opposite to Anya's smirk, he has his features molded into an unreadable stare.
"Ms. Ivanovna," officer Wright greets her. "Olivia, this is the woman who tipped us off on the doctor's involvement in the accident."
"What?" I stare at Anya, not believing either my eyes or my ears. How could Dr. Kate be the one arrested and not Anya?
"It was the least I could do." Anya inclines her head at officer Wright but keeps her malicious eyes on me.
"You've got his all wrong." I snap my head back to officer Wright and point with my index finger at Anya. "She's the driver. Anya's the one I saw leaning over me."
"Are you still angry with me?" Anya turns her smirk into the fakest pout I have ever seen. "I thought we've already moved past it."
"What?" Officer Wright glances from me to Anya.
"I guess Olivia still blames me for her mother getting fired. You see, I made a small complaint to the owner of the hair salon, but I certainly didn't think it would end with Mina getting fired. But now it seems that Olivia is still angry. I don't think I can blame her, though. I still feel terrible about Mina losing her job."
"I'm sure the lady didn't mean to have your mother fired." Officer Wright's words pull my eyes over to him in disbelief. "Ms. Ivanovna is clearly sorry for what happened."
"That's not what this is about." I shake my head and point at Anya again. "This is about her being the driver and not dr. Kate."
"Now, Olivia." Officer Wright's voice chills for a few octaves. "I know you're angry, but lying in a situation like this is a serious offense. You need to apologize to Ms. Ivanovna."
"You're not listening to me. Sheâ"
Before I can say anything else, Samuel grabs the hand I'm still pointing at Anya and forces me to stumble off the chair and behind him as he stalks out of the police station. I try to tear my hand out of his hold, but it's in vain. Without faltering for a single step, he pulls me out of the police station and over to the wall beside the entrance.
"Calm down," he orders.
"I don't need to calm down." I finally tear my hand out of his hold and push him a step away from me. "What I need to do is get Anya charged for being the hit-and-run driver."
"I know." Samuel steps back closer and rests his hands on either side of the wall behind me, trapping me between him and the wall. "But whatever you say right now won't do a thing to change Wright's mind. To do that we need to find some evidence that Anya, and not the doctor, was the driver."
"My memory should be evidence enough." I try to push him away again, yet this time he doesn't budge. "I clearly rememberâ"
Before I can finish the sentence, Samuel leans closer and pecks the tip of my nose. For a second, I'm taken so off guard that I just blink at him.
"What I meant to say isâ"
He leans in again, but this time pecks my forehead. And when I open my mouth to begin again, he moves first onto my left and then my right cheek. By my fourth try, I'm not sure what I was trying to say, but that doesn't stop me from trying again. Just so he'll continue. And Samuel doesn't disappoint as he moves onto my lips and finally kisses me.
"I was sure that the rumor was a lie, and yet here we are," a cold voice says.
Samuel and I snap our eyes open in the middle of our kiss and then slowly turn to our side. Four steps away from us stands the Head Guardian with her hands resting on her hips and her copper hair emphasizing the bloodlust shining through her eyes.
Samuel immediately jumps a wide step away from me. "Head Guardianâ"
"Do not bother." The woman raises her index finger. "It is too late to feign innocence or to spin any more lies on me. I truly believed you were innocent, and yet I find you doing...this. Samuel Yang, you know fully well that Guardians are not allowed to interact with humans, let alone be romantically involved with them... It is high time I punish you for your actions."
"That's not fair." I pull away from the wall and take a step closer to the scowling woman. "We still have three days left to find out who the Guardian that saved me is."
"Meddling with a human's life is the least of your problems right now." The Head Guardian first glares at me and then at Samuel. "Guardians are forbidden from interacting with humans for a reason."
"It's not whatâ" Samuel tries again, but the woman doesn't allow him to continue.
"Are you even aware that one of your other charges died while you were busy wasting your time with this human girl?"
Samuel and I freeze at her words.
"I have my answer. Let us not delay this any longer. From this moment onward, you, Samuel Yang, are no longer Olivia Han's Guardian."
The Head Guardian snaps her fingers and I have just enough time to turn my head to Samuel before he vanishes.
"Samuel!" I reach forward, but all I grab onto is empty morning air.
"And you." The Head Guardian's commanding voice forces me to turn to her. "It is time IâDamn it. What now?"
Unsure of what is going on, I watch the woman as she glares up at the sky. A second later, she snaps her eyes back to me, and the death glare she shoots me causes me to edge an unconscious step back.
"I will come back to remove both your ability to see Guardians and your memories of them. But I have to deal with someone else first." Without another word, the woman spins around and struts away until she disappears around the corner.
Even as she disappears I continue to stare down the street, not believing either my ears or my eyes.
What just happened can't be real.
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