Unseen

Chapter Fourteen

The house was silent when Olivia returned. Not the peaceful kind of silence but the hollow, indifferent sort that reminded her she could vanish and no one would notice. The living room lights were still on. Helena sat with the same rigid posture, Clarisse lounged with her usual arrogance, Marco scrolled through his phone, and Renato kept his eyes fixed on the muted television. They looked at her only long enough to confirm she had appeared. Then they looked away.

She climbed the stairs without a word. Her footsteps made no sound. Her room welcomed her with its familiar stillness, small and plain and safe only because no one bothered to invade it. She sat on her bed and pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to still the racing thoughts.

Simon’s voice lingered with unnerving clarity. He had been cold, blunt, and unmovable. He had spoken to her as though he already understood the future, as though she had been written into a plan she never agreed to. His certainty frightened her, but it also wrapped around her mind like an unavoidable truth. She felt small in that restaurant, smaller than she had ever felt in her life, yet she also felt something she could not explain. Maybe it was the faintest glimpse of what the world looked like from above. Maybe it was simply the shock of being seen by someone who did not pretend.

She lay back and stared at the ceiling. Simon had offered her a cage of steel instead of a cage of thorns. Her chest tightened as the choice hovered over her. She closed her eyes, sleep creeping over her slowly, heavy and restless.

Morning light seeped into her room. She dressed quietly and stepped into the hallway. Helena stood near the stairs, arms crossed, eyes sharp.

“You should have told Mr. Jimenez your refusal by now,” Helena said. “You are dragging your feet. Decline him. That is all you are required to do.”

Olivia’s pulse fluttered. “I will.”

“Good.” Helena’s voice softened into a dangerous calm. “Do not forget what I told you. Mae’s mother can lose her job. Jonathan can lose his sponsorship. Mart One will not hesitate to remove you. One word from me and your life will collapse.”

Clarisse descended the stairs with a faint smirk. “You should hurry, Via. Mr. Jimenez will want someone who belongs in his world. Someone with a reputation that does not embarrass him.”

The insult settled like dust on Olivia’s skin. Renato walked past all of them, silent as ever. He did not defend her. He never did.

Olivia stepped outside with a tight breath. The cool morning wind felt sharper today, brushing against her nerves as if urging her forward. Her commute to Mart One felt longer than usual. Her thoughts tangled around Simon’s offer, Helena’s threats, and the faint, fragile dreams her friends clung to.

Inside the store, before opening hours, she placed her bag beneath the counter and took out the phone Simon had given her. The fluorescent lights hummed softly. The aisles were empty. She stared at the screen, her fingers trembling once.

She thought of Mae’s hopeful eyes. She thought of Jonathan’s quiet promises. She thought of Helena’s cold voice. She thought of Simon’s certainty.

She pressed call.

The line barely rang before his voice filled her ear. “Olivia.”

Her throat tightened. “I have made my decision.”

He waited, steady as stone.

She inhaled. “I will marry you.”

Silence followed. Calm. Certain. The silence of a man who expected nothing less.

“Good,” he said. “I will arrange everything.”

The line cut. Olivia lowered the phone, her breath unsteady.

She had chosen her cage. She prayed she had chosen the one she could survive.