CHAPTER 3
1095 Words
I heavily contemplated whether or not to let her in before I let out a deep sigh and got off the bed to let her in.
I opened the door and she looked at my weary expression and bloodshot eyes.
“Oh, honey.” She muttered.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her and guided me to the bed.
“What happened?” She asked, her hand resting gently on my back.
“Well you all lied to me-”
“No. Not that. What happened with Lucian?”
Her question made me freeze. Mom had always been incredibly observant, so I wasn't really even surprised she figured out something had happened.
“All those bags you brought home. That's not an ‘I’m here for a visit’ kind of luggage.”
“Lucian and I…. We broke up.” I finally admitted solemnly.
“What? Why? What happened? You were so sure of him.”
“He was lying to me. For five years.”
“Lying to you? About what? You need to be a little bit more specific, dear.”
“He had a fiancé.”
I felt her body tense up as soon as I said that.
“He what?” She exclaimed, her voice filled with shock and disbelief.
“He was supposed to marry Hailey Monroe. That girl from college. Their families arranged for them to get married…. And he just…. He led me on. For a whole five years. Do you know how stupid I felt? I thought he and I were meant to be. I thought we were the perfect match. I thought we were gonna get married for God's sake… Oh my God…” I broke down mid sentence, burying my face in my hands.
“Oh, sweetheart…. I'm so sorry…. How could he do something so horrible? Why would he lie to you and lead you on for five years if he was gonna marry another girl? That's just cruel.”
“For God's sake, we talked about getting married. We already went to the doctor to see if we could have kids…. We planned for a future. A family. We joked about our wedding day. But all this time, he was promised to another woman.”
“You know what? You can stay here as long as you want until you find your footing. I don't mind one bit. And I'm sure your father wouldn't mind either” Mom said with a soft, kind smile that could always light up an entire room.
“Really? You'd really do that for me?”
“Sweetheart, you're my daughter. I'd do anything for you. I love you.”
That was all I actually needed to hear. I hugged her tight and whispered, “I love you too.”
“I know, honey. I know. Now come downstairs. Your father's home and he'll be really happy to see you.” Mom said with that amazing smile once again.
“Okay. I'll be right there.” I wiped my tears completely.
She went downstairs to give me a moment to fully calm down and collect myself. I went to the bathroom to wash my face. I looked in the mirror and took a breath to fully calm myself down.
Once I was stabilized, I went downstairs to face my family.
I was immediately met with dad and he hugged me as tight as possible, almost squeezing the breath out of me.
I couldn't blame him. We hadn't seen each other in person in years.
I wrapped my arms around him tightly, burying myself in his warm embrace. My dad was the most important person in my life, even high above Lucian. If he knew what Lucian had done, he'd probably fly all the way back to New York to beat his ass.
“Olivia, it's been so long.” He whispered quietly.
“I know. I'm sorry I didn't come home sooner, but I'm here now. And I'm gonna be here for a while. You might even get sick of me.” I replied.
He chuckled before finally pulling back to look at my face carefully.
“I’ve missed you so much.” He said.
“I missed you too. But I need to go outside for a bit, okay? I need some fresh air.”
“Alright, sweetheart, but hurry back.”
He let me go and I made it straight for the door.
Once I was finally outside, I took a deep breath, finding solace in the open space and the fresh air flowing into my lungs.
After I stood on the porch for about a minute or so, I heard a soft clattering sound by the side of the house.
I let my curiosity get the best of me and went to the side.
There, I saw a man at the top of the ladder, fixing pretty bright Christmas lights.
“Hi.” I called out to him.
He finally turned his attention to me and greeted me with a smile.
“Hey.” He replied.
“I haven't seen you around here before.” He continued.
“Oh. I just came for a visit. I'm Olivia. I live here.”
“I’m Alex. I'm helping your family with the Christmas decorations as you can see.” He replied, as he kept his eyes on what he was doing.
“Have you been out here for a while?”
“Yeah. About two hours now or so.”
“Without a break? Come on inside. I'm sure your arms are begging for a break.”
He chuckled softly before climbing down the ladder.
“Yeah, they are.”
I walked back inside and he followed behind me.
I led him to the kitchen and handed him a bottle of water from the fridge.
Right then, Daniel entered the kitchen.
“Hey, Alex. Are you done for today?” Daniel asked.
“I’m almost done with the sides. It'll take about another hour.” Alex replied.
“I see you already ran into Olivia.” Alex said before turning his attention to me and said, “Olivia, you remember Alex? From highschool? My best friend?”
I quirked a brow.
“Alex?” I questioned.
“Yeah. Alex. Alex, you remember Olivia, right? My younger sister. You knew each other in high school.”
“Olivia? The same one? Really? She looks so different now.” Alex said as he eyed me up and down. And that's when it finally clicked.
Alex.
Alex Rogers.
- Writer
