章 16: Chapter Sixteen: Olivia
Family reunion
Our eyes met and I could see the unmistakable shock on her face. "Oh Ava, you came right on time, when where you going to tell me that your sister was alive all this while?"
Her heels clicked as she circled around me in awe, staring at me as if I was some laboratory experiment. "I'm finding out about this at the same time you are prof."
Maxwell's face dropped as he sensed some tension. "You two haven't seen each other?" he asked in a lower tone, confused.
"Not quite." She stepped forward and then extended her hand to touch me. Her fingers grazed the side of my head. "You're actually alive," she whispered to herself, caressing my temples.
I shoved her arm away. "Yes, very much alive."
Both our eyes had begun to gleam with unshed tears. Her nostrils flared and her lips quivered. "Olivia you don't know how much I-"
"It's Bianca to you," I responder in a clipped tone.
Maxwell cleared his throat. "I'll step out for a bit and give you two sometimes to talk, because it seems like there's a lot to talk about."
He arranged his files and then walked out of his office shutting the door I'm leaving us alone in the room.
I stylishly rested my hands against the tabletop to support myself because my knees were threatening to buckle under my weight.
My stomach was twisted in what I would describe as a diabolic knot. And my heart was racing to my ears. I didn't know that you would still feel like this.
All this while I thought I was ready to face her, I thought I'd be emotionless, cold and angry when I faced her.
But the only thing I could feel right now was confusion. "Where have you been this whole time?"
"What's it to you?"
"What do you mean? It's everything to me, you're my sister. For the past 6 years I thought you were dead, I attended your funeral, I -"
"You married my husband too, don't forget to add that."
Her face fell. "It's complicated."
"Complicated? You could even wait a whole year after my supposed death before you threw yourself all over him." My voice was laced with venom.
Tears were streaming profusely from her eyes, ruining her mascara. "When you left, both of us were at an all time low, we desperately wanted you back. We were vulnerable, and within that vulnerability and shared grief-"
I scoffed so loudly it almost hurt my throat. "You fell in love while mourning over my death?!" My tone had risen beyond what I expected.
Ava was taken aback by this, and rightfully so. Growing up I was always the more reserved calm one and she was always the confrontational one.
That was why in high school I was always bullied and she was the one that always defended me. But things had changed since then. Olivia died, and Bianca was born.
"I'm sorry, it was a moment of weakness, I just…" she trailed off, her sobs choking her.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. Where you and my husband having an affair while I was still around?"
The shock on her face mirrored the look that was on my face when I read the news article that she and my husband were getting married 6 years ago.
"What? No I would never!"
I laughed bitterly, "you and him were sleeping together weren't you? Cheating under my nose?"
Her face twisted in anguish. "Olivia how dare you?!"
"No, how dare you Ava?! There's no way you tell me that you and Aiden suddenly developed feelings for each other overnight immediately after I died. The feelings have always been there!"
She shook her head. "I never had eyes for your husband throughout the period that you were alive, you have to believe me!"
"That's not what reality is telling me, what I'm seeing right now is that immediately I died you couldn't wait to throw yourself on him like a slut that you are! No wonder your aborted a pregnancy, cheap slut, that's what you are!"
I felt a sharp sting across my cheeks as she smacked me. "Don't you dare bring up a mistake that I made when I was still young several years ago into what we're discussing now."
My lips tightened. I retaliated, returning the slap with more force. "Don't you dare act like a martyr when you're the one who stole my husband!"
"I didn't steal him, you were supposed to be dead."
"And there it is, so you wanted me dead after all," I said smiling.
Her face dropped. "No that's not what I meant. You know I would never wish that upon you, we're sisters."
"You stopped being my sister the day you married my husband."
We stood there in silence, staring at each other untill she adjusted her hair and turned around. "You'll always be my little sister Olivia," she said in a trembling voice and then exited the room.
I was still trying to regulate my breathing when Maxwell entered the room. "I'm not even going to ask you what I was about to, because I heard a lot of screaming. I guess you too need some time to work your differences out."
"Why is she even here?" I questioned.
"She's one of the biggest donors this university has, she's doing it in honour of Elizabeth."
I quickly rounded up with my visit and then left the place, I was too disoriented to think straight.
I'd collected his contact information and I would communicate with him later.
My engines hummed softly as I drove through town. Even though my eyes were fixed on the road, my mind was wandering
Snippets of our childhood where flashing in my head. The times where we used to play on the swing and push each other.
All the times where we used to play hide and seek and she would always pretend not to see me to let me feel like I won.
The day we pinky promised that we would always be there for each other no matter what.
"One day, I want to own a huge fashion brand, I want to style celebrities and wear the best outfits!" Ava's childish voice echoed in my head.
Those where the days. Before everything went wrong. I tried to think back to a particular point when our relationship deteriorated but I couldn't think of any singular instance.
We did grow apart because we went to different colleges, but we still kept in touch. After she graduated, she moved back to New York.
With a deep sigh, I got down down from the car and lazily walked into the house. "Mommy!" My twins screamed, running towards me.
They both jumped on me, wrapping their tiny hands around my waist and I felt instantly revitalized. I got down on my knees and kissed them on the cheeks.
"Mommy missed you two soo much! Muah! Muah!"
"Did you miss me too?" Liam asked.
"Of course." I chuckled and hugged him tightly. At the end of the day, they were the ones that mattered the most.
I knew that no matter how messed up things got, these three would always be there for me. The light at the end of the tunnel.
After looking at some drawings Lorraine made I'm listening to Skye talk about the new friends he made while he took a walk with Maria, I headed upstairs to undress.
I had just changed into my nightgown when Liam walked in. "You know, you guys should start cultivating a habit of knocking in this house," I pointed out. "What if I was naked?"
He laughed lightly. "Even better."
My cheeks flushed and I shook my head. He walked up behind me, grabbing my waist and pulling me into a kiss.
The fabric of my night gown was silky and light, allowing him to feel my body. "Looks like someone is the mood for something."
"I've been craving you all day."
He pressed his lips against mine, pushing me towards the wall. The my phone vibrated on the table.
I pulled away and turned to look at it. "Ignore it," Liam said.
"Wait, just this one notification, it might be important."
He groaned like a child. "Please just ignore it, come on, you've been working all day and now you're finally home."
"I promise I'll just peep, see what it is and then switch off my phone."
He took a few steps backwards and I reached for my phone.
"I'm the one that testified to the police six years ago that I saw your body in a river Olivia. It was a lie, one that has been eating me up with guilt for the past 6 years. Meet up with me at the abandoned bridge, 6:00 tomorrow, I'll tell you everything. Please don't come with the police."
"Liam look," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I handed my phone over to him and sat down on the bed, apprehensiveness washing over me.
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